The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to hire a consultant to work out the details of outfitting deputies with the Sheriff’s department with body-worn cameras.

The motion, authored by Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Hilda Solis, was unanimously approved.

“We are a little late to the party,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Santa Clarita and other areas in north LA County as part of the fifth district.

About two-thirds of law enforcement agencies nationwide have adopted body cameras or are making plans to use them, according to the board.

“It’s time that the County of Los Angeles find its way into contemporary law enforcement methodologies,” Ridley-Thomas said.

The use of camera footage has been found effective in reducing the number of civilian complaints and in de-escalating confrontations between law enforcement and the public.

“Fundamentally, the goal would be to increase transparency,” Solis said.

In 2014, a pilot program began in the county, but plans for handing out body cameras to all deputies seemed to stall.

Officials questioned when and how to release recordings to deputies and the public, as well as how to pay for storing and managing extensive amounts of data.

A 2017 report by the county CEO totaled the cost of implementing more than 6,000 cameras at $84 million and said it would require hiring 302 people, 239 of whom would work for the Sheriff’s department.

Supervisor Janice Hahn said she was committed to that goal, but was unsure where the money would come from.  

 Since the LASD pilot program began, the Los Angeles Police Department moved forward with its own program, which has played a critical role in investigations, according to officials.

During the recent shooting at Trader Joe’s in Silver Lake, Assistant Manager Melyda Corado was killed by an LAPD bullet during a shootout between police and a man suspected of shooting two other people.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore released bodycam video three days later.

That decision was key to helping the public understand what really happened, according to the board.

“If you don’t have video, you don’t know what happened,” said Inspector General Max Huntsman, whose team investigates deputy shootings and claims of excessive force.

He added that the cameras would offer officials “the ability to supervise the men with guns who we give the power of life and death over us in the streets. It has to be that way. We need them out there.”

A watchdog agency who looks over the Sheriff’s department suggested releasing videos of high-profile incidents to the public within 30 days, not allowing deputies to view video footage until after providing an initial statement of what happened and prohibiting the use of facial recognition technology.

“Body-worn cameras are not going to be a panacea for all that ails law enforcement, but they go a long way toward reducing excessive and unnecessary use of force, reducing complaints, increasing transparency, boosting social justice and possibly avoiding civil unrest in extreme circumstances,” said Brian Williams of the watchdog agency.

 The board asked the CEO to report back with the consultant’s recommendations in five months.

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