In Cases Where Police Use Force On Protestors, LAPD Won't Release Bodycam Footage To The Public

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michael Moore said not all police officers who have been deployed to recent protests have been wearing bodycams and in cases where force was used, that footage would likely not be released to the public.

"There's a total of 7,000 devices that are available and we have 10,000 people that work the organization," so not all officers wear bodycams, Moore told AirTalk host Larry Mantle on Friday morning.

Moore went on to say, "Traditionally and historically, we have not released all body-worn videos on arrests and on all encounters with the public. That's investigative material."

Moore said he would "commit to transparency" with the Inspector General and other investigators who have a "lawful and legitimate purpose for reviewing that video." He also said, "Individuals that were the subject of the force will have access as well to that body-worn video."

However, he did not commit to releasing that video to the public.

Several videos circulating on social media depict LAPD officers using what many people believe is a disproportionate amount of force — wading into protesters, swinging their batons, firing rubber bullets — against demonstrators.

Here are a few. Note: we have not yet independently investigated or confirmed these videos and/or personal experiences, but they have been widely shared on Twitter and Instagram.

Note: At least one of the above images was taken by Sarah Reingewirtz. It appears someone, somewhere cropped out the watermark on her image before sharing it via Twitter.

"We're investigating each of those instances. We have a number of complaints… I don't have all the facts and circumstances behind each of those depictions. Watching those videos does give me concern," Moore said.

Moore said officers, demonstrators and protesters had rocks and bottles and other items thrown at them and, "These chaotic scenes often involved peaceful demonstrators that were intermixed with violent… individuals that were attempting to injure."

He said the LAPD would look at the "broader context" of each individual incident: "Were officers threatened at the time? Were they involved in declaring an unlawful assembly and attempting to disperse those crowds? And even then, was the force used in those circumstances, appropriate and consistent with our policy?"

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