3 Calif. Police Unions Unveil National Reform Agenda To Improve Policing

Three powerful California police unions, including the Los Angeles Police Protective League, have unveiled a national reform agenda they hope improves the relationship between officers and the communities they serve. The proposed reforms come amid nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd and includes a national use-of-force standard that emphasizes de-escalation and a national database of former police officers fired for gross misconduct. Other proposed changes include an early warning system to identify officers that may need more training and a transparent and publicly accessible use-of-force analysis site.

California’s largest police unions unveil reform plan in joint statement

The plan pulls in various initiatives that the departments have individually implemented over the past several years and calls for reforms that include the creation of a national database of former police officers who were fired for gross misconduct to keep other agencies from hiring them as a beginning point for change. Unions are also calling for a national use-of-force standard that “emphasizes reverence for life, de-escalation, a duty to intercede, proportional responses to dangerous incidents and strong accountability provisions mirrored after the Los Angeles Police Department. “Our unions are committed to the continuous improvement of policing in America,” the unions said in a statement. “We believe that each of our departments has made tremendous strides in strengthening accountability, transparency and adopting policies that reduce the number and severity of uses-of-force. However, we can do more, and we believe this agenda should be adopted across our nation as an important step toward improving police and community outcomes.”

2 Officers Injured In Crash While Responding To Robbery Call In Hollywood

Authorities say two officers sustained minor injuries in a crash Saturday while responding to a robbery call in Hollywood. The robbery unfolded in Hollywood at Normandie and Melrose avenues Saturday. After the robbery, the LAPD says the victim chased after the suspect, resulting in a crash on the northbound 405 Freeway at Victory Boulevard. Subsequent to that crash, LAPD officers responding were also involved in an accident in Van Nuys. They sustained minor injuries. One suspect was taken into custody and a second suspect remained outstanding. No further details were immediately available.

Sylmar Shooting Leaves One Man Dead, Two Seriously Wounded

One man died and two others were seriously wounded on Sunday in a shooting in Sylmar, according to authorities. The shooting happened at 12937 Borden Ave. about 6:40 p.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department and Los Angeles police said. One man was pronounced dead at the scene, LAFD spokesman Nicholas Prange said. Two others were hospitalized, one in grave condition and one in serious condition, he said. The deceased man's name was withheld pending notification of next of kin. LAPD detectives were still at the scene as of 8:30 p.m., said LAPD Sgt. Karen Spencer. "It's an ongoing investigation and we don't yet have a motive for the shootings," Spencer said. Spencer also said she did not yet have an update on the condition of the other two victims.

Robbery Pursuit Leads To Crash, Brief Closure Of Northbound 405 In Van Nuys

A robbery investigation led to a brief closure of the northbound 405 Freeway in Van Nuys after at least two suspects tried to flee on foot following a crash Saturday, June 13, authorities said. One suspect was taken into custody while the other remained outstanding, Los Angeles police spokesman Officer J. Chaves said. Los Angeles police received a call about 10:10 a.m. of a robbery that had taken place in the area of Melrose and Normandie avenues, near the 101 Freeway, in Hollywood, he said. After the robbery, the victim then chased the suspects up to the Van Nuys area, where the suspects crashed into another vehicle near the Victory Boulevard off-ramp, according to Chaves.

Video: Chatsworth Woman Takes Hammer To Neighbor's Car, Says 'Get Out Of This Neighborhood'

A Chatsworth woman was seen on a video banging a hammer against her neighbor's car and telling her to "get the (expletive) out of this neighborhood." The resident who posted the video to social media described the neighbor as racist. In the video, the woman has a hammer in each hand and she bangs dents into her neighbor's car. She then starts walking toward her neighbor with the hammers in her hands. As her neighbor backs away, she says "Get the (expletive) out of this neighborhood you (expletive.)" The woman tells her neighbor to go ahead and call the police - which she does. As the neighbor is calling police, the woman can be seen using the hammers to attack and knock over her neighbor's recycling bin. The woman was arrested but then released from jail the next day due to COVID-19 rules requiring low or no bail and quick release for minor offenses.

Paramount Business Owner Accused Of Serial Sexual Assault; Additional Victims Sought

Detectives are looking for potential additional victims of a Paramount silk screen printing company owner who they say sexually assaulted numerous young women after hiring them to work as models. Randy Dee Headley, 55, was arrested May 28, according to Los Angeles County booking records. He own Logos Two in Paramount, which is also known as LA Clothing Company, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. “Headley, would entice and lure young women between the ages 17-25 who were hired to model the T-shirt merchandise,” according to Deputy Eric Ortiz of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau. The victims were asked to model suggestive company apparel for photos. “During the photoshoot, the suspect would grope his victims and in most cases sexually assault them,” Ortiz said in a written statement. “Suspect Randy Headley was arrested pursuant to multiple counts of sexual battery.”

Orange County Man Indicted On Fraud Charges After Allegedly Soliciting Investments For Fake Coronavirus Cure

 A federal grand jury on Friday indicted a Huntington Beach man on fraud charges, after he allegedly posted videos on social media fraudulently claiming that he developed both a pill that would not only cure, but prevent, the novel coronavirus in an attempt to solicit funds from investors. Keith Lawrence Middlebrook, 52, has been charged with 11 counts of wire fraud stemming from alleged solicitations he made to potential investors in Nevada, New York, Texas, and Colorado. “Not only did I create the cure, but this pill right here is the prevention,” Middlebrook said in a video posted to Instagram. More than two million people watched Middlebrook’s YouTube and Instagram videos, where authorities said he falsely claimed to have developed a COVID-19 prevention pill and a cure for those already infected. It was not immediately clear what was in the pills.

Man Who Supplied Guns For San Bernardino Terrorist Attack Can’t Undo Guilty Plea

A federal judge has rejected an attempt by the Riverside man who supplied weapons to the 2015 San Bernardino shooters to withdraw his guilty plea to providing material support to a terrorist. U.S. District Judge Jesus G. Bernal on Wednesday, June 10, filed a ruling that said Enrique Marquez Jr., 28, did not meet the standard required to pull out of his plea. On Jan. 31, after a two-day hearing in Riverside that included the testimony of psychiatrists, Bernal said he was likely to rule against the petition. Sentencing was scheduled for Aug. 17. Marquez had been charged with supplying the assault-style rifles and bomb-making materials used by longtime friend Syed Rizwan Farook and Farook’s wife, Tashfeen Malik, in the Dec. 2, 2015 terrorist attack at a San Bernardino County Division of Environmental Health holiday party.

Suspect In Fatal Shooting Of Mississippi Deputy Captured

A man suspected of shooting and killing a deputy has been captured following a two-day manhunt, according to the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Joaquin Blackwell, 22, was apprehended Saturday in connection with the death of Simpson County deputy James Blair, 77. Blackwell is in the custody of the Rankin County Sheriff's Department, according to the Highway Patrol. Blackwell had been considered armed and dangerous. Dave Van, executive director of Regions 8 Health, told local media that family members were concerned about Blackwell's mental health. He was in custody of the Simpson County Sheriff's Department when he was brought to the facility in Mendenhall for an involuntary psychiatric evaluation. After the evaluation, Van told WJTV, the suspect grabbed the deputy’s gun while getting in the car then shot the deputy and left the scene.

Public Safety News

Man Dies After Jumping To Escape Hollywood Apartment Fire

A man in his late 60s jumped to his death Sunday while trying to escape fire in a two-story garden-style apartment building in Hollywood, authorities said. He suffered traumatic injuries and was “beyond medical help” before firefighters arrived, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange. The fire was reported at 3:40 a.m. at 1316 N. Fairfax Ave., Prange said. According to the original 911 call, the victim lived in the unit that was on fire, he said. Furniture blocked the doorway to the second-floor unit, which firefighters said appeared to have been placed there intentionally as a barricade. It also slowed the initial response of firefighters. Firefighters didn’t find anyone else in the unit, and no one was taken to the hospital, Prange said. Forty-four firefighters brought the flames under control in 21 minutes.

LAFD Using Drones To Determine Brush Clearance Compliance Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The Los Angeles Fire Department inspectors will begin using drones to determine brush clearance compliance checks on residential areas amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the department announced Friday. Last year, the Fire Department began using drones to do brush inspections at government-owned properties in the city, but was recently approved by the Board of Fire Commissioners to use them in residential areas in high fire severity zones. The department first began using drones to aid in firefighting work in December 2017, over the Skirball Fire on the westside of the city. Now “unmanned aerial systems” will also be used by inspectors who work each year to make sure brush is cleared in fire-prone areas — to create defensible space and help crews fight brush blazes. “Using this technology helps us keep our inspectors safe as they adhere to social distancing, while increasing efficiencies of our inspections and meeting our mission,” Kristin Crowley, deputy chief fire marshal for LAFD said in a video released by the department Friday.

17 Coronavirus Deaths, 1,003 New Cases Reported Sunday In LA County

In numbers declining considerably from Saturday’s jolting totals, Los Angeles County officials revealed 17 new deaths and 1,003 new cases of novel coronavirus in Sunday’s Department of Public Health update. The announcement brought the county’s state-topping total of confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 to 73,018, while total fatalities continued to inch closer to the 3,000 threshold, with 2,907 deaths. About 93% of people who died reported underlying health conditions, officials said. The mid-day report did not include updated numbers for Long Beach or Pasadena, which operate their own health departments. As of Sunday afternoon, neither city had posted new totals.