On Tuesday, the civilian board that oversees the Los Angeles Police Department began a process to review the department's current policy of generally withholding video — whether it was captured by body cameras, patrol car cameras, or otherwise collected during an investigation — unless ordered to release it in court. Some police commissioners, along with Chief Charlie Beck, have indicated in recent months that they were open to revisiting the policy, but Tuesday marked a more formal step toward that, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Matt Johnson, the commission's president, said at their weekly meeting that his goal was to collect public feedback that could guide a new policy for the LAPD. Johnson said he anticipated that policy would address "key elements," including "proactively releasing police video" of shootings and other major incidents involving officers and "clear and fair guidelines for when video will and will not be released."
Johnson's plan includes working with the Policing Project, a nonprofit based at New York University School of Law, to collect public opinion and then create recommendations for the Police Commission. They plan to gather that feedback through community meetings, questionnaires and interviews with community members, police officers and their union, and others interested in how the LAPD handles video.
