Los Angeles has the dual distinction among American cities of being the largest to equip all of its patrol officers with body-worn cameras and of keeping some of the tightest controls over when and how the video can be released.
It is LAPD policy not to release video footage of officer-involved shootings or other "critical incidents" without a court order. The blanket policy puts L.A. among the most restrictive departments in the country in that regard, something of a holdout amid a nationwide trend favoring greater police transparency and accountability to the public.
Of course, the chief of police can override the restrictions and release footage, but critics say the lone occasion when Chief Charlie Beck has done this was in a case where it supported the department’s version of events.
Critics say that the policy body-cams operate less like a device for transparency and more like a tool for protecting the LAPD.
But a new plan from the civilian panel that oversees the department could mark a major shift in police policy around the release of video.