Speaking of "Consequences," Garcetti Stands By LAPD Response to Ferguson Protests
LA Mayor Eric Garcetti signed off on the police response to days of unrest across LA following a Ferguson, Missouri, grand jury's decision not to indict a white officer in the shooting death of an unarmed black man.The Los Angeles Police Department has arrested hundreds for protesting the decision not to prosecute officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Michael Brown in August. Protesters have been mostly peaceful, but Garcetti took issue with a tactic to block freeways and major intersections.
NBC4

Sheriff-elect Jim McDonnell set to be sworn in Monday
After a decisive victory in the Nov. 4 race for Los Angeles County sheriff. Jim McDonnell is set to be sworn in Monday. The former Long Beach police chief will be sworn in during a 2 p.m. ceremony at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration downtown. He will replace interim-Sheriff John L. Scott.
Los Angeles Times

Charges Dropped Against Man Beaten Unconscious in Arrest
All charges have been dropped against a man who was allegedly beaten unconscious by Los Angeles police officers during his arrest last month. The attorney for 22-year-old Clinton Alford Jr. said Alford was face down, trying to surrender on October 16 when he was kicked in the head repeatedly. He was initially arrested on drug charges and for resisting arrest. The final charge was dropped on Friday.
ABC7

Ferguson lesson: Police can better calm situations
Departments around the country have in recent years stepped up their training in “de-escalation” — the art of defusing a tense situation with a word or a gesture instead of being confrontational or reaching for a weapon. Proponents, including the Justice Department, say the approach can improve trust and understanding between police and residents, curtail the unnecessary use of force and improve the safety of officers and civilians alike.
Los Angeles Daily News

Will Officer Wilson's Resignation Lead To End Of Ferguson-Related Protests In LA?
With Officer Darren Wilson's resignation from the Ferguson Police force in Missouri, LA civic and civil rights leaders are hoping the city has seen the last of divisive protests. LA has been embroiled — as have many large cities — in protest following a grand jury decision in Missouri not to charge Wilson with the murder of unarmed teen Michael Brown.
CBS2

LAPD shows a different side, protesters disrupt freeways, and struggling bookstores
There were no looting incidents, no fires, no serious injuries. But there were lots of arrests in Los Angeles during three days of protests following a Missouri grand jury's decision not to indict the white Ferguson police officer who killed black teenager Michael Brown.
Los Angeles Times

Too Drunk To Drive? Riverside Police Give Free Breathalyzers In ‘Know Your Limit' Program
In the “Know Your Limit” program, Riverside police are helping people understand how to stay within the legal blood-alcohol limit. Officers provided free breathalyzer tests to people who wanted to know if they were too drunk to drive.
CBS2

Pensions

Appellate court dismisses pension measure challenge
A California appellate court has dismissed a case that claimed language used to describe a pension ballot measure was biased. Sacramento's 3rd District Court of Appeal “dismissed as moot” former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed's appeal of a lower court ruling that Attorney General Kamala Harris accurately described Reed's ballot proposal to empower local governments to change pension benefits for current workers.
Sacramento Bee

Proposition 47 Consequences

L.A. City Atty. Feuer makes valid case for funding under Prop. 47
Proposition 47, adopted last month, turned six drug possession and low-level property felonies into misdemeanors, setting in motion some rejiggering of California's criminal justice system. Among the changes in Los Angeles is the transfer of caseloads among jurisdictions: Many crimes formerly prosecuted by county Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, who handles mostly felonies, will now go to City Atty. Mike Feuer, who deals mostly with misdemeanors.
Los Angeles Times

Prisons

California jails see surge in drug smuggling
Drug smuggling is up at many California county jails and one reason, sheriff's officials say, is that some parolees are getting arrested just so they can try to sneak narcotics behind bars. Sheriff's departments, which run county jails, report more illegal drugs in the three years since an overhaul of the state corrections system started sending lower-level felons to county lock-ups to reduce overcrowding in state prisons.
Los Angeles Daily News

Immigration

California Pushes To Expand Immigrant Health Care
Immigration groups and health care advocates in California to push for expanding health coverage to a segment of the population that remains uninsured. The president's action excludes immigrants who came to the country illegally from qualifying for federal health benefits. But California has its own policy of providing health coverage with state money to low-income immigrants with so-called “deferred action” that allow them to avoid deportation. Immigrant and health care advocates say that means Obama's executive order will enable hundreds of thousands of low-income immigrants in California to apply for Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid.
CBS Sacramento