The L.A. Times reported yesterday that the LAPD has known for months that officers had been disabling the antennas which provide audio for the in-car video cameras. The antennas pick up the feed from the microphones on the officers’ belts so that audio is recorded with the video up to several hundred yards from the vehicle, said Sgt. Dan Gomez, a department expert on the recording devices.
The abuse seemed to have been concentrated in South Central Los Angeles, where approximately 80 cars had missing antennas in the South L.A. Patrol Division alone. Police Chief Charlie Beck (pictured), said he chose not to investigate which officers had removed the cameras, but merely to tell them not to do it again.