LAPD Officer Injured In Crash Involving Possible DUI Driver In South LA

An officer was taken to a hospital Monday night with non-life threatening injuries from a crash involving a motorist possibly under the influence in South Los Angeles. The crash occurred about 8:30 p.m. near the intersection of West Colden Avenue and South Broadway, according to Officer Mike Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department. The officer was sitting in his vehicle when a driver, who was possibly under the influence, struck the officer's vehicle, Lopez said. The officer was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, and officers are investigating if the motorist was under the influence, according to Lopez.

LA Councilman Who Voted To Slash Police Budget Called Officers Eight Times To His House, Records Show

Public records indicate that a Los Angeles city councilman who voted to slash the police department budget by $150 million called for police assistance eight times since April, including calls for protection from protesters at his home. “A public records request reveals that LA city councilman Mike Bonin, who voted to defund LAPD by $150 million, has called LAPD to his home 8 times since 4/4/20, including to provide extra patrols and protection from peaceful protesters at his house,” Fox 11 Los Angeles reporter Bill Melugin tweeted Friday. Melugin linked to a public record request from the city of Los Angeles showing eight different requests for police to Mike Bonin’s residence in West Los Angeles’s Mar Vista neighborhood. Bonin joined 10 other council members in an 11-3 vote to cut the police budget in June. 

Police Union To Garcetti: Don’t Drag Cops Into Your ‘Party House’ Plan

The political battle between Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and the police union escalated this week with union leaders bucking the mayor’s plans to crack down on illicit “party houses” amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Garcetti last week authorized the city to shut off water and power at homes where revelers are defying public health orders intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Under the mayor’s directive, Los Angeles Police Department officers who respond to a large party at a property can request the utilities be cut within 48 hours. Homes where parties regularly occur are the target, the mayor said. But the mayor’s announcement drew the quick ire of officials in the Police Protective League, who have clashed with Garcetti in recent months as he has pushed for reforms and cuts to the LAPD as part of a national reckoning over police abuses. “Mayor Garcetti wants to reimagine policing. He should send his civilian staff to turn off people’s electricity & cut off their water,” the League said in a tweet over the weekend in response to the mayor’s plans. “Let officers deal with the rise in shootings and killings in L.A. We need a leader and not a political contortionist.”

5 Wounded After Gunfire Erupts At Warehouse In Harbor-Gateway

A large party at a warehouse in the in the South Los Angeles County neighborhood of Harbor-Gateway came to an abrupt end in the early morning hours Tuesday when dozens of shots rang out and at least five people were wounded. As many as 200 people were in the warehouse, located in the 22900 block of Lockness Avenue, when there was some kind of altercation and then shots rang out sometime around 12:30 a.m. Los Angeles police officers responded to find three women and two men with gunshot wounds. They were taken to hospitals in stable condition. The victims ranged in age from 20 to 39, police said. “The five victims were transported to local area hospitals here in the Harbor area,” LAPD Capt. Jay Mastick told reporters. “All five were treated. One was in serious condition but is now in stable condition. All the victims are expected to be OK.”

SWAT Team Responds To Man Allegedly Barricaded With Gun In Hancock Park

A man allegedly barricaded himself with a gun this evening in Hancock Park, prompting nearby evacuations and a SWAT team response. Officers were dispatched to the 300 block of South Orange Drive, near Third Street, about 7 p.m., according to Officer Mike Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department. Details weren’t immediately available, but Lopez said nearby homes were evacuated and a SWAT team was being sent to the scene about 9:20 p.m. 

Public Asked To Help Find Granada Hills Man

An 82-year-old man with dementia went missing from a Granada Hills residential care facility and police continued to ask for public help to find him. Luis Canto was last seen around noon Friday at a residential care facility in the 17300 block of Los Alimos Street, the Los Angeles Police Department said. He may be trying to get to his son’s home on Moonstone Drive in Lincoln Heights. Canto is Hispanic. He stands 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs about 125 pounds. He has gray hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing a cream-colored T-shirt, black pants and black shoes, police said. Anyone with information on his whereabouts was asked to call the LAPD Devonshire Station Watch Commander at 818-832-0633 or 911. Tipsters can also call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

Man Charged With Murder In Fatal Shooting Of Middle School Coach Outside Ladera Heights Party

A 29-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a middle school coach at a party in Ladera Heights last month, officials announced Monday. Tylon Deshawn Geoffrey White, of Compton, also faces a count of possession of a firearm by a felon and allegations that the crimes were committed in association with a gang, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The incident occurred on July 22 when the victim, Jakeil Reynolds, 25, was walking home from the party along the 5800 block of Holt Avenue, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. White allegedly confronted Reynolds and the two men argued before Reynolds was shot to death. White was arrested early the next morning.

Search Underway After Man Arrested On Suspicion Of Public Intoxication Escapes From Sheriff's Station

A search was underway Tuesday after a man who was arrested on suspicion of being drunk in public managed to escape from the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station in Calabasas. The escape occurred at 1:47 a.m. from the station at 27050 Agoura Rd,, said Deputy Trina Schrader of the Sheriff's Information Bureau. The unarmed suspect is described as a 23-year-old Hispanic man wearing a white T-shirt and dark shorts, sheriff's officials said. The search area is Agoura Road from the Lost Hills Station to Las Virgenes Road, officials said. A helicopter is searching from above and residents are urged to keep their doors locked and call the station at 818-878-1808 if they see him.

Los Angeles County Trials Further Delayed Due To COVID-19

Trial dates for cases pending in Los Angeles Superior Court will be further delayed under an order Monday by the presiding judge, who said courthouses are not designed for social distancing. Some criminal trials may start as early as September, but civil jury trials will be postponed until January and civil non-jury trials — other than small claims and traffic trials — may not commence before Nov. 16, based on the new order issued by Presiding Judge Kevin C. Brazile. Some other cases that can be heard by a judge without a jury may begin as early as Oct. 5 in compliance with social distancing protocols. Brazile said he sought to balance the need to increase the court’s workload while keeping courthouses safe by reducing in-person appearances.

Disbarred Beverly Hills Attorney Pleads Guilty To Federal Charge Of Scheming To Steal Over $500K From Client

A disbarred Beverly Hills lawyer pleaded guilty Monday to a federal criminal charge for scheming to steal more than $500,000 from a client he represented in bankruptcy proceedings and then use part of the money to pay off a $75,000 debt. Alan F. Broidy, 65, pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with interstate transportation of stolen property. According to his plea agreement, Broidy was hired to represent GRL-Mesa Investments LLC, a Phoenix-based company that filed for Chapter 11 protection in United States Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles in December 2015. In August 2016, the bankruptcy case was resolved and dismissed. Broidy was directed by the court to hold $2,469,926 in a client trust account – funds derived from the sale of assets belonging to GRL-Mesa’s bankruptcy estate.

13 Chicago Cops Hurt Amid Looting, Over 100 Arrests

More than 100 people were arrested Monday following a night of looting and unrest that left 13 officers injured and caused damage in the city's upscale Magnificent Mile shopping district and other parts of the city, authorities said. Police Superintendent David Brown said it “was not an organized protest” but instead “an incident of pure criminality” that began following the shooting of a person by police the previous day in the city's Englewood neighborhood. At one point early Monday, shots were fired at police and officers returned fire. Brown said a heavy police presence is expected in the downtown area until further notice. “This was straight up, felony criminal conduct,” said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. "This was an assault on our city.”

Texas Officer Killed In Wrong-Way Crash

A 23-year-old Beaumont officer died in crash caused by a wrong-way driver, according to police chief Jim Singletary. The crash left an unnamed officer in critical, but stable condition. The chief said two-year officer Sheena Yarbrough, of Lumberton, died in the crash. “It’s a sad day for the Beaumont Police Department and the community,” Singletary said at a press conference Sunday. Singletary said the Yarbrough was hired by BPD as a cadet in August of 2018, before being sworn in that December. “There is no doubt that it is an extremely difficult time to be a police officer,” he said. “It is also an extremely important time to be a police officer. Our officers and dispatch have done a remarkable job, but today we are hurting. The next few days, weeks, months and years will be difficult for Sheena’s family, both blood and blue, but we will get through this together.”

Public Safety News

L.A. County Coronavirus Hospitalizations Continue To Decline

Los Angeles County public health officials on Saturday reported 2,645 new cases of the coronavirus and 51 related deaths but said hospitalizations continue to decline. The latest case numbers did not include a pending backlog of lab reports the county is expecting the state to send via its electronic reporting system over the next couple of days, officials said. It’s not clear whether that will change the overall picture of how rapidly the virus continues to spread. Still, officials said, death and hospitalization statistics were not affected by the reporting glitch, which has rendered new case numbers inaccurate. On Friday, there were 1,568 confirmed COVID-19 cases in county hospitals; the number topped 2,000 for much of July. The most recent three-day average number of hospitalizations represented a decline of 5.2%, according to the L.A. Times coronavirus tracker.

California’s Coronavirus Database Glitch That Caused Backlog Now Fixed

Responding to one of California’s biggest setbacks since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday said his administration has fixed a public health computer database failure that distorted test results across the state and raised doubts about actions taken to stem the spread of coronavirus. Newsom faced reporters for the first time since he touted the inaccurate data as a positive sign of fewer infections a day before the glitches became public. The governor said he was unaware of the problem, even though state health officials warned counties about data issues days earlier.

Local Government News

LA County Prepares To Hand Out $100 Million In Rent Relief

Los Angeles County plans to start a $100 million rent relief fund next week to help residents in areas most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, officials announced Monday. The money comes from federal coronavirus relief funds, will be managed by the Los Angeles County Development Authority, and will be paid directly to landlords to settle unpaid rent. County officials said they hope the program will help 8,000 to 9,000 households. The program will open on Aug. 17 and remain open for two weeks to provide emergency rental assistance for low-income renters who are struggling as a result of the health and economic crisis. Los Angeles residents are not eligible, as the city received a separate allocation of federal funds for its residents. The program will apply to residential properties only. Residents unable to pay their rent and living on 30% of the median income can receive up to $10,000.