Law Enforcement

LAPD teaches educators that 'Seconds Count' in school shooting scenario
With the one-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy looming, the LAPD trained local educators Thursday on how to respond to an active shooter on campus. During the daylong "Seconds Count" drill at New Community Jewish High in West Hills, about 50 private-school principals and leaders from Los Angeles' Jewish community learned methods for anticipating and preventing a crisis and training their staffs to respond should one occur.
Los Angeles Daily News

FBI: Active shooting incidents triple in recent years
According to the FBI, there is a disturbing rise in the number of "active shooter" incidents across America. The FBI is basing its conclusion on data collected by a Texas State University researcher that was exclusively obtained by Scripps News. The data shows the number of active shooter events in the U.S. has tripled in recent years. This year, recent high profile active shooting incidents include an attack at the Los Angeles International Airport where a gunman killed a Transportation Security Administration officer and wounded two other agents.
Scripps News

LAPD helps children "one pair of shoes at a time" for Christmas
Underprivileged children will be given the gift of new shoes for the holidays thanks to the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPD's Olympic Area Station is holding a holiday shoe drive Thursday to help children who are homeless or in need. Officers have already collected 1,200 pairs of new shoes as part of "Operation Shoes from Santa." Anyone who attends the event can meet the families receiving the gifts to hear their personal stories.
NBC4

2 LAPD officers arrested for alleged workers' compensation fraud
Two veteran Los Angeles Police Department officers were arrested today after an investigation by the department's Workers' Compensation Fraud Unit. Investigators working with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office determined that the officers had provided false testimony during depositions related to their industrial injury claims. One of the police officers who was arrested was Jonathan Hall, a 19-year- old veteran last assigned to the Emergency Services Division.
City News Service

LAPD identifies 'green-eyed shooter' in fatal road-rage incident
Authorities on Thursday identified a 24-year-old alleged gang member as the "green-eyed shooter" in a car-to-car road rage incident near the 5 Freeway in Arleta in July. Luis Alberto Gutierrez Jr. is accused of shooting Richard Ruiz, Los Angeles police said. Witnesses who were in the red Kia that Ruiz was driving recalled seeing the gunman's "striking" green eyes during the attack, according to police. Gutierrez was driving a gray Dodge Challenger when he overtook and fired into the Kia, according to an LAPD news release Thursday.
Los Angeles Times

Police investigate fatal shooting in Watts Los Angeles police are investigating the fatal shooting of a victim believed to be a teenage boy Thursday morning in Watts. They responded about 8:45 a.m. to a fatal gunshot victim in the 9700 block of Antwerp Street in Watts, where they found a male suffering from a bullet wound, said LAPD Sgt. Joe Fleming. The victim, preliminarily identified as a 16-year-old, was taken to a hospital, where he died. His name has not been released, as family members have yet to be notified. Detectives were looking into the circumstances of the shooting, said LAPD Det. Deana Stark.
Los Angeles Times

Reward for 7-year-old boy's killer increased To $75K
The reward for information leading to the conviction of the killer of a 7-year-old boy in the Mid-City area was increased Wednesday from $50,000 to $75,000. Taalib Pecantte was fatally wounded in a car-to-car shooting in the 1900 block of South Corning Street in the Mid-City area on Dec. 2. Because his mother, Sawan Mock, was also shot in the attack, the crime qualifies for the $75,000 reward, which was unanimously approved by the Los Angeles City Council Wednesday.
CBS LA

Pensions

Labor relations officer sides with L.A. on employee pension cuts
A Los Angeles employee relations official delivered a stinging defeat to city labor leaders on Thursday, saying they failed to meet a procedural deadline for challenging a rollback in public employee pension benefits last year. In a 23-page report, Hearing Officer Luella Nelson recommended that the Employee Relations Board, a five-member panel that decides labor disputes at City Hall, dismiss a challenge to the City Council's decision to cut pension pay for employees hired after July 1.
Los Angeles Times

Jails

County may lose out on $80 million in state funding for women's jail
California officials appear poised to deny Los Angeles County's request for $80 million to go toward a facility for female inmates at a proposed women's jail in Lancaster. The county is considering building a 1,600-bed women's jail at Mira Loma Detention Center, using $100 million in state money that was awarded in 2012, and another $80 million sought from the Board of State and Community Corrections.
Los Angeles Times

Public Safety

In turnabout, LAFD will release 911 call records and return to Twitter
In a rapid reversal, the Los Angeles Fire Department announced Thursday it would resume publishing details about the department's response to life-and-death emergencies via social media and again release 911 audio recordings and database records that capture its performance. The action came just hours after the LAFD said it would be rolling back public disclosure. Earlier in the day, fire officials had announced that the department would put its social media accounts on "hiatus" and halt releasing records that show how long it takes rescuers to respond to calls for help.
Los Angeles Times

State Population

California population sees biggest growth since 2004, state estimates
California's population grew by 332,000 between July 2012 and July 2013 -- the largest yearly increase in nearly a decade, according to estimates released Thursday by the California Department of Finance. Most of the growth was "natural increase" -- births minus deaths -- rather than more people pouring into California from elsewhere, the data indicate. Nearly 170,000 people came to California from other countries, but nearly 103,000 left for other parts of the United States during the same period, according to the new estimates.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

L.A.'s Eric Garcetti in D.C. as President Obama meets with new mayors
Mayor Eric Garcetti, in his second official trip to Washington, D.C., will meet with President Obama and a group of newly elected mayors Friday. The White House issued a statement saying the president wanted to meet with the mayors to discuss ways in which he can partner with them on job creation and helping the middle class. "This meeting builds on the unprecedented effort of the administration to partner with mayors working to implement policies that lead to high-paying, high-skill jobs in their communities," the statement said.
Los Angeles Daily News