Law Enforcement

Mother of toddlers found wandering in South L.A. is arrested
The mother of two toddlers found wandering a busy South Los Angeles street earlier this week was arrested and booked on suspicion of child abuse Wednesday afternoon, police said. Sidnicka Wilson, 32, was arrested near Western Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard about 1:30 p.m. after a citizen flagged down two officers and directed them to a vehicle she was inside, LAPD officials said. The brothers, ages 2 and 3, were first spotted inside a liquor store at Stanford and Manchester avenues Monday morning trying to get a loaf of bread. A good Samaritan grabbed them before they walked into traffic.
Los Angeles Times

Police investigate fatal shooting of man found in Tujunga apartment
Homicide detectives are investigating the shooting death of a 60-year-old man found inside his Tujunga apartment Tuesday, three days after he had been shot. The body was discovered about 4 p.m. at his foothill home in the 10400 block of Plainview Avenue, said Los Angeles police Sgt. Thomas Wunsch. Officers discovered his body during a welfare check.
Los Angeles Times

West Los Angeles hit by string of residential burglaries
Los Angeles' Westside has been hit with a series of residential burglaries, senior lead Officer Christopher Ragsdale of the Los Angeles Police Department's West Los Angeles Division said Wednesday. Suspects typically knock on the door or ring the doorbell to see if anyone is home. If there is no answer, the suspects go into the home through the side or rear by smashing windows or door glass, Ragsdale said.
City News Service

LAPD long-time policy denies media access to booking photos of suspects charged with felonies
Hispanic News Network U.S.A. has learned that the Los Angeles Police Department has a policy that denies media requests for mugshots of those suspects charged with a felony crime, unless they are looking for more victims, according to Andrew Smith, the LAPD Commander of Media Relations and Community Affairs. Also, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will not release a mugshot of a suspect charged with a felony unless the arresting agency approves the release of the mugshot or booking photo.
Hispanic News Network

Police reach out to multiple arrestees with hand-delivered letters
LAPD officers armed with letters are knocking on doors and delivering notices to repeat offenders in part of the San Fernando Valley. The letterhead includes the names of Mayor Eric Garcetti and Police Chief Charlie Beck. They're addressed to 120 men and women, so-called "multiple arrestees," described as those living in the LAPD's Mission Station area who were arrested more than once last year.
CBS LA

'Skid Row Ricky' sells beer outside rehab centers, but not if Officer Deon Joseph can stop him
"Skid Row Ricky" has his system down: He sets up shop outside rehab centers and sells beers to homeless people for $2 a tall boy. Some 100 Skid Row residents, many in recovery programs, petitioned for Wesco's removal. This is according to LAPD Officer Deon Joseph, the most visible and popular cop on Skid Row, who has spent years trying to rid the area of 49-year-old Recondal "Ricky" Wesco.
LA Weekly

Guns

Facebook, Instagram impose new rules on gun sales
Social media have quickly become an unlikely "21st century black market" for arranging gun sales - and Facebook responded to that unpleasant reality Wednesday by announcing rules to crack down on illegal firearms sales. But many observers fear that the company's efforts - including deleting some illicit posts and warning people to obey the law on Facebook and its Instagram subsidiary - will have little impact on the burgeoning online exchange.
Contra Costa Times

Traffic

Study: Los Angeles worst city for traffic
The good news is drivers in the L.A.-region spend less time in traffic than four years ago. The bad news is the region still leads the nation in average hours spent sitting in traffic congestion. Local commuters saw a slight increase in the number of hours they spent in traffic last year, according to a study that named the city the worst in the country for traffic congestion for the second year in a row.
Long Beach Press-Telegram

Van Nuys, Roscoe boulevard intersection in Panorama City the most dangerous in Los Angeles
The most dangerous intersection for drivers in Los Angeles so far this year is at Van Nuys and Roscoe boulevards in Panorama City, Police Chief Charlie Beck said Tuesday. The busy crossing has been the site of 12 collisions in the first two months of the year, Beck said during his weekly crime report to the civilian oversight Police Commission.
Los Angeles Daily News

City Government

Los Angeles panel to gauge concern over LAPD surveillance programs
A Los Angeles city commission is planning a wide-ranging series of forums to examine both the impact of police surveillance programs in local communities and allegations of continued ethnic profiling within those programs, officials said Wednesday. Members of the city's Human Relations Commission responded to calls from local activist groups to recommend changes to the LAPD's controversial anti-terrorism program known as Suspicious Activity Reporting, as well as their general unease over the agency's intelligence-gathering methods.
Los Angeles Daily News

L.A. deputy city attorneys accept three-year pact with no raises
Los Angeles City Council members Wednesday approved a new contract with the union representing deputy city attorneys that gives no pay raises through 2016 and requires a bigger contribution toward healthcare costs. Under the three-year pact, approved 10-0, deputy city attorneys will for the first time pay a portion of healthcare premiums, about 10%, and also pay more toward the cost of retiree healthcare.
Los Angele Times