2 Officers Shot In Louisville As Protests Erupt Nationwide Over Breonna Taylor Case

Two police officers were shot in downtown Louisville on Wednesday night amid protests over the death of Breonna Taylor, interim police chief Robert Schroeder said at a press conference. It was unclear whether the shooting was related to the protests, but it came hours after Kentucky's attorney general announced that no officers were indicted for their role in the fatal police shooting of Taylor, a Black emergency medical worker killed in her own home. At approximately 8:30 p.m. local time, officers were called to respond to a large crowd and reports of shots fired, Schroeder said. While they were deploying, two police officers were shot. Both officers were in stable condition, Schroeder said. One was alert, and the other was undergoing surgery. Larynzo Johnson, 26, was arrested in connection with the shooting of both officers and was expected to face an arraignment hearing on Friday morning, likely via remote as courts are closed due to anti-coronavirus measures. The FBI has said it was assisting with the investigation into the shooting.

Breonna Taylor protests: Hundreds march through Los Angeles after decision

Hundreds of people marched through the streets of downtown Los Angeles Wednesday night in protests over the Breonna Taylor case. Authorities said one arrest was made for assault with a deadly weapon on a officer after a person allegedly pointed a laser at a police helicopter. One officer in the helicopter was taken to an area hospital after suffering vision issues. Eyewitness News cameras caught one person spray-painting graffiti on a building and another person trying to damage a building with a hammer. A person in the crowd stopped the vandalism and subdued the person.

Compton Leaders Add $10,000 To Reward For Capture Of Gunman Who Shot Deputies

Compton's City Council is adding $10,000 to a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man who shot two sheriff's deputies at a rail station in the city, officials announced Wednesday. The deputies were shot at about 7 p.m. on Sept. 12 as they sat in their parked patrol SUV at the Metro A (Blue) Line station at Willowbrook Avenue and Palmer Street. Surveillance video shows the suspect approaching the patrol vehicle from behind, walking up to the passenger side of the vehicle, pulling out a handgun and firing through the passenger side window. The gunman is then seen running away. The shooter was described by the sheriff's department as a "28- to 30 years old, wearing dark clothing, who was last seen heading northbound on Willowbrook Avenue in a black four-door sedan.''

‘We Have Not Defunded Anything’: Big Cities Boost Police Budgets

It seemed like a turning point. In May, a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, sparking protests against racism across the country and an unrelenting demand from protesters in city after city: Defund the police. But after months of demonstrations, that rallying cry hasn’t translated into reality. While a few major cities like New York and Los Angeles have made large, high profile cuts, more than half actually increased spending or kept it unchanged as a percentage of their discretionary spending, based on a Bloomberg CityLab analysis of 34 of the largest 50 U.S. cities that have finalized 2021 budgets. As a group, the difference between police spending as a share of the general funds fell less than 1% from last year. The city council in Indianapolis is poised to vote on an increase to its police budget in the coming weeks. Defunding Myth: More than half of cities are boosting police spending or keeping it the same from the last fiscal year. The reasons for such moves vary by city and state. For some, like Charlotte, North Carolina, residents’ calls to reduce police spending came too late in the budget process to have any impact on the final outcome, and for others, like San Antonio, increases were inevitable because of prior union negotiations.

Video: Shooting Outside Venice Bar Leaves Man, Woman Injured

A man and a woman were hurt after being shot during a chaotic fight that was caught on camera outside a bar in Venice. The incident happened around 1 a.m. outside Cabo Cantina on Washington Boulevard. Both victims ended up at the hospital and are expected to be OK. Police say they're still looking for three men spotted running from the scene.

Driver Leads LAPD On Pursuit, Surrenders In Central-Alameda

Los Angeles Police Department officers detained a driver following a pursuit involving a white minivan in the South L.A. area Wednesday morning. The department has not released information about why they were chasing the driver, or when and where the pursuit started. The driver could be seen traveling north on surface streets, near Central Avenue and Washington Boulevard around 10:10 a.m., Sky5 video showed. He stayed on surface streets before pulling up and exiting the van near Hooper Avenue and Adams Boulevard in the Central-Alameda neighborhood just before 10:30 a.m. Officers detained him without further incident, aerial footage showed.

Burglar Tries To Break Into Popular Eagle Rock Donut Shop Twice In One Week

A longtime donut shop in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Eagle Rock has been targeted by a burglar twice in just the past week. The burglar attempted to break into Colorado Donuts, located in the 1500 block of Colorado Boulevard, in the early morning hours of Sept. 17, and again Tuesday morning. Surveillance video from the first break-in showed someone smashing the windows of the popular donut shop. Then, at around 3 a.m. Tuesday, surveillance video showed a suspect approach the boarded up window and try and pull off one of the boards. The suspect then flees. Los Angeles police told CBSLA they are still unsure if the same suspect was responsible for both attempts.

Two Men In Custody On Suspicion Of Sex Trafficking Missing Teenagers

Two men were in custody Wednesday on suspicion of sex trafficking two teenage girls, age 15 and 16, who were listed as missing persons from Long Beach and Los Angeles, respectively. The Long Beach Police Department initiated a missing person’s investigation on Feb. 20 and determined that the case involved the prostitution of a minor, according to police. Detectives met with the minor, who was allegedly being trafficked in Montclair, and rescued her on March 10, police reported. “Over the course of the investigation, detectives learned the victim was forced to perform prostitution acts for two different sex traffickers,” identified as 27-year-old Marcus Jones of Los Angeles and 23-year-old Semaj Kelly of San Bernardino, police said. An arrest warrant was issued Sept. 16 for Kelly, and he was arrested on Friday, police said. He was booked for one count of human trafficking a victim under 18 and is being held on $175,000 bail, police said.

Boy, 17, Missing From View Park-Windsor Hills Area

Authorities circulated a photo of a 17-year-old boy on Wednesday who is missing from the View Park-Windsor Hills area. Xavier Hawley was last seen at about 5:15 p.m. Sept. 7 in the 5300 block of Angeles Vista Boulevard, near Valley Ridge Avenue, according to Deputy Eric Ortiz of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Hawley is described as Black, 5-feet-5 inches tall, 104 pounds, with short black hair and brown eyes, Ortiz said. He was wearing a white coat, gray pants, blue shoes and a tan backpack. Anyone with information about his whereabouts was urged to call the sheriff's Marina del Rey Station at 310-482-6000. Those wishing to report anonymously can call 800-222-TIPS.

Man Shot And Killed In Westmont Area of L.A. County; Man And Woman Detained

An approximately 20-year-old man was shot and killed Wednesday in the unincorporated Westmont area, and a man and woman were detained for questioning. The shooting occurred about 11:25 a.m. in the 1000 block of 97th Street, near Vermont Avenue, according to Deputy Eric Ortiz. The victim was found suffering from at least one gunshot wound in his upper torso while sitting inside a vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A man and woman were detained by deputies and were questioned, Ortiz said. Anyone with information about the shooting was urged to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Those wishing to report anonymously can call 800-222-TIPS.

Culver City Police Searching For Suspect Who Stabbed Man In Hotel Lobby

Police have released security video in hopes of finding the suspect who stabbed a man in the lobby of a Culver City hotel. The attack occurred around 9 p.m. Sept. 18 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Los Angeles-Westside at 6161 Centinela Ave., according to the Culver City Police Department. Police say the suspect was harassing hotel patrons by asking them what gang they are from. The suspect then focused on the victim and stabbed him multiple times. The victim, whose name was withheld, survived the attack. The suspect was seen in a gray hoodie with the hood pulled over his head, and a surgical-style mask, according to police. Anyone with information on the crime was urged to contact police at 310-253-6312 or via email at tips@CulverCity.org.

In A Virtual Classroom, How Do You Care For Kids Threatened By Gun Violence?

On a screen full of faces, the lone black square rang alarm bells for the Philadelphia teacher. The boy on the other side hadn’t turned on his camera and his microphone was muted. According to the rules for remote learning at John B. Stetson Charter School, the student was supposed to keep his laptop camera on during class. The teacher alerted Edwin Desamour, the dean at the middle school. A few days later, during a meeting with the student and his mother, Desamour discovered that the 13-year-old student and his mother had been without a consistent home since the school reopened in late August. They’d been bouncing from space to space, staying with friends and family — and the student was keeping his camera off and staying quiet in class to avoid bothering his hosts. “The kid said, ‘I don’t want to make too much noise on the computer in someone else’s house,’” Desmamour explained. The boy had also figured that if other students couldn’t see he was relocating, they wouldn’t ask him about it. “He didn’t want kids to see that he was changing houses,” Desamour added.

Public Safety News

L.A. County Sees Progress In Containing COVID-19, But It May Not Sustain Long Enough For More Reopening

Los Angeles County has lowered its rates of daily new cases and people testing positive for coronavirus enough to possibly move into a less restrictive stage of the state’s reopening plan. But health officials said Wednesday it remains unclear whether that will happen anytime soon —particularly if increased transmission of the virus over Labor Day leads to another surge. The state requires the rates to stay below a certain threshold for two consecutive weeks before a county can move ahead in the reopening tiers. And the decreased rates in L.A. County are based on the period of Sept. 6 through 12. Since that time, the county has seen a troubling but slight uptick in cases, which health officials reported over the weekend.

Local Government News

LA To Use $6M Of CARES Act Funding To Help Street Vendors Get Permits, Equipment Amid COVID-19 Struggles

Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to use $6 million in federal CARES Act funding to help street vendors procure equipment and permits needed to comply with local laws. “I am very pleased that my motion passed council today to support street vendors relative to the COVID-19 Street Vending Recovery Fund,” Councilman Gilbert Cedillo said. “The fund establishes…grants to micro-entrepreneurs, a category that consists primarily of street vendors due to the strict income eligibility guidelines.” The $6 million will be distributed through the Los Angeles Regional COVID Fund. Vendors can apply for grants of up to $5,000 to help pay for supplies and permits to operate within the city and county of Los Angeles, according to Cedillo, who co-authored the motion with councilmembers Monica Rodriguez and Curren Price. According to Cedillo, a little over a dozen vendors out of the thousands that operate in Los Angeles currently have valid licenses to operate.