Dodgers Donate $250K To LAPD For Officer Body Cameras
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday donated $250,000 to the Los Angeles Police Department to be used towards outfitting each officer with a body camera.
Police Commission President Steve Soboroff, who came up with the idea, originally planned for the cameras to be purchased and distributed in 18 months at a cost of $1 million.
Thanks to recent donations by the Dodgers, along with Casey Wasserman, former LA Mayor Richard Riordan and Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, the first 500 cameras will now likely be ready for use by early 2014.
The tiny cameras will be attached to uniforms of patrol officers to record contact with citizens.
"From officer complaints, settlements, lawsuits to saving lives, etc., they seem to really work," Soboroff told KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou.
Dodgers Donate $250K To LAPD For Officer Body Cameras
"In criminal prosecutions, it will be absolutely beneficial to have a recording of what happened," one Hollywood Division officer said.
To date, approximately $600,000 in private sector money has been donated.