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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

September 23, 2019
Law Enforcement News

Slain Louisiana Officer Identified: A Decorated Marine Veteran, Father To 7 Kids
A Mandeville officer shot and killed after a car chase has been identified as a decorated Marine veteran who leaves behind a wife and seven children, officials said Friday evening. Capt. Vincent 'Vinny' Liberto Jr. was killed and another officer was wounded at the intersection of Causeway Boulevard and La. 22/U.S. 190. Liberto, 58, graduated from Brother Martin High School in New Orleans and served 10 years in the United States Marine Corps before he was honorably discharged as a sergeant. Liberto joined the Mandeville Police Department in 1994 and was a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy and had received several awards, Mandeville Police Chief Gerald Sticker said. Liberto is survived by a wife and seven children, some of whom are law enforcement officers or in the military, Sticker said.
NOLA Media Group, New Orleans

Car Collides With LAPD Vehicle Responding To Call For Backup Near Canoga Park-Winnetka Border
A car collided with a marked police vehicle that had its lights and sirens running near the border of Canoga Park and Winnetka in the West San Fernando Valley on Sunday, Sept. 22. The crash happened at about 10 a.m., near the intersection of DeSoto Avenue and Vanowen Street, Los Angeles Police Sgt. Eric Eppolito said. An LAPD supervisor was driving alone and responding to a request for backup when the department's vehicle was struck. The patrol car's passenger side was smashed inward, and its side view mirror dangled from a damaged front door in a photo posted by the LAPD on Twitter. Officials called the incident “a good reminder to slow down & look out for emergency vehicles,” in their post. No serious injuries were reported by the officer or the occupants of the other vehicle involved in the crash, Eppolito said. The LAPD supervisor was examined at a hospital Sunday morning, but has since been released.
Los Angeles Daily News

US Police Assess Rise In Threat Tips After 3 Mass Killings
It had all the makings of a massacre. Six guns, including a Colt AR-15 rifle. About 1,000 rounds of ammunition. A bulletproof vest. And an angry Southern California man who threated to kill his co-workers at a hotel and its guests. But a concerned colleague intervened, alerting authorities who arrested 37-year-old Rodolfo Montoya, a cook at the Long Beach Marriott hotel, the next day and discovered the arsenal where he lived in a rundown motor home parked near industrial buildings. In the weeks after three high-profile shootings in three states took the lives of more than two dozen people in one week in August, law enforcement authorities nationwide reported a spike in tips from concerned relatives, friends and co-workers about people who appear bent on carrying out the next mass shooting. Some of those would-be shooters sent text messages to friends or posted on social media that they hoped to one-up previous mass shootings by killing more people.
Associated Press

3 People Sought After Armed Robbery Leaves Man Dead Outside Airbnb Rental In Tarzana: LAPD
Authorities sought the public's help Sunday in identifying three people responsible for a suspected armed robbery that left a man dead outside an Airbnb rental in Tarzana. The victim, a 24-year-old man, was shot and killed outside a home in the 18200 block of Sugarman Street on Saturday night, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. A group had rented the house through Airbnb to celebrate a birthday, the property owner told KTLA. Patrol officers and paramedics responded to the scene at around 10:40 p.m. after receiving a report of an "ambulance shooting" and arrived to find the 24-year-old on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds, LAPD said. Detectives later learned, through their preliminary investigation, that three male individuals had approached the victim and his friend and demanded their belongings. The 24-year-old man was then shot multiple times before the assailants fled.
KTLA 5


Rash Of Violence In LAPD's Harbor Division Leaves Residents On Edge
A beloved grandfather was playing cards when he was gunned down at a San Pedro park Tuesday. Emotions ran high as those who knew 57-year-old Eric Guillory stood in the spot where he was killed. "This wasn't meant for him. He was the most nicest person ever," said Kimmone Lewis, the victim's granddaughter. Guillory's shooting death was just 24 hours before four other people were shot in the Wilmington area.Two people died and two others were injured by a lone shooter, police said. "There is gang activity in the area. There have been shootings lately. We had a homicide in San Pedro last night," said Captain Jay Mastick, with LAPD. A San Pedro homeowner shot and killed a burglar as he was trying to break in through a window Thursday morning. A man was shot and killed after a fight near 140th and Vermont in San Pedro Friday. LAPD Harbor Division says these crimes don't appear to be connected. In all of these cases, except the home invasion, the suspects were still outstanding. If anyone has any information about any of the cases, they are asked to contact the LAPD Harbor Division.
ABC 7


LAPD Stops ‘Flash Scooter Mob' Takeover Of DTLA
The Los Angeles Police Department stopped what it calls a “flash scooter mob” takeover of downtown and possibly the 101 Freeway late Saturday night. LAPD is cracking down on street takeovers by groups of people riding electric scooters. CBS2/KCAL9 reporter Cristy Fajardo talked to some of the scooter riders who said the gathering was just a meet-up and denied they were planning a 101 Freeway or DTLA take over. The LAPD and CHP said the group — including people coming to Los Angeles from all over the state — was planning just that. Last night, the planned take over she says became a take down. “Flash scooter mobs” have been taking over streets in cities all over and most recently a highway in San Jose. Groups get the word out on social media hence the flash mob label. The LAPD teamed up with some of the scooter companies and used new technology to disable many of the scooters. Officers and CHP helped break up the rest.
CBS 2

Los Angeles Man Charged With Videotaping Sex Assault Of 14-Year-Old He Met Online
A 22-year-old Los Angeles man was arrested Friday and charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old Irvine girl he met online, who police believe videotaped at least one of the assaults. Angel Leonel Alonzo was charged with three counts of oral copulation of a minor younger than 16, two counts of statutory rape, and one count each of sodomy of a minor younger than 16, sexual penetration by a foreign object on a victim younger than 16, using a victim to make child pornography and sending child pornography to a minor -- all felonies, according to the Orange County District Attorney's office. He is also charged with a misdemeanor count of possession of child pornography. He could face 11 1/2 years in prison if convicted. Alonzo is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana. He was being held on $100,000 bail. 
NBC 4

2 SoCal Women Arrested In IRS Scam Totaling Upwards Of $900,000 From Unsuspecting Victims
Two Los Angeles County women are behind bars and face criminal charges connected to an IRS scam that resulted in thousands of dollars being scammed from victims. The suspects have been identified as 25-year-old Ailing Lu of Los Angeles and 25-year-old Ji Hyun Lee of Gardena. Authorities say their investigation began on Sept. 4 when a male victim received a “cold call” from a scammer impersonating the IRS and threatening to arrest the victim if he didn't pay in $2,200 worth of Target gift cards. Police say the victim complied with the demands and later reported the incident to the Fontana Police Department. Detectives tracked the redemption of the gift cards to a Target store in the L.A. area and worked with Target's Loss Prevention Team to locate surveillance video of the incident. Detectives were also able to compare surveillance videos with a similar case out of Indiana and determined the suspects in both cases were the same, according to police.
FOX 11

Seattle Police Officer Assigned To Clean Up Homeless Camps Files $10 Million Claim, Alleges Polluted Site Made Him Sick
A Seattle police officer filed a $10 million claim against the city on Wednesday, alleging it negligently exposed him to “an extremely dangerous man-made toxin” by assigning him and dozens of other city workers to clean up a homeless encampment in the Sodo neighborhood this year. Officer Timothy Gifford, a former member of the city's Navigation Team tasked with helping remove unsanctioned homeless camps, contends he was exposed to high concentrations of the toxic chemical compounds polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) during the Jan. 8 cleanup of the camp in a gravel lot along Denver Avenue South near First Avenue South. As a result of the alleged exposure, Gifford claims, he has been diagnosed with early onset Type 2 diabetes and now generally suffers from poor health. 
Seattle Times

Local Government News

Cliff Rescue Turns Into A Body Recovery Operation In Rancho Palos Verdes
Crews with the Los Angeles County Fire Department are on scene of a cliff rescue turned to a body recovery in Ranch Palos Verdes Friday evening. The emergency call was made by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reporting an individual that was seen in a crevice near the beach, according to L.A. County Fire Department. The incident was first reported at about 5:30 p.m. near a lighthouse in the 31500 block of Palos Verdes Drive. Crews were unable to immediately reach the individual but worked safely get down the cliff and reach the victim. They were assisted by an LA County Fire helicopter. Sadly, the individual was found dead once crews were finally able to reach the victim, officials said. The identity of the victim is unknown. An investigation into how that person got to that part of the cliff is ongoing.
FOX 11

Firefighters Contain Stubborn Chatsworth Commercial Blaze To Single Unit; Marijuana Honey-Oil Operation Found
Firefighters on Saturday knocked down a stubborn fire at a one-story Chatsworth commercial building that housed an operation to turn marijuana into “honey oil.” “A closely coordinated roof ventilation and interior fire attack operation resulted in the stubborn fire being primarily contained to one unit,” said Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Firefighters dispatched at 1:30 p.m. to 9566 Vassar Ave. had the fire out within 29 minutes of their arrival, Stewart said. No injuries were reported. Los Angeles police were on scene and later said officers found a marijuana “honey oil” operation inside the building. Though the cause of the fire was under investigation, honey oil operations are known to use highly flammable materials.
Los Angeles Daily News

Local Government News

L.A. Metro Is Running Fewer Expo Line Trains. Riders Say They Feel Like Sardines
Riding home on the Expo Line used to be an opportunity for Eva Vieyra Osmand to spend some quality time with her 5-year-old son. That ended three weeks ago, when the eastbound trains they boarded in the afternoon were suddenly packed to the point of discomfort. “It was a point of pride that, as a fourth-generation Angeleno, I was raising a kid who was an expert train rider,” Vieyra Osmand said. “He used to love it. Now he's afraid.” At the end of August, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials cut rush-hour service on the Expo Line, increasing the wait time between trains from six minutes to eight minutes. The change eliminated two trains per hour during peak periods on the line, which carries 60,000 daily riders between downtown and Santa Monica. Since the cuts, complaints about hot, crowded, smelly commutes have flooded social media. Some trains have been so crammed that passengers with bicycles, wheelchairs and strollers have been stranded on platforms. Commuters squished into one another wear backpacks, earbuds and thousand-yard stares.
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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