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Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch
LA Police Protective League

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Los Angeles
Police Protective League

the union that represents the
rank and file LAPD officers

  Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch

Daily News Digest
from LA Police Protective League

March 12, 2014

Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Shadow Hills, Koreatown, 5 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in seven L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Five neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Shadow Hills was the most unusual, recording three reports compared with a weekly average of 0.4 over the last three months.
Los Angeles Times


DEA, LAPD raid marijuana dispensaries, Beverly Hills homes
Drug enforcement agents raided and shut down several marijuana dispensaries Tuesday, the first move in what authorities say is a case they are building against a Los Angeles man. About 11 a.m., agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration with the help of Los Angeles police raided the Black Rose dispensary in Fairfax, Downtown Medical Caregivers off Main Street, Washington and Western Medical Group in Harvard Heights, Herbman in Exposition Park and two homes in Beverly Hills.
Los Angeles Times


Griffith Park body parts: Suspect faces extradition hearing in Texas
A man accused of killing his boyfriend and dumping his severed head, hands and feet below the Hollywood sign two years ago was being held in Texas with bail set at $1 million, pending an extradition hearing. Gabriel Campos-Martinez, 36, faces a single count of murder in the 2012 death of his partner, Hervey Medellin, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said. Campos-Martinez was arrested by LAPD's elite robbery-homicide detectives Sunday in San Antonio, Texas.
Los Angeles Times


Officials report positive reviews of LAPD's on-body cameras
Two months into a trial of on-body cameras for Los Angeles Police Department officers, the devices have earned mostly positive feedback, officials said Tuesday. Department officials overseeing the pilot program told the Los Angeles Police Commission, the department's civilian oversight board, that the roughly 30 officers who volunteered to test the cameras in the field have reported few problems. They are actually embracing the small devices, which have been touted as a way to reduce complaints against the department. The word of mouth has prompted additional officers to request to test the new gadget.
Los Angeles Daily News


City, police announce new campaign to crack down on illegal medical pot dispensaries
Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer and police Chief Charlie Beck announced Monday a campaign to help property owners and real estate agents comply with Proposition D, a measure regulating medical marijuana dispensaries. Proposition D, approved in May 2013, bans all but about 100 medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles. Feuer's office will be distributing brochures to real estate brokers to make sure they, as well as property owners and businesses, are "fully apprised of their responsibilities."
Echo Park - Silverlake Patch


Legislation

California legislature hears arguments on controversial Massage Therapy Law
City representatives, law enforcement officials and massage industry professionals testified before the state legislature Monday in the process to develop a solution to a state massage therapy law that will sunset next year. City governments and police departments from San Gabriel to San Francisco argued that the state law, passed in 2009, has led to an increase in massage establishments in their cities, many of which are fronts for prostitution and human trafficking.
Pasadena Star-News


Driverless Cars

California studies driverless car rules amid Google, Tesla development
Sooner or later, consumers will be able to buy cars that rely on computers -- not the owner -- to do the driving. With that in mind, the California Department of Motor Vehicles held an initial public hearing Tuesday as it puzzles through how to regulate the public's use of the technology that is still being tested. Once the stuff of science fiction, driverless cars could be commercially available by decade's end.
Associated Press


Prisons

A reprieve in the prison overcrowding drama
The stakes were high. California was under a court order to shed at least 7,000 more inmates, beginning in April, to relieve prison overcrowding. Gov. Brown appealed for more time to deal with the prison crisis. Recently, a three-judge panel granted a rare reprieve, extending the deadline to February 2016 to reduce the state prison population from 144 percent of capacity to 137.5 percent.
LAPPL Blog


City Government

Garcetti says 'mandate' to reform DWP goes beyond recent billing woes
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Tuesday that he was bent on writing "a new chapter" for the Department of Water and Power with the help of its new leader Marcie Edwards -- a task that goes beyond cleaning up its woebegone billing system, he argued. In electing him mayor, "Los Angeles voters really gave me a mandate to reform the DWP," Garcetti told a roomful of business leaders and reporters Tuesday.
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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