Utah Officer Killed In Shooting

An officer was killed in a shootout Thursday. “A fine young officer with just 15 months on the job was killed,” said Ogden Police Chief Randy Watt during a press conference. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, police originally responded to a call of a domestic disturbance at a residence. Officers approached a man on the porch of the home who was uncooperative and shut himself inside the house. That's when gunfire erupted through the closed front door.  In addition to the officer who was fatally struck by gunfire, a second officer with Adult Probation and Parole also suffered injuries during the incident. A SWAT team was later called to the scene. The suspect was found dead.

The identity of the fallen officer has not been released and the investigation is ongoing. 

2 Ohio Officers Injured In Shooting

Two Columbus police officers attempting to serve an arrest warrant were injured in a shooting on the city’s Northeast Side Thursday morning. One officer is in critical condition and the other has a hand injury. A report of shots being fired came across police radios around 8:20 a.m. Thursday on the 3200 block of Chelford Drive. The officers, who have not been identified, were part of a joint operation, possibly related to a narcotics investigation, and involving multiple agencies, said Keith Farrell, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, which represents Columbus police. Farrell said the officer who was shot was in surgery at Mount Carmel Hospital East, where he and others immediately gathered in a show of support.

‘Police Brutality Is Unacceptable’: Southland Police Departments, LAPD Union Condemn Death Of George Floyd After LA Protest

Just one day after protestors took to the streets in downtown Los Angeles, several Southland police departments issued statements condemning the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while in police custody in Minneapolis. Late Thursday evening, the Los Angeles Police Protective League released a statement that said the union agreed with National Association of Police Organizations Executive Director Bill Johnson who said he could not see “any legal justification, any self-defense justification, or any moral justification” for what was shown on the video. “What we saw on that video was inconsistent and contrary to everything we have been taught, not just as an academy recruit or a police officer, but as human beings,” the statement said. “Reverence for life in every incident a police officer encounters must be the floor and not the ceiling.”

'Zero Bail Fail': Calif. Suspect Jailed 4 Times For Attacking Officers, Robbery, Released Each Time

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office is publicizing the latest arrest of a man who has been arrested multiple times and released on zero bail, only to be arrested again.

In social media posts on Facebook and Twitter, the sheriff’s office posted four booking photo images of Aubrey Crowder with the hashtag #ZeroBailFail. The posts said Crowder has been arrested four times since March 27 for alleged robbery, assaults on officers, trespassing, drug and court order violations. Crowder was released again after trying to assault deputies, the sheriff’s office said. “A judge failed to sign our bail hold request. It’s likely we see him again,” the post said. Last month, the California Judicial Council issued an order in an effort to protect inmates’ health during the new coronavirus pandemic by reducing overcrowding at jails. Law enforcement agencies and local prosecutors have railed against the zero bail releases of suspects, and say some of those being released should not be eligible for bail and are often repeat offenders while out on bail.

LAPD Chief Says Demonstrations ‘Should Be Occurring’ As Protesters Gather Downtown For Second Night

Groups of people protesting police brutality following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while in the custody of Minneapolis police, took to the streets Thursday for the second night in a row. A group of largely peaceful protesters gathered outside of the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters in downtown Los Angeles around 5 p.m. Some of the protesters reportedly shouted expletives directed at police lined up outside the building and others surrounded California Highway Patrol cruisers driving down 1st Street. Police closed 3rd Street and Grand Avenue downtown to traffic in an apparent move to allow protesters to congregate safely and peacefully.

In a Thursday evening statement posted to YouTube, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said the department would do “everything possible” to facilitate protesters as they demonstrated.

“Street demonstrations are and should be occurring across this country and in this city to bring voices to injustices,” he said. “It is part of the very democracy of what makes this country great.”

Three Men Facing Murder Charges In Gang-Related Shooting Death Of Single Mother In South LA

Authorities have identified three alleged gang members who are facing murder charges in the shooting death of a 28-year-old single mom who was stopped at a traffic light in the Manchester Square area of South Los Angeles. Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Stacy Spell told reporters Thursday that James Spencer, 23, Frank Adams, 29, and Darrell Robinson, 26, were arrested May 21 after investigators obtained an "overwhelming amount of video surveillance evidence'' that allowed them to identify the suspects in the April 26 killing of Magali Alberto. The victim, who worked as a project manager, was waiting at a red light about 12:20 a.m. that morning at Manchester and Denker avenues when she was shot several times while driving home from a small family birthday get-together, according to the police captain, who said the victim didn't know the suspects.

Woman, 19, Missing, Last Seen In Florence Area Near South L.A.

A 19-year-old woman last seen in the unincorporated Florence area near South Los Angeles went missing Thursday. Nayeli Rodriguez was last seen about 8:30 a.m. in the 1100 block of East Florence Avenue, near Central Avenue, according to Deputy Eric Ortiz of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Rodriguez is 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds with brown eyes and long brown wavy hair. She wears glasses and braces and was wearing a short sleeve blue T-shirt, black leggings, black shoes and carrying a black backpack with green decorations, Ortiz said. Anyone with information on Rodriguez’s whereabouts was asked to call the sheriff’s Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500.

Man Pleads Not Guilty To Chase With 11-Month-Old Daughter Inside Car

A Los Angeles man pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he led police on a chase with his 11-month-old daughter in his car. Michael Callender, 29, allegedly took his daughter from her mother on May 12 and nearly ran the woman over as she tried to prevent him from leaving with the girl. Police began chasing him in East Los Angeles, with the pursuit ending with Callender safely surrendering the girl in South Los Angeles.

He was charged May 14 with one felony count each of assault with a deadly weapon, child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death and fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s motor vehicle while driving recklessly, along with one misdemeanor count of battery on a girlfriend or child’s parent. Callender was released on bond early May 22, jail records show.

With Abuse Victims Trapped At Home, Detroit Moves Restraining Order System Online

efore the pandemic spread, getting a domestic violence restraining order was an onerous process in Wayne County, Michigan, which includes Detroit, Dearborn, and several smaller cities. Obtaining one required going in person to the court building to complete several pieces of paperwork, waiting around to see if a petition was granted, and then finding out when a hearing would take place. The whole process could take all day. “It can be incredibly intimidating to file a personal protection order,” said Jeni Hooper, program coordinator of the community response team at First Step, an advocacy group in Detroit for survivors of domestic violence. The coronavirus has required court systems to adapt — and at a time when experts warn that social isolation, economic uncertainty, and a historic wave of gun-buying are driving up domestic abuse. Calls to the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence were up 102 percent in March and the first half of April, compared to the same period last year.

Public Safety News

L.A. County Officials Hope Reopening Plan Will Be Approved By Friday

Los Angeles County officials are hoping to find out as early as Friday whether they’ll be allowed to reopen restaurants for in-person dining, along with barbershops and hair salons. The county submitted its variance application on Wednesday to the state, which decides if counties can reopen at an accelerated rate if they meet certain COVID-19 benchmarks. Thus far, that variance approval has been granted within days for 47 counties, including all that surround L.A. County. The variance for Ventura County was approved within 48 hours. “Regional data shows we have flattened the curve, indicating our readiness to move forward in phased recovery,” Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a statement. Barger expressed hope that the approval would be granted by Friday. “This will put Los Angeles County on a level playing field with surrounding counties, which have already been granted variances.”

Virus Cases Spur California County To Stall Reopening

The first California county to backpedal on its reopening plan wasn’t one of the urban areas that agitated to reopen or a coastal area where beaches draw crowds but a remote outpost that didn’t have a single known coronavirus case until last week. All it took was a single infection that spread to four other people before Lassen County, home to 30,000 people living in pine-covered mountains and the high desert of Northern California, temporarily rescinded reopening orders. Dining at restaurants, in-store shopping, hair cuts and religious services are now barred for at elast seven days.

Some businesses had to shut down after rehiring staff, sanitizing equipment and training workers on hygiene. The county on the Nevada border had not reported a coronavirus case until May 22, when a resident who had traveled outside the county and became ill and tested positive, said Barbara Longo, the county health and social services director.

Local Government News

LA Panel Approves Stadium Proposed For Warner Center

As stadiums and entertainment venues sit idle across Los Angeles amid the global pandemic, French developer Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has moved closer to bringing a sports center to Warner Center. The City Planning Commission unanimously approved on Thursday, May 28, the Promenade 2035 project, featuring a 7,500-seat sports and entertainment venue with a partial roof or an enclosed 10,000-seat arena. The approval came with some conditions, including that the developer would need to come back if it decides to modify the proposed plan. The $1.5 billion project would spread across a 34-acre site. It calls for the construction of an urban district with nearly 1,400 residential units, 280,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, 731,500 square feet of office space and 572 hotel rooms.