LAPD to install cameras in patrol cars

Already on the defensive over two forceful arrests that were videotaped by bystanders, Los Angeles Police Department officials said Monday they would begin installing digital video cameras in some patrol cars next week to better track how arrests are conducted.

The announcement came on the same day African American leaders met at a community forum to discuss the videos, which show officers using force to arrest suspects.

One video shows an officer in Hollywood punching a suspect in the face five times during an arrest. The other shows an officer using pepper spray on a handcuffed suspect who is then left in a closed patrol car.

City Council members held a special public hearing Monday in which LAPD officials announced that a pilot program to test cameras would begin next Monday in the patrol district known as South Bureau.

Officials hope to install cameras in most of the 300 patrol cars in the bureau by the end of next year, LAPD Cmdr. Kirk Albanese told the council’s Public Safety Committee.

The council approved $5 million for the first cameras, with the idea of installing more in the city’s other patrol bureaus over the next three years.

At the community forum, LAPD Inspector General Andre Birotte Jr. said the cameras would help hold the department accountable as well as clear officers of unfounded allegations.

“For that small percentage of officers that want to go on a wayward path, we would hope that those videos would help put them back on track,” Birotte said. “For those officers doing the right thing, if they are accused of misconduct and the video shows otherwise, you have it on tape.”

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, which hosted the community forum, noted that the department has still not announced the outcome of an internal probe into the shooting death of toddler Suzie Pena, who was held by her father during a confrontation with police in July 2005.

Also, the incident involving an officer’s use of pepper spray on a handcuffed suspect -- which occurred in February 2005 -- has not resulted in a decision by Police Chief William J. Bratton on whether the action was within the standards set out in department policy.

“These investigations -- they take too long and they drag out,” Hutchinson said during the discussion between Birotte and six community leaders.

Birotte said policy changes have been made aimed at speeding up such investigations while making sure they are no less thorough.

The Police Commission has asked that investigations into the use of deadly force be completed in 10 months.

“You are right. From a public perspective these investigations take too long,” Birotte said.

Some leaders said that when investigations are complete, it is too often difficult to determine whether an officer was found to have acted properly unless the officer is facing a criminal charge or civil lawsuit.

Birotte said court decisions and legislation have severely limited the release of personnel records on officers, but he, on behalf of the Police Commission and the public, independently monitors each case involving deadly force.

“It’s important that you know there is an outside set of eyes and ears looking over these cases,” Birotte told the group.

Birotte told the community leaders that he was troubled by the videotape that surfaced recently on the YouTube website, showing an officer striking a suspect repeatedly in the face.

“When I looked at the videotape, I was concerned. There were a lot of questions I had about it,” Birotte said. He plans to analyze the department’s handling of the case, using all the evidence available, not just the videotape, he said.

Michael S. Jones, president of the Crenshaw Chamber of Commerce, suggested that one factor contributing to tension between police and South Los Angeles residents may be that most officers do not live in the city.

“In my opinion, if you only come into the community for work, and you only see the bad side of that community, there can be a cynical nature that is built up,” Jones said.

Birotte said he knows of other cities that have residency requirements for officers, but said the issue is a political one for elected officials.

Debbie Washington, a leader of a local postal supervisors union, suggested the problem might require a change at the top of the department.

“Don’t you think it’s time to have someone who knows the community, who is black or brown, over the LAPD, instead of Chief Bratton?” Washington asked.

Birotte, who is African American, defended the chief’s leadership, saying he has demonstrated a commitment to diversity in the ranks and openness in the process of looking at community concerns.

patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com