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Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch
LA Police Protective League

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Los Angeles
Police Protective League
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the union that represents the
rank and file LAPD officers

  Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch

Daily News Digest
from LA Police Protective League

January 2, 2019

Law Enforcement News

First Of Its Kind Training Helps Officers Dealing With Mental Health Issues
More than a dozen local and state police officers, dispatchers and other members of public safety gathered in a first of its kind training in California, centered on how to deal with mental health and trauma. The FBI National Academy Associates (FBINAA), in conjunction with Acadia Healthcare, hosted a resilience training for local law enforcement at Santa Monica College in December. The 12-step curriculum, derived from military training and tailored to public safety and first responders, is designed to create a healthier police force. The belief is this mindset and training can be incorporated into local departments and will lead to safer communities. NBC 4

LAPD Seizes Rocket Launcher, TNT, Rifles From South LA Home
Los Angeles police seized a rocket launcher, rifles, TNT and dozens of other weapons from a South LA home after a man was spotted riding a motorcycle and carrying a rifle. The incident began Saturday morning when a citizen flagged down officers with the 77th Division to report a man riding a motorcycle with a rifle. Officers headed toward where the motorcycle was last seen and found a man matching the description at a nearby gas station. They pulled him over after he left the station. Police say the officers found a handgun in the suspect's waistband and a rifle in his side saddle. The man was arrested on felony weapons charges. Booking records identified the suspect as John Menzies, 50. He was being held on $500,000 bail. ABC 7

Police Chase Ends In Sherman Oaks With Driver Of Stolen Vehicle In Custody, LAPD Says
The driver of a stolen SUV was taken into custody in Sherman Oaks on Monday morning following a high-speed police chase through the San Fernando Valley, authorities said. About 6:15 a.m., the vehicle spun out and the male suspect continued driving after a Los Angeles Police Department officer performed a PIT maneuver on a surface street in North Hollywood. At least one of the SUV's tires blew out during the pursuit and the front brakes gave off an orange glow, apparently from overheating. The chase made its way into a dimly lit residential area, where police performed a second PIT maneuver near the intersection of Hartsook Street and Stern Avenue. The driver then exited the damaged SUV and attempted to flee on foot. ABC 7

Armed Suspect Leads LAPD On Pursuit In Crenshaw Neighborhood
Police chased a suspect in a black vehicle, driving dangerously down residential streets in Crenshaw on New Year's Day. It's unusual to see a pursuit in this area during this time of day, but since most people have the day off, it allowed the suspect to drive at a rapid speed. The driver ignored lights, signs and general rules of the road in order to evade police. They believe there are two people in the vehicle – one possibly armed with a gun. The pursuit ended when the suspect sped through an intersection at 54th and Exposition in Leimert Park, colliding with a white vehicle who had the right of way. FOX 11

Man With Knife Fatally Shot By LAPD At Valley Glen Apartment Complex After Injuring Fellow Tenant
An 18-year-old man with a knife was fatally shot by an LAPD officer at a Valley Glen apartment complex Monday morning after allegedly injuring a fellow tenant, police said. About 4 a.m. police responded to at least one call about a woman screaming inside an apartment complex in the 13600 block of Vanowen Street. Officers encountered a man holding a "large knife" outside an apartment in the complex, Detective Meghan Aguilar said. The man was asked to drop the knife, but after refusing to do so, an officer-involved shooting occurred, Aguilar said without elaborating. The man was struck and was eventually declared dead at the scene. It is unclear if the man was threatening officers with the knife. Neither of the two officers were injured during the incident. KTLA 5

Man Shot In Leg In San Pedro Fight
A man was shot in the leg Monday during a fight at a bar in San Pedro, authorities said. The shooting was reported at 12:36 a.m. at Sixth and Centre streets, said an operator at the Los Angeles Police Department's Operations Center. The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment, she said. Police were looking for two men in connection with the shooting, she said. It was not known whether the shooting was gang related. MyNewsLA.com

VIDEO: Burglar Breaks Into Venice Home Of Paralyzed Man
A burglar broke into the Venice home of a paralyzed man and stole a laptop containing much of his professional photography work. Christopher Medak was asleep in his home when he heard a burglar break in around 2:30 a.m. Friday. Medak had been paralyzed from the chest down in a freak bodysurfing accident about a year and a half ago. He heard the burglar break in, but remained quiet out of fear. His home security cameras captured the man rifling through his home and then stealing a laptop computer. Medak is a professional photographer and much of his work had been stored on the laptop. ABC 7

In California's Red Counties, Sheriffs Decry Sanctuary Laws After Crime Spree, Cop Killing
Before releasing the name of the suspect in the death of Newman Police Officer Ronil Singh, authorities released his legal status. Standing before a battery of reporters and television cameras, Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson declared: “Unlike Ron, who immigrated to this country lawfully and legally to pursue his lifelong career of public safety, public service and being a police officer, this suspect is in our country illegally. He doesn't belong here. He's a criminal.” The suspect Singh's death, eventually identified as Gustavo Arriaga, had known gang ties and two prior arrests on suspicion of driving under the influence — and had been living in the country illegally for years. It was the second time in a month that a sheriff in the rural, conservative Central Valley had angrily criticized California's so-called sanctuary law after an immigrant in the country illegally was accused of killing someone.  Los Angeles Times

New California Law Allows Some Mentally Ill Offenders To Get Treatment, Possibly Get Charges Dropped
Just after 3 a.m. on April 7, Matthew Gioia pressed the accelerator of his white Hyundai Elantra, leading Carlsbad police on a one-mile pursuit that reached speeds of 80 mph before the car crashed. Gioia's arrest would have been an otherwise routine skirmish between police and a motorist if not for what happened when he went to court a month later. There, he was among the first defendants to test a new controversial state law that allows people with certain mental illnesses to go into a pretrial diversion program, receive treatment and ultimately erase the charges against them. Gioia was charged with felony evading police, and his lawyer George Gedulin sought the treatment option. In court papers, the attorney said Goia had an extensive mental health history, was a diagnosed schizophrenic and was receiving treatment at a Carlsbad facility. Los Angeles Times

Utility May Have Violated Probation For Its Role In Deadly California Wildfires, Federal Prosecutors Say
Federal prosecutors said Pacific Gas & Electric Co. may have violated the terms of its probation in a 2010 criminal case for its role in igniting deadly wildfires that ravaged Northern California's wine country last year. In a court filing Monday, the U.S. attorney's office said state investigators found evidence that the utility violated state law in 11 fires — including the Atlas fire that killed six people — that broke out in October 2017. “These facts, specifically if PG&E started a wildfire by reckless operation or maintenance of its power lines, may serve as a basis for” the judge to find that the utility violated probation, federal prosecutors said. They added that they don't have enough information on the utility's potential role in this year's Camp fire in Butte County — the deadliest wildfire on record in state history — to determine whether it amounted to a probation violation. Los Angeles Times

Off-duty officer stops man headed to shoot up church
A Southeast Texas police chief says the handgun a man was carrying while on his way to a church to fulfill a "prophecy" was stolen days earlier from a home. Vidor police Chief Rod Carroll said Monday that it's not clear if 33-year-old Tony Dwayne Albert II was involved in the theft of the gun or obtained it later. Carroll says Albert, who was found with the gun, extra ammunition and a face shield, had apparently threatened a Baptist church in Vidor, which is near the border with Louisiana. Associated Press

Local Government News

L.A. County And Malibu Will Study The Woolsey Wildfire Response In A ‘New Era Of Threat'
The city of Malibu and the county of Los Angeles will begin examining the response to and recovery from the Woolsey fire, the fast-moving and most destructive wildfire in recent Southern California history. Citing the “new era of threat from wildfires,” the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last month to convene a panel to review the cause of the Woolsey fire, the deployment of firefighters, evacuation procedures and the communication among first responders, police and municipalities. The fire broke out Nov. 8 and quickly spread to more than 96,000 acres, killing three people and destroying more than 1,600 structures before it was contained on Thanksgiving Day. Los Angeles Times

Some Metro Blue Line Stations To Close In 2019 For $1.2B Rehab Project

Metro has announced Blue Line closures for 2019. The line is in a six-year-long, $1.2 billion rehab project. The closures will happen in two, four-month segments. The first closures will begin on Jan. 26, starting in the southern stretch of the line from downtown Long Beach to the Willowbrook/ Rosa Parks station. In May, the northern stretch from Willowbrook/ Rosa Parks station to 7th Street/ Metro Center stop will be closed for four months. The Willowbrook/ Rosa Parks station will be closed the entire eight months as part of a $66 million overhaul. During this time, the Expo Line will be suspended for 45 days at 7th Street/ Metro Center and the Pico Stations. ABC 7
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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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