DOJ Awards $1M to LAPD For Additional Body Cameras

By Tactical-Life

As a part of a national federal funding program, the U.S. Department of Justice awarded $1 million to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) for body camera purchases.

• RELATED STORY: LAPD to Keep Body Camera Footage From Public Release

The Los Angeles Times reported that the DOJ’s contribution will help buy approximately 700 body cameras for the LAPD.

L.A. has drawn headlines in recent months for its plan to put a body camera on every officer who works in the field. Smaller agencies use body cameras and bigger agencies are testing them out, but the LAPD is poised to become the largest in the country to deploy the devices on a large scale.

The city has plans to buy about 7,000 body cameras, using money from city coffers but also outside grants. About 860 cameras were already purchased with private donations and are now being rolled out to some divisions.

“This is great news for Los Angeles,” Cmdr. Andrew Smith, an LAPD spokesman, told the Los Angeles Times. “These 700 cameras will help move us forward to our goal.”

• RELATED: Minnesota Law Enforcement Looks to Ban Release of Body Camera Footage
• RELATED: Binghamton Police To Equip Every Officer with Body Camera
• RELATED: <a class="colorbox" …read more

  Source:: Tactical Life