Law Enforcement

LAPD won't be playing around on Dodger opening day
With thousands of fans and their autos descending on Dodger Stadium for Friday's season opener, the LAPD is planning to deploy its own team of blue to keep things orderly in the ballpark and surrounding neighborhoods, where opening day can resemble a cross between Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street and a SigAlert on the 5. The LAPD is preparing to deploy a large contingent of officers on foot, car and bike.
The Eastsider LA

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck says he wants a second term
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck declared Thursday his interest in serving a second term as the city's top cop, saying he would be "more than proud" to serve should officials make the offer. Speaking at the LAPD's downtown headquarters, Beck told reporters he had conveyed that desire to Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Los Angeles Police Commission, who are about to begin an extensive review of the chief's performance to decide whether to offer him a second five-year term.
Los Angeles Times

Crime drop touted during Los Angeles police commission meeting in San Pedro
During a rare Los Angeles police commission meeting in San Pedro, police officials announced there has been a citywide drop in crime in the first quarter of the year. Statistics just released showed that homicides were down by 22 percent (51 so far) over the same time period in 2013, said Police Chief Charlie Beck , who attended the meeting with Capt. Gerald Woodyard, the new commander for LAPD's Harbor Division.
Torrance Daily Breeze

Man shot to death outside Chesterfield Square motel; gunman at large A 27-year-old man was killed in Chesterfield Square on Thursday morning in what police called a gang-related shooting. Ryan Black was standing in the walkway of a motel near West 55th Street and South Western Avenue about 8:05 a.m. when a gunman walked up and shot him, said Los Angeles police Det. Sal LaBarbera. No words were exchanged, and the gunman ran from the scene, LaBarbera said.
Los Angeles Times

Rave promoters are eyeing DTLA's Grand Park
The plans for a summer festival featuring Jay Z at downtown L.A.'s Grand Park include an electronic dance music component, or "techno area," and could open the doors to controversial raves, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a memo that argues against the Aug. 30 and 31 concert. The memo, obtained by the Weekly, says, "Allowing this event would set a precedent for other concerts."
LA Weekly

SJ police union disappointed with small recruiting class
Less than half of the available San Jose police academy spots have been filled - a number called 'disappointing' by the city's police union. Of the 60 spots in the incoming class only 29 were filled when the final pool of 58 applicants was processed by the hiring board on Tuesday night. Deputy Chief Dave Knopf told that in the past the department would get around 1300 applications to go through the written and physical tests for each class. For this class, the agency had just 750.
KTVU Oakland

Legislation

California bill would classify human trafficking as gang crime
State law enforcement officials say gangs have become more involved in human trafficking because people can be repeatedly sold for profit, unlike drugs and guns. "Essentially it's the use of human beings as objects and treating them as expendable commodities," says Ellyn Bell is with the Sage Project, an anti-trafficking group. "That's whether it's for labor or sex and that's highly disturbing." The legislature is considering a range of human trafficking bills from one that adds it to the serious felonies list, to another that would allow multiple human trafficking charges to be tried in one jurisdiction.
Capital Public Radio

Public Safety

Fire Department to force tenants to leave 'unsafe' South L.A. building
Dozens of tenants are being forced to vacate a South Los Angeles commercial building that was converted into now-shoddy apartments, amid complaints that the city should have acted sooner to enforce building codes and help residents relocate. In recent years, the building was converted into dozens of apartments, some of them windowless -- prompting a complaint to the city six months ago.
Los Angeles Times

Courts

Obama taps L.A.'s top federal prosecutor for district court bench
André Birotte Jr., the chief federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, has been nominated by President Obama to serve as a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the White House announced Thursday. Birotte, who has served as the U.S. attorney overseeing the nation's second-largest office since 2010, is a former Los Angeles County deputy public defender who also acted as the Los Angeles Police Department's inspector general for six years.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Marcie Edwards, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power chief, outlines goals
Confronted with controversies over its new billing system and an ongoing dispute over two trusts it funds, the new general manager of the Department of Water and Power said Wednesday her main task is to re-establish customer confidence in the utility.
Los Angeles Daily News