When news first broke about this move, members of the Police Commission were alarmed and wanted to know why this was happening. In addition to this, they wanted to know how long this has been going on and who authorized this move.
In a review of what transpired, it was concluded that ‘half of the 80 cars in the Southeast division—which includes Watts and the Jordan Downs and Nickerson Gardens housing projects—were missing the antennas that help capture what officers say in the field. The review discovered at least 10 more cars in nearby divisions also had antennas removed.’
Steve Soboroff, President of the commission stated that this issue should have been brought to their attention and made available by those officers. The antennas are used for the safety of the officers and the public.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck responded that it was not the intent of the LAPD to hide this information from the commission. With so many officers, it was difficult to ascertain which officers were committing the infraction. A warning was issued to officers about removing their antennas.
Here’s what you need to know: “Officers wear small transmitters on their belts that relay their voices back to the antennas in the patrol car. Sgt. Dan Gomez, a department expert on recording devices, told the Times that regardless of whether they are in front of the camera, officers’ voices can be recorded hundreds of yards away from the car—but that distance is severely curtailed by as much as a third without the antennas.”
Source: Atlanta Black Star
Article Appeared @http://www.kulturekritic.com/2014/04/news/lapd-illegally-removed-recording-devices-from-cars-in-while-black-neighborhoods/