Law Enforcement

Craig Lally on KABC-AM – 7/9/15
Craig Lally of LAPPL discusses surge in Los Angeles crime.
KABC-AM

LAPD: Man shot by police grabbed officer's Taser during struggle
Patrick Comiskey said he was walking his poodle, Louie, on their regular route through their Mid-Wilshire neighborhood Thursday morning when he saw two police officers struggling with a man. Comiskey, 54, said it appeared the officers — a man and a woman — were trying to put the man's hands behind his back to arrest him. He watched as the male officer reached behind his back for what Comiskey thought was a pair of handcuffs. Instead, he heard a gunshot. “It was point-blank,” Comiskey said. “All hell broke loose.”
Los Angeles Times

LAPD: Crime up 13 percent, reversing decade decline
Crime increased by 13 percent in Los Angeles the first six months of the year, ending more than a decade of declines in the nation's second-largest city, according to statistics released Wednesday. Aggravated assaults, which include domestic violence, saw the sharpest spike, jumping 26 percent, according to figures released by the Los Angeles Police Department. Rapes were up 8 percent and robberies nearly 17 percent. Only homicides saw a decrease — about 7 percent.
PoliceOne.com

Driver Charged in Hit-and-Run Death of Teen Skateboard Struck in Echo Park
A 26-year-old man appeared in court Thursday to face charges in the hit-and-run death of a teen skateboarder who was struck while crossing the street last month in Echo Park. Sang Won Jung has been charged with one count each of felony hit-and-run resulting in death or injury and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced.
KTLA 5

Man Charged in Wild, 2-Hour Police Pursuit
A 34-year-old convicted robber who led police on a wild two-hour pursuit in a minivan with sparks flying from a broken wheel before being shot by police last month faces charges in the case. Raul Martinez of Los Angeles was charged with injuring a spouse, fleeing a pursuing peace officer's motor vehicle while driving recklessly, resisting executive officer, and brandishing a replica gun. He was convicted of second-degree robbery in 2012, prosecutors said. During the chase, the suspect called 911 saying he had a gun in his lap and was suicidal, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release.
NBC Los Angeles

Sketch of Attacker Released in Beating of West Hollywood Man
Sheriff's deputies release a sketch Wednesday of one of three attackers wanted in the Memorial Day weekend beating of a West Hollywood man who remains hospitalized with head injuries. Kirk Doffing, 45, was assaulted while walking near Santa Monica and San Vicente boulevards about 9:10 p.m. on May 24, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department investigators said.
NBC Los Angeles

Ventura police official named to state 911 advisory panel
Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday appointed Ventura Assistant Police Chief David Wilson to the state's 911 Advisory Board. The 11-member board, housed in the state Office of Emergency Services, advises the state agency on such issues as technical and operational standards for the 911 system. Wilson, 48, has held several positions with the Ventura Police Department since joining the force in 1984. He is a member of the California Police Chiefs Association and the Association of Public Safety Communications officials.
Ventura County Star

City Government

Los Angeles mayor meets with Black Lives Matter activists over shooting
Activists with the Black Lives Matter movement on Thursday called on the Los Angeles mayor to fire the city's police chief over his handling of the shooting of an unarmed black man last year, members of the group said after a meeting with the mayor. But Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who has previously expressed confidence in Police Chief Charlie Beck, told the group he has trust in the chief, said Melina Abdullah of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Reuters

State Government

California Bill Would Protect People Who Record Police
California's Assembly is advancing legislation meant to protect residents from retribution for recording police. Lawmakers on Thursday approved SB411 on a 67-to-2 vote, sending it to Gov. Jerry Brown for his consideration. The bill by Democratic Sen. Ricardo Lara of Bell Gardens says recording or photographing police in public areas isn't enough to charge people with obstructing officers. Civil liberties advocates say the practice is already legal, but the bill makes it explicit.
CBS Los Angeles

California lags in checking whether dangerous people own guns
A program to determine whether potentially dangerous people own guns in violation of state law is plagued with delays that pose a “continued risk to public safety,” California's auditor reported Thursday. Auditor Elaine M. Howler said the Department of Justice, overseen by Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris, failed over 18 months to fully implement seven of eight recommendations auditors made in 2013 to reduce backlogs.
Los Angeles Times