Under the current policy, all footage collected by the department is retained indefinitely. Older videos from dashboard cameras that are still stored on magnetic videotape would also be expunged, he said. Several members of the civilian oversight panel, which sets LAPD policies, expressed concern that the proposed policy wasn’t clear enough. Gerges Shields also called for LAPD officials to work with body-cam manufacturer Axon to develop a “click box” that would ensure that a video couldn’t be deleted without proper approval. Most of the videos gathered by officers go unwatched, with LAPD officials saying there’s not enough manpower to review all of the clips recorded on any given shift.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 30, 2026 21:44 UTC