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| NEWS of the Week |
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EDITOR'S NOTE: The following group of articles is but a small percentage of the info available to the community policing and neighborhood activist. It is by no means meant to cover every possible issue of interest, nor is it meant to convey any particular point of view.
We present this simply as a convenience to our readership.
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MJ Goyings
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Many thanks to our very own "MJ" Goyings, a resident of Ohio,
for her daily research that provides us with the news related material that appears on the LACP & NAASCA web sites. |
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Law Enforcement News
Calif. Cop Hospitalized After Hammer Attack
An El Cajon police officer was briefly hospitalized Wednesday after being struck in the head with a hammer by a man suspected of trying to rob an armored vehicle and smashing up a fast food restaurant, police said. The incident happened near the Jack in the Box on Main Street near El Cajon Boulevard about 11:20 a.m., El Cajon police Lt. Royal Bates said. It ended with the arrest of 30-year-old Robert Dille on suspicion of attempted robbery and attempted homicide on a peace officer.
The San Diego Union-Tribune |
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NYPD Union Pushes For Changes To Keep Cop Killers Behind Bars
Flanked by dozens who lost loved ones in the line of duty, the NYPD Patrolmen's Benevolent Association called on the state to revise parole guidelines so those convicted of killing officers are no longer eligible to leave prison. PBA president Pat Lynch said Tuesday that the current framework used by the parole board does not put as much weight on what crime an applicant committed, which the PBA argues will provide those convicted of killing on-duty officers a better shot at making parole. Lynch said prisons currently house 59 convicted cop killers who were sentenced when life without parole and the death penalty were not options for judges, which means they may one day be eligible for parole. Lynch highlighted the case of Salvatore DeSarno, who was convicted of killing Officer Cecil Sledge in 1980, and will be up for parole next month. The union leader said it was appalling that DeSarno could be released into the public.
amNewYork, New York |
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Former LEO Dies Of Complications From 07 On-Duty Injury
A former police officer died from complications from gunshots wounds he suffered on the job 11 years ago. According to ODMP, Investigator Tim Cole, 61, passed away on August 4 after years of deteriorating health. Cole was shot in June 2007 while serving a high-risk warrant and suffered a spinal injury, leaving him paraplegic. The officer is survived by his wife and three kids, according to the report.
PoliceOne |
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LAPD Releases Surveillance Video Of South Los Angeles Taco Truck Robbery Amid Search For 3 Assailants
Los Angeles police on Thursday released surveillance video of a taco truck being robbed at gunpoint in South L.A. last month as they seek to identify the three perpetrators seen in the footage. The food truck was parked in the 1300 block of West Manchester Avenue in the overnight hours of July 14 when the three men entered and demanded money from the workers, according to a Los Angeles Police Department news release. They forced the two employees to the ground and attempted to gain access to the safe. But when they were unable to open it, the armed men turned their attention back to the workers, demanding their personal property, including cellphones and cash, police said.
KTLA 5 |
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Missing Man Last Seen In Van Nuys May Be Headed To MacArthur Park Area
A 21-year-old man with epilepsy who was last seen in Van Nuys was being sought Thursday. Elioth Stiven Gomez Vargas was last seen about noon Monday near the 14400 block of Oxnard Street, near Van Nuys Boulevard in the Van Nuys area, possibly on a bus to the area of MacArthur Park in the Westlake district, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Vargas is Hispanic, 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs about 180 pounds and has brown hair and eyes. Anyone with information regarding Vargas' whereabouts was urged to call the watch commander at the LAPD's North Hollywood Station at (818) 754-8301.
Los Angeles Daily News |
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LAPD To Probe Pit Bull Abuse In South Los Angeles
A local rescue group is calling for an investigation into animal cruelty after coming to the aid of a dying female pit bull dumped in a South Los Angeles neighborhood following a suspected sexual assault, it was reported Friday. Members of Ghetto Rescue a nonprofit animal rescue group based in Anaheim Hills were alerted Monday evening by a resident in the 100 block of West 85th Street in Florence that a gray and white pit bull had been dumped from a small, dark-colored car by two men, according to a Facebook post, the Orange County Register reported.
MyNewsLA.com |
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Amber Alert Canceled After Non-Custodial Father Takes Infant Son From Arleta Home, Police Say
An Amber Alert was canceled early Friday morning after an 18-month-old boy who had been abducted in Arleta by his non-custodial father was found safe, police said. According to Los Angeles police, John Jose took his son Jaden from a home in Arleta's 9500 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard around 3:30 p.m. Thursday without consent from the boy's biological mother. Jose allegedly threatened to take the boy out of state. "John also threatened to kill himself," the LAPD said in a statement. Authorities issued an Amber Alert shortly before 11:30 p.m. The child was found unharmed about 1:15 a.m. in Chula Vista with his father and other family members, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson said, adding that information from a relative led authorities to the location.
ABC 7 |
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Border Officials Seize $870K Worth Of Heroin From 81-Year-Old Woman: CBP
Authorities arrested an 81-year-old woman after seizing hundreds of thousands worth of heroin at the San Diego-Tijuana border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced on Thursday. The agency said a K-9 directed officers to the vehicle driven by the woman, whose name was not released, at around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The officers then inspected the 2011 Chrysler 200 and discovered 34 wrapped packages of heroin in the car's rocker panels, according to CBP. The 92 pounds of heroin were estimated to be worth more than $870,000, the agency said. Border Protection seized the vehicle and turned the driver over to the Department of Homeland Security, authorities said.
KTLA 5 |
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San Jose PD Enters Force Bill Discussion With Lawmaker Training Day
As a bill to tighten standards for deadly police force winds its way through the state Legislature, the San Jose Police Department is wading into the charged political waters by hosting a school day for lawmakers. Call it a training day, if you will. Police brass, led by Chief Eddie Garcia, has extended invitations to much of the Bay Area's contingent of state senators and Assembly members to visit the department in the coming weeks and sit in on for a classroom crash course on use-of-force policies and training. That would be followed with time in a video training simulator that immerses users in the kind of potentially violent conflicts where police force typically occurs, and then closed-door, face-to-face time with an array of local police chiefs to talk about the bill in question, AB 931.
Mercury News |
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Public Safety News
Third Firefighter Killed While Responding To Carr Fire Near Redding
The death toll in what was already the most lethal year for firefighters in California since 2008 increased to five Thursday, when a heavy equipment mechanic was killed after falling asleep at the wheel on his way to the fire lines near Redding, a family member told The Chronicle. Andrew Brake, 40, of Chico died in a single-car crash on his way to work on the Carr Fire, which had already claimed the lives of two firefighters and five other people, including a woman and her two great-grandchildren, and a PG&E lineman, who died trying to restore power to the area.
San Francisco Chronicle |
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Holy Fire Suspect Refuses To Leave Jail Cell For First Court Appearance, Faces 6 Felonies
Forrest Gordon Clark sat in a jail cell Thursday morning, and refused to leave. He was scheduled to appear at an arraignment, during which he would hear criminal charges against him six felony counts, including arson and making criminal threats in connection with the Holy fire that has raged through Orange and Riverside counties this week. But Clark, 51, refused to budge. Instead, an Orange County Superior Court commissioner postponed his appearance until Friday. Clark, who owns a cabin in the Holy Jim community of the Cleveland National Forest, is suspected of starting the blaze Monday that by Thursday had scorched nearly 10,000 acres.
Los Angeles Daily News |
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Gov. Jerry Brown Issues Executive Order Expediting Response To California's Devastating Fires
Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order Thursday to expedite recovery efforts in areas hardest hit by California's wildfires. Assisting fire-ravaged communities in Lake, Siskiyou, Shasta, Mendocino and Napa counties, the order suspends regulations on clearing fire-related debris and eliminates limits on the number of hours emergency personnel can work. More than 13,000 firefighters are battling blazes across the state. The order also suspends planning and zoning requirements and waives state fees for manufactured homes and mobile home parks, extends a state ban on price gouging during emergencies, and allows accelerated hiring of additional personnel for emergency and recovery operations.
Los Angeles Times |
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Local Government News
Fed-Up Locals Are Setting Electric Scooters On Fire, Smearing Them With Poop And Burying Them At Sea
They've been crammed into toilets, tossed off balconies and set on fire. They've even been adorned with dangling bags of dog droppings. As cities from Santa Monica to Beverly Hills struggle to control a rapid proliferation of electric pay-per-mile scooters, some residents are taking matters into their own hands and waging a guerrilla war against the devices. These vandals are destroying or desecrating the vehicles in disturbingly imaginative ways, and celebrating their illegal deeds on social media in full view of authorities and the public.
Los Angeles Times |
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Law Enforcement News
Police: Gunman Ambushes 2 New Jersey LEOs Sitting In Vehicle
A gunman opened fire on two New Jersey police officers while they were sitting in their vehicle at a red light Tuesday night, wounding them in what authorities are calling an ambush attack. At least one suspect opened fire on the plainclothes detectives in Camden, which is located just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, said Camden County Police Chief J. Scott Thomson. "The information we have thus far is that they were essentially ambushed," Thomson told reporters at a late night news conference. "A male walked up and began opening fire. We have anywhere between 10 and 25 rounds that were fired at the officers."
Associated Press |
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Georgia Sheriff's Major Hit, Loses Leg In High-Speed Pursuit
A man and woman being chased by several law enforcement agencies hit and injured Dade County Sheriff's Office Major Tommy Bradford this afternoon. Dade County Emergency Services Director Alex Case said Bradford lay down a spike strip on U.S. Highway 11 South and Cedar Lane, near the county's soccer fields. Passing through, the driver hit Bradford on the side of the road. Case said Bradford lost his left leg below the knee. A response team treated him at the scene, before he was airlifted to Erlanger Health Center. "He talked to us," Case told the Times Free Press. "He knew who we were. Now, he's in God's hands with the doctors. His wife's up there. The sheriff's up there. All his family is up there at Erlanger."
Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn. |
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20 Arrested In FBI Raids On Sinaloa Cartel Drug Smuggling Ring In Los Angeles, Other Southern California Cities
Capping a three-year investigation, authorities in Los Angeles County Wednesday arrested 20 people indicted for allegedly smuggling large amounts of drugs into the United States from Mexico on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel. Those arrested Wednesday morning by members of the Los Angeles Strike Force were among 57 defendants named in three indictments that were unsealed Wednesday morning, said Paul Delacourt, assistant director in charge of the FBI in Los Angeles. This morning, some 250 agents, officers and deputies from multiple law enforcement agencies executed 30 arrest warrants and five search warrants across Los Angeles County, Delacourt said Wednesday.
Los Angeles Daily News |
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Boyle Heights Shooting Leaves 1 Man Dead
An 18-year-old man died after being shot in Boyle Heights on Wednesday afternoon. The shooting occurred shortly after 12 p.m. at the corner of 1st Street and State Street. The victim's grandparents reportedly believe he was part of Homeboy Industries, a program that helps former gang members and convicts turn around their lives. Investigators have yet to provide a suspect description or possible motive.
ABC 7 |
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Man Killed In LAPD Officer-Involved Shooting Was Murder Suspect From Perris
Authorities on Wednesday identified a murder suspect who was killed in an officer-involved shooting in South Los Angeles that left an FBI agent wounded. Daniel Valdez, 70, of the Riverside County community of Perris, died at the scene of the shooting, which occurred about 11 a.m. Tuesday in the parking lot of a motel near 41st Street and Central Avenue. LAPD officers and an FBI agent assigned to a gang and drug task force had gone to the Central Inn while investigating a July 31 fatal shooting in South Los Angeles when they came upon the suspect, who was armed, said Detective Meghan Aguilar of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Los Angeles Daily News |
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Authorities Offer $50,000 Reward For Info In Baldwin Hills Car-to-Car Shooting That Killed Driver, Pedestrian And Injured Bicyclist
Authorities are offering a $50,000 reward for information about a car-to-car shooting in Baldwin Hills that killed a driver and a pedestrian and injured a bicyclist earlier this week. The incident occurred about 8:30 p.m. Monday in the 4800 block of West Rodeo Road. Police saw a person in a car shoot at another driver and officers began chasing the suspect, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The driver who was struck, Harrison Francis Kristol, 20, subsequently ran over a pedestrian and both victims died. The pedestrian has not been identified, but police said he was also a man in his 20s.
KTLA 5 |
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Man Arrested On Suspicion Of Sexually Assaulting Children In Sylmar
Authorities Wednesday urged other possible victims of a man charged with sexually assaulting three children at a dollar store in Sylmar where he worked to contact detectives. Enrique Ramirez, 60, was arrested July 26 and booked on suspicion of sexual assault involving children under 12 years old, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. Police said Ramirez, who's being held on $1.8 million bail, worked at the American Dollar Plus store at 12737 Glenoaks Blvd., where the crimes allegedly occurred.
NBC 4 |
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Suspicious Device Dropped Off At LAPD Devonshire Station
A bomb squad was called out to a Los Angeles police station after someone dropped off what police say was a suspicious device. The device was reported just before 1:30 p.m. at the department's Devonshire Station on the 10200 block of Etiwanda Avenue, according to LAPD Officer Rosario Herrera. While there was no threat to the public, the police station was closed and a bomb squad was called to the scene, authorities said. Streets surrounding the station were closed during the investigation. The station reopened around 4 p.m. after the package was determined to be some kind of firework, police said.
CBS 2 |
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Los Angeles Communities Keep Cool And Celebrate National Night Out
The 35th National Night Out kicked off Tuesday with more than 35 million people gathering in about 16,000 communities all over the country to celebrate unity and success in fighting crime. Families went out and spent the evening with their local law enforcement, playing games, having fun and learning how to be safe. National Night Out generates community support of local anti-crime efforts and heightens awareness of crime and drug prevention.
ABC 7 Video |
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Chicago Deploys 430 To 600 Additional Officers To Violence-Plagued Neighborhoods
After the most violent weekend in Chicago in more than two years, Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson announced Tuesday afternoon that several hundred additional officers have been deployed to neighborhoods most wracked by the shooting. At his second news conference in as many days, Johnson said 430 officers have been added to patrols in five of the hardest-hit districts on the West and South sides. Those numbers will increase to 600 by the weekend, he said. Flanked by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, various elected officials, clergymen and other police brass, Johnson said the added manpower has been deployed to three West Side districts Ogden, Harrison and Austin and the Calumet and Gresham districts on the South Side.
Officer.com |
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Public Safety News
Man Arrested On Arson In Growing Holy Fire, More Evacuations Issued
A man has been arrested in connection with the Holy Fire burning in the Cleveland National Forest southwest of Corona, which grew overnight Tuesday, as weary firefighters take on another day of scorching hot temperatures and low humidity. By Wednesday afternoon, the Holy Fire had grown to 6,200 acres from Holy Jim Canyon to the canyons above Lake Elsinore and was only 5 percent contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service. At least 12 structures have been destroyed. On Tuesday night, a 51-year-old man who lives in a cabin in Holy Jim Canyon was arrested in connection with the fire.
CBS 2 |
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Largest Wildfire In CA History Expected To Be Contained In September
California's biggest-ever wildfire grew to 10 times the size of San Francisco on Wednesday, as the Mendocino Complex sent clouds of cough-inducing smoke across the Bay Area and forced officials to admit the conflagration might not be contained until September. The massive inferno has burned more than 300,000 acres or 469 square miles in Lake, Mendocino and Colusa counties near Clear Lake, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. The record-setting wildfire, which is technically two separate blazes, is 47 percent contained and not expected to be under control until Sept. 1.
SF Gate |
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Local Government News
NoHo West Developers Want LA To Ease Standards On Digital Billboards
Developers of a project to redevelop the Laurel Plaza site in North Hollywood are asking Los Angeles city planners to allow them to make their proposed billboards more visible once the site is revamped. San Francisco-based developer Merlone Geier Partners is proposing to install three digital signs at its NoHo West development, two of which would be facing the 170 Freeway, close to the 24-acre site, near Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Developers are also requesting to modify the refresh rate the rate at which the image on a digital sign changes from 1 minute to 8 seconds and to extend their hours of operation.
Los Angeles Daily News |
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L.A. City Council Committee Wants To Lower Speed Of Electric Scooters
A Los Angeles City Council committee refined some proposed regulations for dockless electric scooters Wednesday, recommending that their top speed be capped at 12 mph while also creating a conditional use permit system for them and other emerging mobility devices. The Transportation Committee had previously approved a set of regulations for the electric scooter industry in June, but brought them back to make further revisions.
NBC 4 |
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Law Enforcement News
Slaying Suspect Is Killed And FBI Agent Is Wounded After Gunfire Erupts In South L.A.
A suspect in a slaying was killed and an FBI agent was wounded after an exchange of gunfire during an attempted arrest in South Los Angeles on Tuesday morning, police said. The suspect, a man in his 70s, was fatally shot by Los Angeles police officers in the parking lot of the Central Inn Motel in the 4000 block of South Central Avenue about 11 a.m., according to Det. Meghan Aguilar, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. Aguilar said preliminary interviews with witnesses revealed that the suspect had a handgun and opened fire on law enforcement officers when they sought to arrest him. Aguilar said the officers immediately returned fire. A weapon was recovered at the scene next to the suspect's body, but it has yet to be examined, she said. FBI Special Agent Scott Garriola, who oversees the FBI's hunt for dangerous fugitives in the L.A. region, commended his agent's bravery, explaining the agent was hit in the hand by shrapnel when shots were fired.
Los Angeles Daily News |
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CSUN Student Charged With Rape, Assault On 3 Women
A Cal State Northridge student has been charged with attacking and sexually assaulting three women this year. Davis Moreno-Jaime was in court Tuesday, charged on felony counts of forcible rape and false imprisonment by violence, in addition to one misdemeanor count each of sexual battery and battery. The 19-year-old CSUN soccer player was arrested last week on suspicion of multiple sexual assaults dating back to April 2017. The most recent claims against him allege he raped a woman between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31. A woman is alleged to have been sexually battered and falsely imprisoned by Moreno-Jaime between July 4 and July 5.
CBS 2 |
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LAPD: Most Citations For Homeless Become Warrants That Are Never Resolved
When Los Angeles police dole out fines for homeless people committing low-level offenses like sleeping on a sidewalk or drinking in public, nearly all of those citations eventually become warrants for the offenders to appear in court along with more expensive fines. If the offender can't pay, or is unable to appear in court, additional warrants and more fines are issued. The result has been hundreds of thousands of such warrants languishing in the court system, some for more than a decade. Those were the findings of surveys by LAPD's homelessness unit and the city attorney's office of a handful of the citations handed out between October 2017 and March of this year.
Los Angeles Daily News |
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Subway Restaurant In San Fernando Valley Robbed, Fifth In Roughly A Week
A Valley Village Subway restaurant was robbed Monday night, adding to four other Subway locations in the San Fernando Valley that have been robbed in roughly one week. Monday night's robbery took place near Laurel Canyon and Riverside Drive at approximately 9:40 p.m. The male suspect appeared to be armed and was wearing a bandana and a black shirt, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. It is not clear how much money he got away with before he fled on foot in an unknown direction. No injuries were reported. This is the fifth Subway in roughly a week to be hit, but police have not confirmed if the latest robbery is connected to the previous four.
ABC 7 |
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French National Pleads Guilty To Ramming Pedestrians With SUV In Downtown L.A., Is Sentenced To Time Served
A French man who pleaded guilty to driving his SUV into a group of people in downtown Los Angeles was immediately sentenced to 18 days of time served on Tuesday, prosecutors said. Ryad Boudghene Stambouli, 34, will also serve three years of formal probation and must pay $8,500 in restitution to the victims he struck, the L.A. County District Attorney's Office said in a news release . The defendant's plea was entered as part of an agreement negotiated with prosecutors, the DA's office said. Officials had previously given his last name as Boudghenestambo.
KTLA 5 |
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LA County Takes Next Step Toward Deputy Body-Worn Cameras
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted today to hire a consultant to work out the details of outfitting deputies with body-worn cameras, with the sheriff's department and a watchdog agency at odds about how much it will cost and how long it will take. "We are a little late to the party," Supervisor Kathryn Barger said, echoing comments by Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Hilda Solis, who co- authored the unanimously approved motion and pointed out that two-thirds of law enforcement agencies nationwide deploy body cameras or are implementing plans to use them.
NBC 4 |
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California Man Sentenced In High-End Arizona Heists
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona says a California man has been sentenced to five years and 10 months in federal prison for a robbery spree involving high-end jewelry and handbags worth more than $130,000. Office spokesman Cosme Lopez said Tuesday that U.S. District Judge Raner C. Collins issued the sentence on Monday for 50-year-old Mitchell Ray Finley of Fresno. Lopez says that during a string of heists in May 2016 Finely and three other men stole a diamond solitaire ring from a Tucson jewelry store, several designer handbags from a Scottsdale department store and some high-end watches from a Glendale shop. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pima County Sheriff's Office as well as police departments in Scottsdale, Glendale and Fresno helped prosecute the case.
Sacramento Bee |
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Missing Texas LEO Found Dead
The Baytown police officer who disappeared last week was found dead from an apparent suicide early Tuesday in a grassy field, authorities said. John Stewart Beasley, a 23-year veteran of the force, went missing around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, when he walked away from his home in Cove, just east of Baytown. The 46-year-old's family reported him missing that evening, and Chambers County sheriff's deputies, Baytown police and two canine teams launched a search. The sheriff's office initially said they'd seen "no indications of foul play," but were investigating "all possible leads and scenarios." Then on Tuesday morning, authorities made a grim discovery when searchers in a helicopter spotted a body along FM 565 less than a mile from Beasley's home.
Houston Chronicle |
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Cop jumps off overpass to save boy's life
An officer made a daring rescue after she witnessed a boy jump off an overpass. According to the Rockland/Westchester Journal News, Officer Jessie Ferreira was driving to work on Friday when she witnessed a 12-year-old boy jump over a guardrail and fall several feet onto concrete. The officer immediately grabbed her first aid gear and jumped off after the boy, who looked dead on the ground below, according to the report. Ferreira, with the help of a woman who was in a military uniform, rendered aid to the boy until an ambulance arrived.
Police One |
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Public Safety News
Crews Contain Small Brush Fire Near 118 Freeway In Chatsworth: LAFD
Firefighters were able to contain a small brush fire that sparked along the 118 Freeway near Chatsworth on Tuesday. The flames broke out around 6:30 p.m. near 10800 North Santa Susana Pass Road, just outside the northwest corner of Chatsworth city limits, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in an alert. It was being dubbed the Rocky Peak Fire. It spread to about 3 acres within an hour, the agency said. Aerial video showed a rocky hillside smoking heavily beneath a housing development, but officials said no structures were immediately threatened.
KTLA 5 |
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For Firefighters, It's Not Just The Fires They're Battling It's The Heat And All That Goes With It
The danger firefighters face in Holy Jim Canyon this week won't come only from the fire itself. As the temperatures outside spike to near 100 degrees, the danger becomes the heat inside a firefighter's gear. A high-heat warning was declared Tuesday in the southern stretches of Orange County, with temperatures expected to reach into at least the upper 90s by 3 p.m. More than 600 firefighters are battling the Holy fire for the second day. On Monday, two of them were treated in local hospitals for heat-related injuries.
Los Angeles Daily News |
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Battling 18 Blazes, California May Face Worst Fire Season
The largest wildfire ever recorded in California needed just 11 days to blacken an area nearly the size of Los Angeles and it's only one of many enormous blazes that could make this the worst fire season in state history. Some 14,000 firefighters from as far away as Florida and even New Zealand are struggling to curb 18 fires in the midst of a sweltering summer that has seen wind-whipped flames carve their way through national forest land and rural areas, threaten urban areas and incinerate neighborhoods. For whatever reason, fires are burning much more intensely, much more quickly than they were before, said Mark A. Hartwig, president of the California Fire Chiefs Association.
Associated Press |
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Local Government News
LA Councilman Moves To Limit Plastic Utensils At SoCal Restaurants
A Los Angeles city councilman proposed Tuesday that the city draw up an ordinance under which restaurant patrons would only be provided plastic utensils on request. His motion would work in conjunction with a pending "straws-on-request" ordinance in an effort to curb the impact that plastic utensils are having on the environment and the aesthetic quality of local communities, Councilman Bob Blumenfield said. "Now more than ever, Los Angeles needs to lead strong environmental efforts and I believe that as the second-largest city in the nation, we can make a big ecological difference by thinking twice about how much we need wasteful plastics, such as utensils," Blumenfield said.
NBC 4 |
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Law Enforcement News
Philly Officer Shot In Face While Helping To Serve Warrant
A Philadelphia police officer was shot in the face and critically injured while helping fellow SWAT officers serve a warrant at a city home, authorities said Monday. A man who authorities say shot at the officers, along with a 60-year-old woman in the home, were critically wounded in the shootout at about 6 a.m. Monday. It wasn't immediately clear if the woman was shot by police or by the wounded man. The person named in the warrant was being sought for weapons violations and was not in the residence at the time, authorities said. That person remains at large, and further details about the allegations were not disclosed.
Associated Press |
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Suspect Leading Pursuit Causes 3-Car Crash, Killing North Carolina Detention Officer
The person killed Thursday night in a three-way crash at Club Boulevard and North Duke Street that ended a police chase of a car that had been reported stolen at gunpoint was a Durham County detention officer, officials said Friday. Police said Friday morning that Brooke Lyn Maynard, 24, of Durham was killed while driving a Hyundai one of the two cars that police said were hit by a car they were chasing. Maynard was a detention officer for the Durham County Sheriff's Office.
The News & Observer |
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2 Dead As Victim In Car-to-Car Shooting Runs Over Pedestrian In Baldwin Hills; Bicyclist Also Struck By Gunman's Vehicle: LAPD
Two people were dead at the scene of a car-to-car shooting at the eastern edge of Baldwin Hills on Monday night, officials said. It's unclear what led up to the gunfire that broke out around 8:30 p.m., but the driver who was struck ran over a pedestrian in the 4800 block of West Rodeo Road, according to Los Angeles Police Capt. Alex Baez and an alert from the L.A. Fire Department. The shooting was witnessed by police officers, who began pursuing the gunman's vehicle, Baez said. The motorist who was shot, a man, died at the scene, as did the pedestrian he hit.
KTLA 5 |
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Glendale Man Charged With Vandalizing Trump Star On Hollywood Walk Of Fame
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office formally charged a Glendale man for vandalizing Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last month. Austin Mikel Clay, 24, is facing one felony count of vandalism. He is expected to be arraigned on Aug. 15 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Clay turned himself in on July 25, a day after allegedly using a pickaxe to smash the star located on Hollywood Boulevard. If convicted, Clay could face a possible maximum sentence of three years in jail. The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.
ABC 7 |
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Nearly 50 Vehicle Break-Ins Per Week Reported In West Hollywood
Thieves are busting into cars in a West Hollywood neighborhood, and it's happening several times a day. In July alone, there were nearly 50 break-ins a week, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Cars, SUVs and trucks are all being targeted by burglars. One driver said she's had her car broken into twice. "I never leave my purse visible if I ever leave it in my car, which is a bad idea anyway, don't do that. That one time I was parked in a very dark area that made me vulnerable," said West Hollywood resident Raven Watson. "And then the other time I had something valuable visible."
ABC 7 |
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Former Marine Accused In San Francisco Pier 39 Terror Plot Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison
A former US Marine accused of plotting a Christmas holiday terror attack on a popular San Francisco tourist destination last year was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison. 27-year-old Everitt Aaron Jameson pleaded guilty in June after being arrested for attempting to provide material support to ISIS. The FBI had started watching Jameson in September after finding that he liked or loved posts about terror attacks and ISIS on Facebook, according to the plea agreement. Undercover FBI agents later posed as ISIS supporters and contacted Jameson.
KTLA 5 |
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11 Killed And Nearly 70 Wounded In Chicago Weekend Shootings
At least 11 people were shot to death and about 70 wounded in a weekend burst of violence in Chicago that instantly became a political issue when President Donald Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, blamed the carnage on longtime Democratic rule in the city. Police on Monday attributed the dozens of shootings to gangs, the illegal flow of guns and sweltering August heat that drew more people outside. The victims ranged in age from 11 to 63, according to police. One teenage girl died after being shot in the face. A teenage boy was fatally shot riding a bike Sunday afternoon.
Los Angeles Daily News |
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What Bodycam Research Reveals About Police Officers
Time is not on the side of anti-police politicians and activists. The recent flurry of cries for tightened use of force rules and increased prosecution of police officers is facing the results of the demands for accountability and transparency in police operations. The rallying cry of demanding surveillance of police officers by strapping cameras on them has been heard and obeyed. The results show that cops are amazing. The anti-cop movement must move furiously fast before the mythology of violent and racist policing finally meets the facts. The swell of sentiment must eventually face the reality that policing has never been better.
PoliceOne |
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Public Safety News
Man Accused Of Killing Long Beach Fire Captain Dies Of Illness Six Weeks After Shooting
The man accused of fatally shooting a Long Beach fire captain six weeks ago after setting off a predawn explosion in a high-rise apartment building died in custody over the weekend, authorities said Monday. Thomas Man Kim, 77, died at 3:21 a.m. Sunday in the hospital ward of County-USC Medical Center, where he had been held since he was arrested June 25, said Deputy Wally Bracks of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. He had a previous medical condition he succumbed to, Bracks said. She did not disclose the condition.
OC Register |
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Mendocino Fire Becomes Biggest In Modern California History As Weary Firefighters Brace For More
It's day 11 for Omar Estorga on the front lines of California's firestorm. Some nights, the captain and his crew have slept sitting up in the seats of their fire engine as the Carr fire raged. Other nights, they've stayed at the base camp in Shasta County. On their days off, they've snagged dorm rooms at Shasta College or, if they're lucky, a hotel room when another fire crew has checked out. As some 14,000 firefighters wrap up their second week battling more than a dozen destructive wildfires across the state, fatigue is setting but the fires show few signs of letting up.
Los Angeles Times |
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14,000 Firefighters Battling 18 Major California Blazes
Some 14,000 firefighters, including inmate volunteers, are battling 18 major blazes burning thousands of square miles throughout California with aircraft, assorted vehicles and picks and shovels. They take aim at the biggest wildfires in two ways and in much of the same way the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has for decades. They'll go at it directly with water and retardant where they can. And when they can't take that direct approach, firefighters retreat to a ridge, wide road or stream where they use bulldozers to cut a "fire line." There they'll wait for the blaze to come to them while lighting "backfires" to clear vegetation between the fire line and the approaching blaze.
Associated Press |
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Local Government News
Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer Discusses School Safety, 3D-Printed Guns
Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer has issued the preliminary report from his Blue Ribbon Panel on School Safety and the draft is available online for public comment. Since April, Feuer has held a series of hearings in each of LAUSD's seven board districts. Feuer convened the panel after the mass shooting at Florida's Parkland High School, and an accidental shooting at a local junior high school. There are 30 recommendations including creating the post of a LAUSD School Safety Director. The report suggests single school entry points, all classroom doors lock from inside and a two way communication system in the classroom.
ABC 7 |
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Bill To Extend Last Call To 4 A.M. At LA Bars Gets Pushback
A bill under consideration in the state Legislature that would allow alcohol to be sold in bars past 2 a.m. in seven cities including Los Angeles was opposed Monday by City Councilman Paul Koretz and a group of activists who said it could lead to more drunk driving accidents and other problems. The bill, SB 905, is set to come for a vote before the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday and has the support of most of the mayors of the cities it would impact, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
NBC 4 |
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LA Councilman Eyeing Possible Homeless Housing In Sherman Oaks
A Los Angeles councilman is looking into putting emergency and permanent homeless housing in Sherman Oaks as part of a citywide effort to help put roofs over the heads of nearly 23,000 people who are without shelter on a given night in Los Angeles. Councilman David Ryu said Friday that a city-owned property at 15314 W. Dickens St. is a candidate for permanent supportive housing, which would house and provide on-site services to people who are homeless. He also identified a property owned by the Army Reserve at 5161 Sepulveda Blvd., where emergency housing could go.
Los Angeles Daily News |
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Law Enforcement News
LAPD Officers Injured As Suspected Drunk Driver Plows Into Squad Car
A motorist plowed a car into a stopped police car in South Los Angeles Sunday, injuring two patrol officers, and the driver was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. The officers had stopped their patrol car for a routine traffic stop on Gage Avenue, between Main Street and Broadway, at about 1 a.m., said Officer Jeff Lee of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section. The patrol car was hit from behind, and shoved into vehicle they were investigating, Lee said. There was no one in it at that moment. The officers were injured, but were not taken to hospitals.
NBC 4 |
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Sheriff's Deputy Struck By Hit-and-Run Driver While On Bike Patrol In Universal City
A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was on bicycle patrol early late Friday evening in Universal City when she was struck by a hit-and-run driver, authorities said. The collision was reported shortly before midnight near the Buca di Beppo restaurant at Universal CityWalk, according to a spokesperson for the sheriff's West Hollywood station. The suspect drove away after the impact. The deputy was transported to a hospital where she was listed in stable condition.
ABC 7 |
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Arizona Trooper Remembered As Young Officer With Promise
Hundreds of law enforcement officers, friends and relatives remembered a rookie Arizona state trooper Friday, not only mourning him but also the seasoned officer he would never become. Some at the funeral for 24-year-old Tyler Edenhofer still seemed in disbelief that his life was cut short last week in a roadside struggle with a suspect along a suburban Phoenix highway. Being a state trooper was his dream job, according to his mother. He had only graduated from the Department of Public Safety academy in May.
Associated Press |
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Detroit Police: Officer In Critical Condition After Hit-and-Run
A Detroit Police Department officer is in critical condition after he was struck by an SUV that fled the scene early Saturday morning, a Detroit Police Department captain said. Officers from the 8th precinct were responding to a call near West McNichols Road and Stahelin Avenue about 2:40 a.m. After the crowd was cleared out, the officer was returning to his scout car when he was hit from the rear by an SUV travelling at a high rate of speed, according to DPD Captain Darrell Patterson.
Detroit Free Press |
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CSUN Athlete Arrested On Suspicion Of Multiple Sexual Assaults; Police Urge More Victims To Come Forward
Authorities with California State University, Northridge and Los Angeles police are urging women who may have been victims of sexual assault by a suspect who was recently arrested to come forward. On Friday, the CSUN Police Department and LAPD held a press conference announcing the arrest of 19-year-old Davis Moreno-Jaime, who is suspected of sexually assaulting multiple women. Authorities said the first known case happened in April 2017 and the most recent was reported last month. CSUN police Chief Anne Glavin said Moreno-Jaime is known to the CSUN community and was an athlete on suspension. He was arrested Friday on the campus around 12:30 p.m.
ABC 7 |
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LAPD Releases Body Camera Footage Of OIS In Porter Ranch With Knife-Wielding Man
The LAPD has released body cam footage of an officer-involved shooting two months ago in Porter Ranch. In that incident, police fired a series of bean bag rounds on a man who had a knife. The man approached police ordered him to drop the knife and they shot him with live rounds after he refused to yield the weapon. The suspect survived, as did the woman he stabbed his wife following a domestic violence situation. CBS2's Joy Benedict reports the incident played out just before 11 p.m. on June 20. A 911 dispatcher got a call from neighbors saying a woman had been stabbed in the gated community.
CBS 2 |
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Stabbing Suspect Who Led Police On South LA Pursuit Identified
A woman arrested after leading police on a slow-speed chase in the South Los Angeles area was being held Friday on suspicion of stabbing a man to death earlier this week, police said. The pursuit began about 11:45 a.m. Thursday near Main Street and 88th Place and ended about a half-hour later near Avalon Boulevard and 43rd Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Tasma Brown, 40, was booked on suspicion of murder, said LAPD Officer Tony Im. She was held on $2 million bail, according to the sheriff's department.
NBC 4 |
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LAPD Is Looking For Woman Missing From Canoga Park
Police on Friday sought the public's help in finding a woman with schizophrenia who went missing in the Canoga Park area. Alejandrina Iraheta-Turcios, 55, was last seen about 9 p.m. Thursday in the 21100 block of Parthenia Street, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. Iraheta-Turcios is Hispanic, 5 feet 4, about 250 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information on her whereabouts was urged to call detectives at (818) 832-0609, or (877) LAPD-247.
Los Angeles Daily News |
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Robbery Ringleader Gets 55 Years For $6M California Heists
The leader of a robbery ring that stole $6 million worth of watches from Southern California jewelry stores has been sentenced to 55 years in federal prison. Prosecutors say 47-year-old Keith Walton of Los Angeles was sentenced Friday for what a judge called a series of smash-and-grab robberies that "terrified people and traumatized them for the rest of their lives." Prosecutors say the ring was responsible for at least 14 daytime robberies or attempted robberies in shopping malls over two years. The robbers fled with Rolexes and other high-end watches.
Associated Press |
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Texas City Seeking Grant To Equip Officers With Body Cams
A $110,000 grant from Andeavor Corporation, THE Cardwell Foundation and the El Paso Community Foundation would allow the City of El Paso to buy body cameras for the El Paso Police Department. The grant will fund body cameras for the EPPD Crisis Intervention Team Unit and the DWI unit, according to a news release by the grant donors. It will buy between 30 and 35 cameras for both units, City Representative Henry Rivera told ABC-7. ABC-7 spoke with Ron Martin, President of the El Paso Police Association.
KVIA-TV |
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Public Safety News
Fallen Firefighter Honored At Fresno Memorial Service Attended By More Than 1,500
The fallen firefighter who died while battling the massive Ferguson Fire in the Sierra National Forest was honored at a memorial service in Fresno attended by more than 1,500 people on Saturday. Family members, firefighters from around the nation, staff from the National Park Service and members of the Arrowhead Hotshots who worked alongside Captain Brian Hughes came to pay their respects. The 33-year-old firefighter was an engaged father-to-be originally from Hilo, Hawai'i with a 15-year career. He was fatally struck by a tree on July 29 while batting the wildfire in an area with many dead trees, just west of Yosemite National Park, according to fire officials.
KTLA 5 |
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California Request For Presidential Major Disaster Declaration Approved
California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced Saturday that the White House had approved the state's request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for Shasta County, where the historic Carr Fire continues to burn. According to Governor Brown's office, the request was submitted to the President and approved in the same day. "This is part of a trend a new normal that we've got to deal with. We're dealing with it humanly, financially and governmentally," Governor Brown said on Saturday during a media briefing related to the Carr Fire.
NBC 4 |
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Mendocino Complex Climbs To Fourth Largest Wildfire On Record In California; 68 Homes Lost
The Mendocino Complex fire continued to grow at an alarming rate, burning more than 266,000 acres by Sunday morning and becoming the fourth-largest in California history. The massive blaze, the most serious of 17 major brush fires burning in California this weekend, was raging across wilderness on both sides of Clear Lake, forcing more evacuations in rural areas of three Northern California counties. Officials said 9,300 structures are threatened, 68 homes have burned and 12 have been damaged. Officials expect the Mendocino Complex to climb to the third-largest wildfire by Monday morning.
Los Angeles Times |
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Local Government News
L.A. City Council President, Koreatown Community Agree On Site For Homeless Shelter That Sparked Protests
After more than a month of behind-the-scenes talks, L.A. Council President Herb Wesson and Korean community representatives have agreed on a site on the outskirts of Koreatown to temporarily shelter homeless residents, city officials said Friday. The uproar over placing a shelter in Koreatown which was announced in early May as the first piece of a citywide initiative has been watched closely as each council district moves forward on selecting a site for bridge housing.
KTLA 5 |
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Motion To Ban 3-D Printed Guns Introduced In LA
A Los Angeles city councilman introduced a motion Friday that would make the possession, download or distribution of 3-D printed weaponry blueprint files a misdemeanor in LA in a move that comes after a federal judge earlier this week ruled that it is illegal to post blueprints for the devices online. "With the emergence of technology expanding the accessibility of such weapons, we must craft legislation to counter these emerging threats," Councilman Mitchell Englander said in a Twitter statement.
NBC 4 |
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NoHo West Developers Want LA To Ease Standards So It Can Build Its Billboards
Developers of a project to redevelop what what used to be the longstanding Laurel Plaza site in North Hollywood are asking Los Angeles City planners to allow them to make their proposed billboards more visible, once the site is revamped. San Francisco-based developer Merlone Geier Partners is proposing to install three digital signs at its NoHo West development, two of which would be facing the 170 Freeway, close to the 24-acre site, near Laurel Canyon Boulevard.
Los Angeles Daily News |
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