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Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch
LA Police Protective League

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Los Angeles
Police Protective League
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the union that represents the
rank and file LAPD officers

  Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch

Daily News Digest
from LA Police Protective League

March 10, 2016

Law Enforcement

State high court confirms: Brown prison plan can gather signatures to qualify for November ballot
The California Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Gov. Jerry Brown can continue pursuing a plan to reduce the state's prison inmate population by releasing certain non-violent felons early while it considers a legal challenge. The high court's brief order means Brown's supporters can gather signatures to qualify a measure for the November ballot while the court decides whether the governor made improper, late additions to a proposed juvenile justice proposed proposition. A Sacramento County judge halted the qualifying process last month after the California District Attorneys Association filed a lawsuit challenging the late additions.
Associated Press

Police Find Tracking Device From Major Smash-And-Grab Jewelry Store Heist
Police confirm they have recovered a tracking device from a Wednesday afternoon smash-and-grab robbery at a jewelry store in Topanga. The device was recovered just before 8:30 p.m near Skirball Center, near the 405 Freeway, police said. Police confirmed there was a robbery at a jewelry store at the Topanga Mall just before 8 p.m. The suspects stole as many as 30 Rolex watches. Sky9's Stu Mundel says at least one of the watches (or the container) was equipped with a tracking device. KCAL9's Rachel Kim reported from the Topanga Mall. She said four suspects wearing hoodies and masks hit the Ben Bridge jewelry store. At least one of the men had a gun.
CBS 2

Report Criticizes Police Tactics in LAPD Shooting
The family of a wheelchair bound man wants to know why a police officer shot a man after he had stabbed himself during what was a cry for help -- and the LAPD police commission is reviewing the case again. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and the police commission said the shooting of 35-year-old Luis Martinez was within policy but criticized the officers tactics. The man's family said those are just some of the reasons Martinez did not have to die. Family members, including Martinez' wife, stood around his mother with his picture as she tearfully spoke about how much she misses her son.
NBC 4

Citizens board will advise LAPD about neighborhood issues
Residents will have a new role in helping the Wilshire Division fight crime with the newly formed Community Police Advisory Board (CPAB) comprised of neighborhood council and business representatives. The new board is scheduled to meet for the first time on March 17. The CPAB will have eight members representing the six neighborhood councils in the LAPD's Wilshire Division, as well as the Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce and the Melrose Business Improvement District. Commanding officer Capt. Howard Leslie said the CPAB will focus on crime issues in individual neighborhoods and members will serve as liaisons between the police department and residents. “Statistically, I can tell you where the crime is, but statistics don't always tell me about neighborhood problems. Sometimes there are issues residents know about that haven't been brought to our attention,” Leslie said.
Beverly Press

'Mutt and Jeff' Pair Sought in Motorcycle Theft Caught on Camera
A surveillance camera captured two men, described as a "Mutt and Jeff" pair, wanted for stealing a motorcycle from a San Fernando Valley parking structure. The short-and-tall pair and one other individual not seen on the video are sought in connection with the theft of a 1998 Honda Superhawk from the garage at Pine Tree Terrace Apartment in Reseda. Images show the men in the parking structure Feb. 27 at about the time the motorcycle was taken, according to police, who described the men as a "Mutt and Jeff" pair, referencing the newspaper comic strip created by Bud Fisher in 1907."While we don't know their names, they are a mismatched pair like Mutt and Jeff," said LAPD Det. Mark Pearce.
NBC 4

3 Arrested On Suspicion Of Luring Woman Into Human Trafficking Ring With Fake Birthday Party Invitation
Authorities have arrested three people they say began trafficking a Southland woman after fooling her into thinking she was going to a birthday party. Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives say the 20-year-old woman left her mother's home in the city of Paramount Feb. 26 for a birthday party for a longtime co-worker. The young woman got into a car with the co-worker and two men who detectives say dropped off the co-worker and then viciously assaulted the young woman. Two days later, deputies say the victim phoned her mother and said she was in Oakland. When her mother immediately questioned the unannounced trip and asked when she would return, the victim said she could not talk and hung up, according to Sheriff's Deputy Lillian Peck.
CBS 2

Detectives accuse man of posing as police officer to sexually assault three women
A 51-year-old man was charged Wednesday with posing as a police officer, threatening three women with a handgun and sexually assaulting them, San Bernardino County Sheriff's officials said. William Hernandez was taken into custody Monday during a traffic stop in Big Bear, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Hernandez is being held on $1 million bail. “This doesn't happen, and when it does it's scary and it's so egregious,” Det. James Marshall said. Hernandez faces nine felony rape-related counts as well as several charges for dissuading a witness from reporting the assaults that occurred in February and March, according to San Bernardino County Superior Court records.
Los Angeles Times

Cities ask Sacramento: Where are the savings from Prop 47?
About a year-and-a-half ago, California voters passed Proposition 47. It reduced to misdemeanors most drug possessions and property crimes of $950 or less and allowed some to petition for re-sentencing and release. It's been credited with reducing California's prison population by 4,700 people so far. The move followed state "realignment," a policy that which transferred thousands of offenders from state prisons to local jails and released many others in order to address California's overcrowded prisons, which were so bad that the federal government sanctioned the state. During the campaign, both the Legislative Analyst's Office and California's Department of Finance estimated that the savings from Prop 47 would near $100 million each year — but Gov. Brown's 2016-17 budget estimated Prop 47 savings at only $29.3 million. Today, city leaders from around the state are in Sacramento to ask where those proposed savings have gone.
89.3 KPCC

Rape kit reforms flood state legislatures
At least 20 states are pursuing reforms to the inconsistent ways rape kits are handled by law enforcement agencies after a USA TODAY NETWORK investigation last year revealed tens of thousands of rape evidence kits went untested nationwide. Legislatures have been flooded with a total of about 50 different bills in recent months — most introduced since the beginning of this year as lawmakers returned to statehouses for 2016 sessions — dealing with various aspects of how rape kits are handled by the criminal justice system. The proposals range including new funding for testing rape kits, audits of long-stored evidence and reducing the discretion police departments or officers have in deciding whether to submit rape evidence for testing by standardizing requirements, including setting time limits for submission to crime labs.
USA Today


City Government

Porter Ranch residents face an oily problem as they return home
Life seemed normal at the park in Porter Ranch on Tuesday, as women power walked the perimeter, parents pushed toddlers in swings, men counted off pull-ups on an exercise bar. But hours later, authorities closed the gates to Holleigh Bernson Memorial Park and strung yellow tape to keep the public away until Southern California Gas Co. crews could scrub away an oily residue found on playground equipment. Discovery of the residue was just one of many lingering effects of the largest natural gas leak in U.S. history. The gas company plugged the leaking well in Aliso Canyon three weeks ago, four months after it was reported, and many of the thousands of displaced families have moved back to this master-planned community.
Los Angeles Times


Homelessness

L.A. getting $84.2 million in homelessness funding from feds
The Los Angeles region was awarded $84.2 million in federal grants to provide housing assistance to thousands of homeless individuals, officials announced today. The lion's share of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant money will be directed toward 180 “renewal projects” in the city and county that will provide 9,347 residential units or beds, with the remaining $1.25 million set aside for planning, Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority officials said. The grants will go toward projects laid out in LAHSA's Continuum of Care program for tackling homelessness in Los Angeles. “These grants provide critical funding to house and support our homeless neighbors,” LAHSA Executive Director Peter Lynn said. He said the funding “is a strong vote of confidence by our federal partners in the strategic work Los Angeles has undertaken to end homelessness.”
Los Angeles Daily News

County report lays out options for tax measures to fund homelessness efforts
Los Angeles County analysts laid out five options Wednesday for raising money to pay for ongoing efforts to combat homelessness -- most of them involving voter-approved tax increases. The city and county adopted parallel plans last month to address the growing homelessness problem. The number of people sleeping on the streets, in cars and in makeshift encampments increased 12% countywide from 2013 to 2015, according to Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority surveys. The county set aside about $150 million to pay for its plan over the next two years, and the city is devoting about $30 million this year to homelessness programs. But officials on both sides have acknowledged that more and longer-term funding is needed to make a serious dent in the problem.
Los Angeles Times
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About the LAPPL Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents the more than 9,900 dedicated and professional sworn members of the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPPL serves to advance the interests of LAPD officers through legislative and legal advocacy, political action and education. The LAPPL can be found on the Web at:

www.LAPD.com


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