LAPD Chief Apologizes For Failure To Notify Commissioners Of Tampering

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck has apologized for failing to promptly notify the Police Commission about officers tampering with audio-video devices in patrol cars.

KNX 1070's Pat Haslem reports the apology comes in the wake of an LAPD inspection last summer that found roughly half of the 80 cars in a South Los Angeles patrol division were missing antennas on video cameras that record what officers say.

Antennas also were removed from at least 10 more cars in nearby divisions, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Beck notified the Police Commission president several months later but the full panel didn't learn about the problem until February.

Last week, Commission Chairman Steve Soboroff said the officers' actions don't necessarily indicate they wanted to hide something.

"I think that it was more a statement, you know, 'Hey, there's some things here that we'd rather not or we don't like', or they weren't clear on the rules," Soboroff said.

LAPD officials say they've created new safeguards against tampering. Police Commissioners also pledged to monitor the issue more closely, The Times reported.

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