Los Angeles Police Commission debates releasing officer body camera videos

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners received a report outlining recommendations on releasing officer body camera video.

The question has been when should video from Los Angeles Police Department body cameras be released and who decides? The department has been using body cameras for years, but videos are rarely seen by the public.

A report presented Tuesday by the Policing Project at the NYU School of Law studied the issue and found that 65 percent of the public would like to see these videos released within 60 days of an incident.

It also stated that 64 percent of police officers would rather wait until the district attorney decides whether or not to file charges, which could take as long as one to two years.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck worries a video might not tell the whole story.

"I think that the release of a video too early is a mistake because it can be taken out of context. Video is an important piece but it is not the only piece, without the context of forensics, without the context of statements, without the context of other video," Beck said.

Officials are working out new guidelines, and they will be back to discuss the proposals in about three weeks.