LAPD union leader blasts LA Mayor Garcetti

Some In LAPD Slam City Council Over Private Security Details Amid Budget Cut

An LAPD unit, often staffed by two officers, was ordered to stand watch outside LA City Council President Nury Martinez’s private home from April until June, multiple LAPD sources have confirmed to Spectrum News 1. The private security detail infuriated some members of the force when Martinez became one of the council members to spearhead a motion to cut $150 million in funding to the LAPD’s budget. “It’s kind of ironic. Here she is demanding $150 million be reallocated from the police budget, but yet she has security at her house by the Los Angeles Police Department,” said Det. Jamie McBride, who serves as director of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the LAPD’s union. McBride, who has been in law enforcement for 30 years, spent more than five years at the LAPD’s Foothill Division, which serves Martinez’s district in the San Fernando Valley.

EXCLUSIVE: LAPD Investigating Defense Attorney Who Allegedly Called For Police To Be Murdered

A San Gabriel criminal defense attorney is under LAPD investigation after posts from his Instagram account called for police to be murdered offered free legal representation to anyone who kills a cop. FOX 11 exclusively obtained screenshots of highly disturbing social media posts allegedly authored by attorney Mark McBride on Instagram. “When we first saw the comments it was disgust, it was anger,” said Sgt. Jerretta Sandoz, Vice President of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents LAPD rank and file. “There are so many good police officers in this country and to be painted with a broad brush and then threatened with bodily harm, just for wearing a uniform, it’s disheartening and disgusting.” In a phone call with FOX 11, LAPD called the comments extremely disturbing and said an investigation was underway. “He should definitely be disbarred and he will be reported to the state bar,” Sgt. Sandoz said. “For threats, especially that vile, it’s disgusting, disheartening, and that person definitely needs to be reported and we will ensure there is a full investigation done, and that is underway.”

5 Deadly Shootings Reported In L.A. Since Thursday

Detectives are seeking clues and suspects in five deadly shootings reported across Los Angeles over the past four days, authorities announced Sunday. A man in his 30s died in a 1:10 a.m. shooting Sunday at a house party in the 3800 block of Woodlawn Avenue in L.A.’s Historic South-Central area, according to the LAPD. The victim and the suspect, also described as a man in his 30s, became involved in a fight, police said. “The suspect produced a handgun and shot the victim,” the LAPD said in a written statement. The killer ran away, and the victim was taken to a hospital where he soon succumbed to his injuries. Another man was killed when gunfire broke out about 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the 4300 block of Normal Avenue in East Hollywood, officials said.

Union Leaders Join BLM Los Angeles In Calling For Defunding Of LAPD

Major union leaders in Los Angeles County Monday pledged their support to the Black Lives Matter agenda working toward defunding the Los Angeles Police Department and redirecting those funds to community organizations. Leaders from United Teachers Los Angeles, Service Employees International Union and others came out to a peaceful protest in front of City Hall calling for an end to systemic racism. Along with an end to systemic racism, the demonstrators also called for the city to go even further to defund the LAPD. Activists say reallocating money from police department budgets to social services is a great idea, but police officers said that even an 8% budget cut will mean major losses in coverage. “You’re going to end up delaying investigations of murders and rapes and assaults, your violent crimes,” Robert Harris, of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said. “You’re going going to decimate our ability to crackdown on things like human trafficking, you’re going to pull officers away from the homeless task force.”

San Pedro Couple Accused Of Running Drug Den Out Of Duplex

The City Attorney's Office sued a San Pedro couple Monday, alleging their duplex is being used for drug sales by customers who arrive day and night and sometimes pass out in their vehicles outside. The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit filed against 55-year-old Edward Riner and his 44-year-old wife, Charlene, asks that their property be declared a nuisance and that all alleged drug-related activity be ceased at the property in the 500 block of West 40th Street. "As soon as they moved in, the once-quiet property quickly developed a reputation in the community as a dangerous trap house,'' according to the suit, which notes that a trap house is slang for a place where drugs are bought, sold and stored. A representative for the Riners could not be immediately reached for comment.

Suspects Caught On Camera During Looting Of Long Beach Vape Shop

Eight days after a Long Beach vape shop was looted, we're getting a look at the surveillance video that shows multiple suspects who still haven't been caught. Security camera video shows the work of several suspects inside "Breathe Vape" Sunday night, May 31st. This is the same night dozens of Long Beach businesses were looted. Breathe Vape has been around since 2013 and is located on Pacific Coast Highway. The manager says at least ten hooded suspects, many of them wearing backpacks, targeted specific areas of the store. He describes what he saw when he first reviewed the video. “They did a great job of only stealing expensive stuff,” says Nick Almaguer who estimates the suspects stole close to twenty thousand dollars worth of product.

California Sheriff: Gunman ‘Very Intent’ On Killing Police

An Air Force sergeant and leader in an elite military security force was armed with homemade bombs, an AR-15 rifle and other weapons and had a desire to harm police when he launched a deadly attack on unsuspecting officers, a Northern California sheriff said Monday. Gunfire and explosives rained down from a hillside Saturday afternoon as Staff Sgt. Steven Carrillo fired from the high ground onto police who scrambled to find cover and defend themselves, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart said. “He was very intent on killing these police officers,” Hart said at a news conference. “They had no idea that they were about to get into this firefight.”

FBI Found Weapons, Booby Traps After Arrest Of 3 Men Planning Violence During Protests

FBI agents found rags, gasoline, aerosol cans and weapons along with booby traps, fireworks and handwritten notes of military and survival tactics while serving search warrants on three Nevada men who authorities say sought to spark violence during recent Las Vegas protests, according to police reports obtained Monday. U.S. prosecutors say Stephen T. Parshall, 35, Andrew T. Lynam Jr., 23, and William L. Loomis, 40, have ties to a loose movement of right-wing extremists advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government. Authorities said the men hoped to carry out a plan to create civic unrest by capitalizing on protests over businesses closed due to the coronavirus and later, the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis after a white officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes. 

Michigan Officer Killed By Suspected Drunk Driver

Darrian Young, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office animal control officer who was involved in an accident on S. Custer Rd., has died. She was officially pronounced dead at 12:16 a.m. Saturday, according to Maj. Jeff Kemp. "Words cannot describe the sorrow that has been cast upon our department during this tragic event," he said. "We ask for continued thoughts and prayers to help Darrian's family and our department deal with this devastating loss." Young, who was driving a fully marked unit, was involved in an accident at Raisinville Rd. where the other driver reportedly was drunk. Once the investigation by the Michigan State Police is concluded, the report will be sent to the Monroe County Prosecutor's Office, which will determine if and what criminal charges are to be filed.

Public Safety News

Firefighters Battle Blaze At Downtown L.A. Produce Market As Propane Tanks Explode Outside: LAFD

Firefighters battled a blaze that erupted and spread into a produce market in downtown Los Angeles Monday, the L.A. Fire Department said. Propane tanks were seen exploding outside of the one-story building at 815 Kohler St., fire officials said after the blaze was reported around 3:20 p.m. The produce market was open for business and people were self-evacuating when firefighters arrived at the scene, according to LAFD. The fire was dubbed a major emergency incident about 20 minutes after it ignited and 112 firefighters responded to the scene, going into defensive mode. “Due to the extreme fire conditions, crews are getting water on the fire from the exterior prior to making an interior attack. There are multiple bays within this structure which have heavy fire,” the fire department said in an alert.

Los Angeles County Coronavirus Cases Rise To 64,644, With 2,655 Deaths

Los Angeles County on Monday reported 823 new coronavirus cases and 10 additional deaths, bringing the totals to 64,644 cases and 2,655 deaths. Six people who died were over the age of 65 years old and three people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65 years old, five people had underlying health conditions including three people over the age of 65 years old and two people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. The data on the remaining case was not immediately available.

California Was Set To Spend Over $1 Billion to Prevent Wildfires. Then Came COVID-19

With the coronavirus pandemic eroding state budgets across the country, many communities risk having this disaster make them less prepared for looming climate-driven disasters. Still recovering from devastating wildfires, California was poised to spend billions of dollars to prepare for future fires and other extreme weather disasters. The infrastructure projects, designed to make communities and homes more resistant to wildfire, have long been overlooked, fire experts say. But with a $54 billion budget deficit, the programs are being put on hold. "It's really a shame," says Alexandra Syphard, a fire scientist at Sage Underwriters, a wildfire insurance company. "Obviously COVID has been a shame on so many different levels. We were ramping up to provide what I believe is one of the most progressive and important investments in terms of fire risk that there could be."