Chicago Police Officers Sabotaged Dashcams to Block Audio, Report Says

Police officers in Chicago have tampered with dashcam devices to block microphones from picking up audio, according to new report.

Officers destroyed microphone antennas, hid microphones in glove compartments and removed batteries to keep their devices from functioning properly, according to a report from DNAinfo Chicago that relies on a review of more than 1,800 police maintenance logs. A previous report by the local news outlet found that 80% of police dashcams in the city did not record audio properly.

The investigation comes as officials continue to grapple with backlash over the death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald at the hands of police. The video shows officer Jason Van Dyke shooting and killing McDonald, but the audio is missing. Records uncovered by DNAinfo show that dashcam was scheduled to be repaired after intentional damage.

[DNAinfo]