LA Police Commission Elects Soboroff As President

LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) — The Los Angeles Police Department's civilian oversight board has unanimously elected real estate developer Steve Soboroff as its president.

The newly composed Los Angeles Police Commission, which oversees the LAPD and sets its policies, met Tuesday. Four of its five members were recently appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti. Robert Saltzman, a law professor, remains from the prior board.

Soboroff said the commission intends to maintain and enhance reforms achieved by the department since federal oversight ended in May. He also pushed for the LAPD to adopt new technology such as lapel cameras within 18 months.

The former Dodgers vice chairman told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO the cameras would be part of a continued reform effort in the LAPD.

"They work all over the country, because we have to protect the police officers and protect the citizens," Soboroff said. "There's been very, very strong support for this, it's just been difficult to get the funding."

A pilot program that would provide a select number of officers with the lapel cameras is estimated to cost upwards of $900,000 - a price tag Soboroff said is fueled by fast-changing technology.

"The information has to be downloaded, it has to be stored to protect the citizens, that's three-quarters of the cost, for a period of five years," he said. "This is not quite like...people just hanging iPhones around their necks."

Soboroff estimated that video cameras on officers would save as much as $20 million in police man-hours and in litigation.

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