A third-party eyewitness may soon accompany all Los Angeles police officers.
Police Commission President Steve Soboroff has privately raised roughly half the $1 million he says is necessary to equip 1,500 Los Angeles Police Department officers with lapel cameras.
A week after taking the helm of the LAPD civilian oversight board, Soboroff said Tuesday he has promises of $250,000 from media giant Casey Wasserman and an undisclosed sum from DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.
Soboroff said he hopes the department will adopt the lapel cameras within a year.
Since the 1991 beating of Rodney King, the LAPD has worked to bring cameras to its vehicles, but has managed to equip just 300 of its 1,200 patrol cars with the technology.
Chief Charlie Beck said a plan will be before the commission in two weeks to add 400 to 500 more vehicle cameras.
Earlier this year, police in Rialto began using the on-officer cameras.
U.S. & World
Since the cameras were introduced, the Rialto police chief said there has been an 88 percent reduction in officer complaints and a 60 percent reduction in officer use-of-force incidents.
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