The Los Angeles Police Commission Tuesday adopted guidelines for the department as it moves toward equipping hundreds of officers with body cameras, but civil liberty groups cite flaws in the new policy.

Damian Dovarganes / AP A Los Angeles Police officer wears an on-body camera during a demonstration for media in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Police Department moved closer Tuesday to becoming the nation's largest law enforcement agency to deploy body cameras, adopting a set of guidelines for officers to follow. But the American Civil Liberties Union cited deep concerns with some of the adopted policies, including allowing officers to review body camera footage before writing reports, and barring footage from being publicly released.

The Los Angeles Police Foundation agreed to pay for the department to deploy 800 body cameras, and the city's proposed budget for 2015-16 includes funding for about 4,500 cameras on the streets. They include rules as to when the cameras must be turned on, when officers can opt to keep them off, training, and bans officers from modifying the video.

"But the proposed policy will likely do more harm than good, fueling suspicion that cameras are being used solely to benefit officers."

"If implemented property, (body cameras) could build trust between police and the public," said Hector Villagra, executive director of the ACLU in a statement to BuzzFeed News. "But the proposed policy will likely do more harm than good, fueling suspicion that cameras are being used solely to benefit officers."

Amongst its chief concerns is allowing officers to view the video before writing reports, including in incidents that involve use of force. "This is a critical flaw that seriously undercuts the accountability and investigative accuracy that body worn video should advance," read a letter from Peter Bibring, an attorney with the ACLU, to the police commission. "Not only is this a poor investigative practice, but such one-sided policy of allowing officers, but not members of the public, to see video before being interviewed will undercut the legitimacy of any investigation for which video is involved." The ACLU also criticized the policy for barring video camera footage from being released, or "leaked" to the public.

Nick Ut / AP Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck.