LA Police Delay Body Camera Program Due To "Sticker Shock"
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A $58 million plan to equip nearly every Los Angeles police officer with body cameras by the end of the year has been delayed by concerns over the cost.
Mayor Eric Garcetti had pledged to have the cameras on thousands of officers by the end of 2016.
But the Los Angeles Times reports that the department doesn't expect to outfit 7,000 officers until the fall of 2017 at the earliest.
Councilman Mitch Englander says he now wants the department to start the bidding process over, saying it's more important to get the program right, "not just do it quickly."
Board of Police Commissioner Steve Soboroff says city lawmakers are "horribly underestimating the ramifications" of delaying body cameras for what could be years, calling it a public safety disaster.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
