Michigan Police Officer Ambushed, Shot While Attempting To Arrest Carjackers

Michigan State Police said Monday they are conducting the investigation into Sunday's shooting of a Monroe police officer. Monroe Police Cpl. Renae Peterson, a 16-year veteran of the department, was shot about 8:20 p.m. Sunday while attempting to apprehend two carjacking suspects, according to state police. Before the shooting, police were called about a carjacking at Second and Winchester streets. Peterson was north of the carjacking. When she arrived, she called out to the suspects and was shot, Capt. John Wall, the Monroe Police Department's public information officer, said Sunday. Two suspects were taken into custody. Wall said Peterson was taken to a Toledo hospital. He said she was believed to have been shot in the abdomen and would undergo surgery.

LAPD Reports 115 Employees Have Tested Positive For COVID-19 Since Pandemic Began, 73 Have Recovered

The LAPD reported one new case of COVID-19 Friday, indicating that 115 employees have tested positive for since the pandemic began. As of Friday, 73 LAPD employees have recovered and returned to work, and one remains hospitalized, according to Emergency Operations Center’s Jessica Kellogg. All other individuals are self-isolating at home and recovering. The number of Los Angeles Fire Department employees who have tested positive for the virus remained at 28 Friday, Kellogg reported. Out of the LAFD employees, 23 have recovered and returned to work, and none are hospitalized. The remaining five employees are isolated and recovering at home.

Vehicle Theft In L.A. Up 17% During COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus hasn’t been kind to car owners. With more people than ever staying home to lessen the spread of COVID-19, their sedans, pickup trucks and SUVs are parked unattended on the streets, making them easy targets for opportunistic thieves. Despite silent streets and nearly nonexistent traffic, vehicle larcenies shot up 63% in New York and nearly 17% in Los Angeles from Jan. 1 through mid-May, compared with the same period last year. And many other law enforcement agencies around the U.S. are reporting an increase in stolen cars and vehicle burglaries, even as violent crime has dropped dramatically nationwide in the coronavirus pandemic. It’s a low-risk crime with a potentially high reward, police say, especially when many drivers leave their doors unlocked or their keys inside. “You might as well put a sticker on the window that says ‘come take my stuff,’” said Alex Villanueva, the Los Angeles County sheriff.

Despite a budget crisis, L.A. officials give new bonuses to officers with college degrees

Mayor Eric Garcetti and the City Council signed off on the new LAPD “education incentives” last summer, paving the way for officers with associates’ degrees to receive an extra $190 every two weeks and those with bachelors’ degrees an extra $290. “The nature of police work has evolved, and the expectations and demands placed upon police officers have increased,” he said. “In addition to being police officers, we are also now therapists, drug treatment counselors, social workers, and EMTs among many other things.”

Man Injured In Arleta Shooting, 3 Suspects Sought

A man was shot Saturday in Arleta and drove himself to an area hospital, where he was reported to be stable. The shooting occurred about 1:50 a.m. in the 15200 block of Sunburst Street, said Officer Rosario Cervantes of the LAPD’s Media Relations Section. There was an argument prior to the shooting and police are looking for three suspects — two men and a woman — in connection with the assault, Cervantes said. The LAPD’s Mission station asked anyone with any information regarding the shooting to call them at 818-838-9800.

Man Shot In Car After Argument At Party In North Hollywood

A man was wounded Monday when he got into an argument at a party and was shot as he prepared to leave in his car, authorities said. The shooting was reported just after midnight at 11246 Kling Street, said Officer D. Orris of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Operations Center. The suspect was inside a white SUV when the shot was fired into the victim’s car and the 21-year-old was wounded in one arm, Orris said. Paramedics took him to a hospital for treatment.

Police, Firefighters Keep Woman From Jumping Off 17-Story Downtown LA Building

Police officers and firefighters Tuesday morning were able to keep a woman from jumping from the roof of a 17-story downtown building, authorities said. The incident was reported at 12:27 a.m. at 501 W. Olympic Blvd., according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange. The building at the address is called the Renaissance Tower Apartments. Firefighters set up an air cushion on the roof of the ninth floor, about eight floors below the woman, but crisis negotiators were able to convince her not to jump at about 2 a.m., said Sgt. A. Alderete of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Central Station. She was taken for a psychological evaluation, he said.

Police Search For Hit-And-Run Driver Who Severely Injured Woman Walking Near Beverly Center

Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department sought the public’s help identifying the driver of a vehicle who severely injured a woman Saturday night. According to police, the crash happened at about 9 p.m. at La Cienega Boulevard and Third Street. The vehicle was headed southbound on La Cienega when the driver stuck the woman, who was walking west in the north crosswalk at the intersection, before fleeing. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene and took the woman to a local hospital in serious but stable condition. Police said the woman suffered severe, though not life-threatening, injuries. Anyone with information about the crash was asked to call West Traffic Division Detectives at 213-473-0234 or 213-473-0222.

2 Suspects In Custody Following Stolen Vehicle Pursuit

Two people are in custody Sunday following the brief pursuit of a stolen vehicle that ended in downtown Los Angeles just before midnight, police said. According to a preliminary LAPD investigation, officers from its Central Station noticed a red Ford SUV driving without headlights around Broadway and Ord Street in Chinatown, around 11:45 p.m. Saturday. The officers ran the plates and discovered the newer model Escape had been reported stolen, according to Sgt. R. Aguirre. When police attempted to pull the car over at Second Street and Broadway, it sped off into the heart of downtown, she said. The SUV slammed into the sidewalk, damaging the tires, and rendering the vehicle inoperable, she said. Two male occupants got out of the Ford and ran toward Spring Street, but were quickly caught by Central Station officers, police said.

Police Searching For Missing Woman With Dementia Who Uses Wheelchair From Canoga Park Area

Authorities continued their search on Sunday to find a woman with dementia who uses a wheelchair and who went missing from the Canoga Park area. Robin Deanne Melton, 59, was last seen on May 17 at 8:30 a.m. in the 7900 block of Capistrano Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Melton is white. She stands 5-feet-7 inches tall and weighs 150pounds. She has brown hair and hazel eyes. Melton was last seen wearing a green shirt, black pants, and gold shoes. Anyone knowing her whereabouts was urged to call the LAPD Missing Persons Unit at 213-996-1800, or 911.

LA Moves To Stop Illegal Marijuana Shop In Chatsworth

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer Friday announced his office filed a civil complaint against a Chatsworth cannabis dispensary for allegedly operating illegally, and it was the site of where an 18-year-old customer was fatally shot. Since the fatal shooting, the marijuana business has changed names and moved to the Lake Manor neighborhood in Chatsworth. “At every turn, this case underscores the detrimental and even deadly effects allegedly illegal cannabis businesses can pose,” Feuer said. “Our crackdown continues even in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis. This case should serve as a warning to those operating illegally, you may be next. “And it should be a warning for customers of unlicensed cannabis businesses as well, stay away,” Feuer said. “The risks from a product that isn’t tested for safety to a business operation that may be dangerous are just too great.”

Ex-Hollywood Executive Arrested On Suspicion Of Pocketing Coronavirus Relief Funds

A former Hollywood executive was arrested on suspicion of pocketing coronavirus relief funds for personal expenses after he received more than $1.7 million in loans that he falsely claimed would go toward business operations, federal prosecutors said Friday. William Sadleir, 66, of Beverly Hills, was fired from Aviron Pictures late last year but claimed he still worked for the film production company when he applied for the federal loans aimed to help businesses through the pandemic, the Department of Justice said in a statement. Sadleir was arrested Friday morning without incident and charged with wire fraud, bank fraud, making false statements to a financial institution and making false statements to the Small Business Administration. If convicted on all four charges, he faces up to 82 years in federal prison. Sadleir’s defense attorney could not be reached for comment.

Public Safety News

Half-Acre Brush Fire Near Sunland Contained By Fire Crews

A half-acre fire near Sunland in difficult terrain near the Angeles National Forest was contained Monday afternoon. The Los Angeles County Fire Department reported ground and air resources were responding alongside the Los Angeles Fire Department near Sunland Boulevard and the westbound 210 Freeway. “It has been stopped at approximately a half acre, no reported injuries or damaged structural areas,” said Nicholas Prange, spokesperson for Los Angeles Fire Department. “The flames have been knocked down.” Some crews will continue to put out hot spots and separate the burned field and the unburned area with a dirt line around it to separate the areas. Crews from both Los Angeles Fire Department and Los Angeles County Fire Department battled the fire for 40 minutes, he said.

L.A. County Seeing ‘Steady Declines’ In Reported Coronavirus Infections, Hospitalizations, Deaths: Health Director

While 1,032 newly detected cases of coronavirus and 41 new deaths were reported in Los Angeles County on Saturday, public health officials say data shows that the rate of new infections, hospitalizations and deaths is steadily declining. The new figures bring the total number of reported infections in L.A. County to 44,055, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a written statement. A total of 2,090 people have succumbed to COVID-19. The county figures include Pasadena and Long Beach, which operate their own municipal health departments. Of the 41 newly-reported deaths, 31 of the patients were over 65 years old, officials said. Twenty-eight of them had underlying health conditions. Of the total deaths reported in the county, 93% of the patients had underlying health conditions.