L.A. Police Union Launches Website To Call For Investment In Better Policing

The Los Angeles Police Protective League and three other law enforcement organizations have launched a website to advocate for investing in better policing rather than defunding departments, they announced Thursday. The website investinpolicing.com includes an open letter to local, state and federally elected officials calling for investment in better policing and expanding community policing, adding that calls to defund or abolish police departments are dangerous.

1 Person Injured, Left Lying In ‘Middle Of The Street’ In Palms Shooting

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating after a person was found in the “middle of the street” in Palms on Thursday afternoon, following a report of a shooting in the area. LAPD officers were dispatched to Venice Blvd. and Hughes Ave. around 2:20 p.m., after reports of four shots fired and a person lying in the street, officials said. The victim has not been identified, but police said they are being treated at a hospital in Westwood. There was no information on his condition. The suspect fled the scene, according to police.

LAPD Reports Additional Employees Have Tested Positive For COVID-19

The Los Angeles Police Department reported Thursday additional employees have tested positive for COVID-19. To date, 521 employees have tested positive, according to Jessica Kellogg of the Emergency Operations Center. Kellogg said that 131 employees are at home recovering or self-isolating due to exposure, and 420 have returned to work. Last month, 45-year-old Valentin Martinez, a sworn-officer, and Erica McAdoo, a 39-year-old non-sworn senior detention officer died from coronavirus complications.

New Video Released In Case Of Man Slain In Chilling Murder In Front Of Girlfriend

A family shattered by a murder was hoping new video released by the Los Angeles Police Department would provide information leading to a suspect in the slaying in Manchester Square in South Los Angeles. The chilling murder happened in front of the victim's girlfriend just before 10 p.m. Nov. 1, 2019. The couple had pulled up to a friend’s house near 84th Street and St. Andrews Place. LAPD homicide detectives say that’s when two men approached. "They confronted the victim as he sat in his car," said Brandon Bourgeois, LAPD south bureau homicide. For the first time, LAPD released surveillance video of what they believe is the getaway car. In the images, it's too dark to see a license plate, but they think it’s a newer model Chevy Malibu. Multiple cameras caught it. The city is offering a $50,000 reward for anyone who can help cops find the killers.

2 Arrested, 1 At Large In Hate Crime On Transgender Women In Hollywood

Authorities have arrested two suspects in connection with the robbery and assault of two transgender women, including a YouTube performer, who were attacked in Hollywood. Carlton Callway, 29, and Willie Walker, 42, were both arrested in connection with the attack, which is being classified as a hate crime. A third suspect, Davion Williams, 22, remained at large Thursday evening. Police say it’s unclear if all three suspects knew each other. According to police, the suspects approached the women around 2:15 a.m. Monday and offered to buy them merchandise at a store in the 6500 block of Hollywood Boulevard, near Wilcox Avenue. He then refused to pay and the women left, police said. The suspects approached them again with a metal bar and demanded one of the women's shoes and bracelet, police said. He then assaulted the second victim with a bottle, knocking her to the ground, according to police.

Prosecutors Consider Filing Charges In Megan Thee Stallion’s Hollywood Hills Shooting Case

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office revealed Wednesday that it was reviewing a potential charge of felony assault with a firearm in a case in which rapper Megan Thee Stallion said she was shot. The investigation involves recording artist Tory Lanez, who was arrested after Stallion alleged that she was shot in her feet last month outside a Hollywood Hills mansion. Prosecutors said they were reviewing the case and had asked the Los Angeles Police Department to further investigate the incident. Lanez was arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon after he was detained leaving the area before dawn July 12 in a vehicle that eyewitnesses said may have been connected to reports of the shooting.

Case Against German Serial Arsonist Who Set Dozens Of Fires In Hollywood Sent Back To Trial Court

A state appeals court Thursday ordered the case against a German national convicted of setting dozens of fires in Hollywood, West Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley to be sent back for a judge to determine if he qualifies for a mental health diversion program that could eventually lead to the dismissal of the charges against him. The three-justice panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal cited "significant evidence presented at trial'' of Harry Burkhart's "mental illness'' in ordering his conviction on 49 felony charges to be conditionally reversed and directed Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli to conduct a hearing on whether the 33-year-old man qualifies for the diversion program. "If the trial court exercises its discretion to grant diversion and Burkhart completes diversion, the trial court shall dismiss the charges,'' Associate Justice Gail Ruderman Feuer wrote on behalf of the panel.

Man Killed In Apparent Gang-Related Shooting In Compton

A man was killed Tuesday afternoon in a what a sheriff’s deputy said appeared to be a gang-related shooting in Compton. Deputies were dispatched about 4:20 p.m. to the 800 block of South Mayo Avenue, near Alondra Boulevard, according to Deputy Trina Schrader of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The victim, whose name was not released, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his lower torso while sitting in the driver’s seat of his parked vehicle, according to the sheriff’s department. He died at a hospital. “The shooting appears to be gang related,” said Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez. Anyone with information about the shooting was urged to contact the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Those wishing to report anonymously can call 800-222-TIPS.

Man Arrested In Connection With Several Indecent Exposures, Lewd Acts With Minors In Long Beach

Police have arrested a man on suspicion of several incidents of indecent exposure and lewd acts with minors in Long Beach, and authorities believe there may be more victims who have yet to come forward. David Leon Lopez, 34, of Long Beach, was booked Thursday on suspicion of one count of lewd acts and eight counts of indecent exposure, the Long Beach Police Department said in a news release. Police said the alleged crimes began in October 2019 and occurred in different areas of the city as Lopez frequently drove in and around Long Beach. On May 10, detectives received a report of a social media post of an exposure incident that traced back to Lopez. “Through follow up investigation, victim evidence, and the information obtained from the social media post detectives were able to connect the suspect’s vehicle to six other incidents in the City of Long Beach,” police said.

Golden State Killer To Be Sentenced For Crimes That Terrorized A Generation Of Californians

All that now awaits the Golden State Killer is an end of his days in prison. A Sacramento County judge on Friday will sentence the 74-year-old serial rapist and murderer to 26 life terms for killing 13 people and raping 50 in a series of break-ins that terrorized a state. But as the historic criminal case comes to an end, victims and prosecutors struggle with what constitutes justice after four decades of suffering and loss. “To say our family is in grief is an understatement. Calling this true justice is probably an overstatement,” Bryan Sanchez, nephew of 1981 murder victim Greg Sanchez, told Judge Michael Bowman in Sacramento County Superior Court this week during three days of impact statements. “Justice is not possible in this case,” said Jennifer Carole, the daughter of another murdered victim, Lyman Smith, and his wife, Charlene. “And because of that, I can have no peace.”

Crime Spikes As Soros-Funded DAs Take Charge: 'They're Not Progressive, They're Rogue'

Billionaire Democratic donor George Soros bankrolled the successful campaigns of a new crop of district attorneys who now preside over big cities with skyrocketing crime and frayed relationships with police departments. Soros-backed DAs in Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco and other cities have fired scores of experienced prosecutors and, as promised, stopped prosecuting low-level quality-of-life crimes such as disorderly conduct, vagrancy and loitering. Their laissez-faire criminal justice philosophy bucks the get-tough “broken windows” approach, made famous by then-New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, which targets minor offenses to cut off the criminal element in the bud. Put into practice, New York and other metropolises saw dramatic crime reductions throughout the ‘90s and ‘00s. Those days are long gone.

New York Agency To Adopt New Mental Health Service For Officers

The Syracuse Police Department wants to do a better job looking after the mental and emotional health of its officers. The department is asking the Common Council to approve spending $35,000 to purchase a mental wellness app that gives officers resources for dealing with the strain and trauma that often comes with the job. First Deputy Chief Joseph Cecile said the app, called Cordico Shield, has been shown to improve morale and attendance in other departments where it’s used. “We always work very hard from the neck down,” he told councilors, “but we don’t do much for [officers] from the neck up, even though they experience trauma.” Cecile said studies show that the average police officer is faced with 188 traumatic events throughout a career. The typical citizen, meanwhile, might experience two or three such traumatic events in a lifetime.

Public Safety News

LA County Reports 1,603 New Coronavirus Cases, 57 Additional Deaths

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Thursday reported 1,603 newly confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 57 additional deaths, bringing countywide totals to 227,346 reported cases and 5,446 reported deaths. Of those who have died from the illness, 92% had underlying health conditions, with hypertension and diabetes being the most common along with neurologic conditions and cardiovascular disease, the health department said. According to the department, nearly 3,000 people who died had hypertension, more than 2,000 had diabetes, 1,300 people neurologic conditions and 1,300 had cardiovascular disease. Health officials also reported that 24% of COVID-19 deaths were reported in people between 41 and 64 with underlying conditions and 3% were reported in people between the ages of 18 and 40 with underlying conditions.

California Fires Claim 5 Lives, Threaten Thousands Of Homes

Wildfires that blackened skies, took at least five lives and forced tens of thousands of people from their homes have blazed through California — straining firefighting resources by the sheer vastness of the battle lines. Three major collections of fires — dozens in all — carved their way Thursday through forests, canyons and rural areas in the San Francisco Bay Area and central California. Tens of thousands of homes were threatened by flames that drove through dense and bone-dry trees and brush. Many of the fires were sparked by lightning strikes from brief thunderstorms this week as a high-pressure area over the West brought a dangerous mix of triple-digit weather and monsoonal moisture pulled from the south. Some fires doubled in size within 24 hours, fire officials said.