Inglewood City Council greenlights police body cams and automated license plate readers

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Inglewood police will get drones, automated license plate readers and body-worn cameras after the City Council approved purchasing up to $6.3 million in new tech. 

The Inglewood City Council unanimously approved the tech package during its meeting Tuesday, clearing the way for city staff to finalize a contract with police tech company Axon. Mayor James Butts said the city’s public safety has come a long way in recent decades, but that the new equipment will help the city modernize.

“We have to continue to move to the future. We are an international destination,” Butts said.

Inglewood will host a string of international mega-events over the next few years, including this summer’s FIFA World Cup, the 2027 NFL Super Bowl and 2028 Olympic Games. Butts told The LA Local the tech package is the result of months of city research and negotiations with potential tech suppliers dating to last summer. 

The introduction of police body cameras, though, follows a more local controversy: Bryan Bostic’s still-unexplained March 10 death in Inglewood police custody. 

Activists have redoubled calls for body cams in Inglewood since Bostic died; unlike other L.A.-area police agencies, Inglewood officers are not outfitted with cameras. 

Bystander video from Bostic’s arrest shows police forcibly pinning him to the street after a traffic stop, but it remains unclear what caused his death. Investigations by the L.A. County District Attorney’s office into the police use of force during Bostic’s arrest and by the L.A. County Medical Examiner’s office are ongoing. 

Marie Darden, Bostic’s aunt, said after the council meeting she believes the city only moved the tech package forward because family and activists have pressed the issue.

“They’re doing this to try to silence us,” Darden said. 

Darden and others in Bostic’s family spoke during the Tuesday meeting — as they have for weeks — and asked the city to share more information, including the names of the officers involved in Bostic’s arrest.

Butts replied in his own comments during the meeting that the city is still waiting on the county medical examiner’s findings.

“No one wants to know more than I and the council do, what was the cause of death,” Butts said. 

Here’s the new gear Inglewood police will get

Axon will kit out Inglewood police officers with body cameras as well as new Tasers. The department has 186 sworn officers, according to the city. 

Cameras will also be installed in twenty-five vehicles. The Fleet 3 devices have capability to automatically read and look up vehicle license plates. 

The Automated License Plate Recognition, or ALPR, tech will also be rolled out via 98 stationary cameras mounted on light posts and in other locations. The devices Inglewood is purchasing also have livestream video capability, according to Axon’s website.

Stationary ALPR devices scan the license plate of passing vehicles and log their location at a given time. Police tout the ability of ALPR networks to rapidly locate stolen vehicles or fleeing suspects. Critics say they lack oversight and that their data can be too broadly shared, including with federal immigration agents.

In a statement on Tuesday, local activist Najee Ali called on the city council to create protections for the public before putting the new equipment into use.

“There are no guarantees that body camera footage will be released. No independent oversight. No clear rules about who controls the data or how it will be used,” he said. “You cannot expand surveillance without expanding accountability.”

Axon will also provide the city with seven camera drones, including the Skydio 10 and its indoor-focused cousin, the Skydio R10, as well as a suite of software to manage it all. 

Inglewood Police Chief Mark Fronterotta said the tech package puts Inglewood cops on “the cutting edge” and that the tech is expected to roll out between this summer and the end of the year. 

Councilmember Gloria Gray — who attended the meeting remotely — said she hopes the council and community members will get a chance to discuss police training and policy connected to the new systems.

“Technology alone does not create public trust,” she said.