LAPD Reports 11 More Coronavirus Cases, Bringing Department Total To 404

The Los Angeles Police Department reported on Thursday an additional 11 positive cases of COVID-19. So far, 404 employees have tested positive for the virus, according to Jessica Kellogg of the Emergency Operations Center. Of those who have contracted the virus, 239 employees are at home recovering or self isolating, and 215 have returned to work. No additional Los Angeles Fire Department employees have tested positive for coronavirus, keeping the department’s total to 128. According to Kellogg, 75 have recovered and returned to work, and 53 are recovering at home.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore Wants More Power To Fire Officers

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore wants to concentrate the power to fire officers in his own hands, saying the board that reviews his disciplinary decisions is overly lenient. Bypassing the Board of Rights would require changing the city charter and would essentially undo a major reworking of police discipline that was approved by L.A. voters three years ago. Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file LAPD officers, said the Board of Rights system is working well and that checks on the chief’s power are needed. “Every chief wants the power to do whatever they want, but officers are afforded due process,” Lally said. “Most people out there think due process is the fair thing to do. It’s not that the chief gets to have an investigation, and then the officer is terminated.” Despite the Board of Rights, Moore has still been able to fire a number of officers, Lally said. Moore told the editorial board that he fired 18 officers last year.

Man Found Dead In Southwest Los Angeles Area

A young man was found dead Thursday near a church in the southwest Los Angeles area, authorities said. The body of the man, apparently in his 20s, was discovered about 10:45 a.m. in the vicinity of 55th and Hoover streets, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Information on his identity or cause of death was not immediately available. Detectives were investigating the circumstances of his death. 

2 People Shot, Wounded On South LA Street

Authorities are looking for a gunman who shot two people on a street in South Los Angeles early Friday morning. The shooting occurred at 54th Street and Central Avenue at about 3 a.m., according to Los Angeles police. Officers arrived on scene to find a 30-year-old man with at least one gunshot wound to the chest, and a second person who had been shot in the hip. Both were rushed to local hospitals. Their conditions were unknown. The gunman, described as a Hispanic male, was last seen running away. He was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt. There’s no word on a motive or whether the shooting was gang-related.

Burglary Suspect In Custody After LAPD Pursuit Of Pickup Truck Through The North Hollywood Area

A burglary suspect was taken into custody after a pursuit through the North Hollywood area Thursday morning, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The white pickup truck was seen speeding through neighborhoods, running red lights and driving through a busy intersection, narrowly missing vehicles coming from a cross street, Sky5 video showed. At one point, officers could be seen deploying spike strips to stop the truck, but the driver managed to swerve away and continue driving, with several Los Angeles Police Department cruisers following closely behind. Eventually, the truck came to a stop shortly before 8 a.m. near Vineland Avenue and Weddington Street after two of the vehicle’s wheels were damaged.

Downtown LA Ice Cream Vendor Punched And Knocked To The Ground For About $30

A 57-year-old ice cream vendor was knocked to the ground and robbed of about $30 Tuesday in an attack that was captured on a security camera in downtown Los Angeles. A man and woman can be seen in the video walking up to the vendor as he pushed his ice cream cart on a sidewalk near 12th and Birch streets. They acted as though they were about to buy something before one of individuals sucker-punched 57-year-old Miguel Medina, knocking him backwards to the ground. "They asked him for an ice cream, and when he bent down to grab the ice cream, that's when the guy hit him,” said vendor Adán Reyes. “He was already completely knocked out.” Witnesses said Medina struck his head on the pavement, leaving him hospitalized in serious condition, police said. He has since been released from the hospital, police said. The attackers then ran across the street and took off in a dark Toyota Avalon with about $30 as Medina was left sprawled on the side of the street. Reyes said that was likely all the money Medina had made in sales that day.

2 Men Arrested In Arson Fire At Hollywood Restaurant, Looting During Protests

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of setting fire to a Hollywood restaurant during protests that became violent in May. Mario Alvarado, 43, and Julian Mejia, 34, were arrested Thursday by an LAPD task force investigating the violence that erupted on May 30. Images released by the LAPD shows two men they say went into a restaurant in the Hollywood area and used an accelerant to start a fire. After setting the fire, the suspect looted several bottles of alcohol and other items from neighboring businesses, police said. Police say they were tipped off by contributions to the SAFE LA TIPS website, and led to search warrants being served at the suspects’ homes. The two men were arrested on suspicion of arson and looting.

Woman Pleads Not Guilty To Killing Companion, Setting Home Ablaze

A woman who allegedly confessed to killing her longtime companion, whose body was found in a Woodland Hills home that had been set on fire, pleaded not guilty Thursday to murder and arson charges. Darlene Denise Carlisle, 57, is charged in the June 29 death of Jack Richard Rodarte. The 58-year-old victim died of the combined effects of multiple stab wounds and smoke inhalation, according to the county coroner’s office. Carlisle approached officers and allegedly told them she had set the fire at the one-story home in the 23200 block of West Victory Boulevard ablaze and killed the victim, with whom she was in a long-term relationship. She was taken into custody at the scene, and a knife was booked as evidence, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Peeping Tom Arrested In Long Beach After Surveillance Video Caught Him In The Act

Long Beach police have arrested a peeping Tom who they say was performing a sex act in front of a teenage girl. The suspect is a registered sex offender, violating his parole. The victim’s dad, Canaan Leyva got a Ring camera a few months ago because his 15-year-old daughter was having a sleepover and he caught the shadow of a man who then ran away. So this time, he was ready and caught him in the act. Leyva’s daughter woke him up to at 3:00 a.m. Thursday. We’ve cropped the videos because they’re way too graphic…showing this stranger watch his daughter while performing a sex act on himself. The man then covered the Ring camera with his sock. “She was sitting here, laying on this couch, and he peeped in right through this crack,” Leyva said. 

Couple Charged In Beating, Robbery Of 80-Year-Old Man At Lancaster Grocery Store

A 22-year-old man and his alleged accomplice were charged Wednesday in a brutal attack at a Lancaster supermarket last week that left the 80-year-old victim in intensive care, prosecutors said. Damaris Wade, aka Papa Cill, is accused of assaulting Roberto Flores Lopez and stealing his wallet in the restroom of the Superior Grocers at the corner of Avenue J and Challenger Way the morning of July 8. He’s charged with attempted murder, elder abuse and second-degree robbery, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Wade’s girlfriend, 33-year-old Tamika White, is facing one count of acting as an accessory after the fact in helping to conceal the robbery, the DA’s office said. Investigators have said she was at the scene during the assault.

LA Man Accused Of Fraudulently Obtaining $9M In PPP Loans, Spending Hundreds Of Thousands Gambling In Vegas

A Beverly Grove man was being held without bond Thursday after being arrested on federal charges alleging that he fraudulently obtained millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program loans, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. Andrew Marnell, 40, has been charged with one count of bank fraud for allegedly obtaining more than $8 million in PPP loans through applications to insured financial institutions, and others, on behalf of different companies, according to a criminal complaint. Prosecutors said they now believe he received approximately $9 million in fraudulent loans. They also believe that number could rise as the investigation continues.

Video: NYPD Chief, Officers Attacked By Protesters On Brooklyn Bridge

Several New York City police officers were attacked and injured Wednesday as pro-police and anti-police protesters clashed on the Brooklyn Bridge, police said. The confrontation happened hours before Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law a series of police accountability measures inspired by the killings of George Floyd, Eric Garner and other Black people. At least four officers were hurt, including Chief of Department Terence Monahan, and 37 people were arrested, police said. Information on charges was not immediately available. It was not clear how many protesters were injured. Surveillance video posted on social media by the police department showed a man on the bridge’s pedestrian walkway rushing toward a group of officers and reaching over a fence to smack one of them in the head with a cane.

Public Safety News

LA County Sets New Daily Record For Coronavirus Cases

Los Angeles County is reporting 4,592 new cases of the coronavirus, the highest single-day total of the pandemic. The county is also reporting another 59 deaths from the virus. Health officials say this is the largest increase in new cases, surpassing the count from July 14. Over the last 48 hours there have been 7,350 new cases. Of the 59 new deaths, 34 people who died were over the age of 65 years old and 20 people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65 years old. Meanwhile, 48 people had underlying health conditions including 32 people over the age of 65 years old and 16 people between the ages of 41 to 65 years old. To date, Public Health has reported a total of 147,468 positive cases and a total of 3,988 deaths.

L.A. County Expands Testing Sites In Black And Latino Communities Hit Hard By Coronavirus

Los Angeles County is launching six testing locations in hot spot communities where Black and Latino residents have been disproportionately hit by the coronavirus, officials announced Wednesday. Test sites will be added in Montebello, South Gate, Azusa, Panorama City, Compton and Downey, which together have accounted for more than 10,370 infections. The county is also expanding testing in four other areas: Bellflower, Pomona, El Monte and East Los Angeles, which have tallied more than 9,300 infections combined. The additions — part of a $4-million investment from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — will boost testing capacity by more than 65%, health officials said.

Coronavirus Spreading Rapidly In L.A. Workplaces That Ignore Safety Rules

Saying Los Angeles County is in an “alarming and dangerous phase” of the pandemic, health officials said the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in workplaces that are not following safety rules. While the county is seeing outbreaks at a variety of workplaces, the sectors with the highest numbers are food processing and distribution facilities, including meatpacking plants, manufacturing facilities, garment factories and wholesale warehouses. Often the locations are not enforcing physical distancing among employees or implementing infection control procedures, including the proper use of face coverings and frequent sanitation, Los Angeles County Health Officer Muntu Davis said. “We’re not seeing the compliance that we need with the public health directives being in place to keep people’s health and livelihoods safe,” he said. “Our paramount concern is for the safety of all employees and their families.”