L.A. Police Commission Commits To Holding Discussions On Traffic Stop Policies

The Los Angeles Police Commission voted Tuesday to continue to explore ways to reduce racial disparities in traffic stops, following a report that examined hundreds of thousands of police actions last year. The commission also voted to add language to the officers’ field notebooks that requires them to state they are asking for consent to search someone’s vehicle and to clearly state that the driver has the right to refuse. It also outlines when a search can be conducted without someone’s consent during situations perceived as dangerous by officers. Commissioners described the report as the genesis for creating policies that could reduce the number of stops for minor violations as well as altering the methods of “pretext stops” that are conducted based on suspicions. Commissioners said they will have Chief Michel Moore, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (the LAPD’s union) as well as the OIG involved in developing the policies. However, the LAPPL put out a statement signed by union President Craig Lally on Tuesday that criticized the board’s actions by saying the commission spent the meeting talking about data points instead of the increasing trend of shootings and killings. The police union said homicides have increased 25% compared to last year, shooting victims have increased 30.5% and shots fired have increased 28.1%. Gang homicides are up 22.6%, gang-related carjacking is up 18.4% and shots into inhabited dwellings is up 41.2%, the union said. “Year to date there have been 26.2% fewer stops by police officers (416,520 in 2020 vs. 564,393 in 2019),” the LAPPL stated. “There has also been a 19.6% reduction in the number of firearms booked into the property division. Do you think that there could be a correlation between the increase in shootings and killings and the reduced number of police stops and illegal firearm seizures?”

Man Killed By Gunfire In Pacoima

A 36-year-old man shot multiple times in Pacoima died early Tuesday, Nov. 17. Authorities were summoned to reports of gunfire in an alley near Van Nuys Boulevard and El Dorado Avenue at about 4 a.m., LAPD officials said in a news release. Officers found the victim unresponsive in the driver seat of a pickup truck. He was pronounced dead at the scene. He was later identified as Armando Gonzalez Jr., police said. He was known as a gang member, LAPD Sgt. Rex Ingram said, however it was not immediately clear if the shooting was gang related. The victim was struck by a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, Ingram said. A description of any possible suspect and details regarding what led up to the killing were not immediately available. Police asked anyone with information that might be helpful to investigators to call the LAPD Valley Bureau’s homicide detectives at 818-374-9550 during weekdays, or 877-LAPD-247 (877-527-3247) afterhours. 

Officials ID Second Of Two Women Fatally Shot At Warehouse Party In South LA

The second of two women who were shot to death at a warehouse party in South Los Angeles over the weekend was identified by authorities Tuesday, and police urged possible witnesses to contact authorities. The women died at the scene of the shooting, which occurred shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday in the 3000 block of South Hill Street, according to the LAPD. Shanell Williams, 30, was identified by the Los Angeles County coroner's office as the second victim of the shooting. Earlier, the other woman was identified as Shaterika Howard, 33. Police said a suspect approached on foot and fired multiple gunshots at the women, and then fled in a vehicle. A motive for the shootings remained unknown. Investigators said they would review security camera images, and they urged anyone with information on the case to call police at 877-LAPD-247.

Authorities Investigating Report Of `Person Down’ In South Los Angeles

A Los Angeles Police Department investigation was underway Tuesday evening on a report of a “person down” in South Los Angeles. A pedestrian called police about 4 p.m. after seeing a person on the ground in the area of Western Avenue and 89th Street, according to LAPD Officer Luis Garcia. It was not immediately clear what happened to the person, Garcia said, adding that it was possible the victim was struck by a vehicle or had a medical emergency. No vehicle was at the scene. No information was available regarding the person’s condition. Police closed northbound traffic at 89th Street and Western Avenue, as well as 91st Street and Western, for the investigation, Garcia said.

Pedestrian In DTLA Hit-and-Run Dies; Driver Turns Herself In: LAPD

A pedestrian who was injured over the weekend in a hit-and-run crash in downtown Los Angeles has died, and the driver who originally fled the scene has since turned herself in, police said on Tuesday. The driver, whose name was not released, surrendered to police on Tuesday and was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a tweet. The hit-and-run happened at 6:55 a.m. Sunday when a male pedestrian was walking in a marked crosswalk northbound on Broadway at Seventh Street and was hit by a dark, four-door vehicle, described at the time as possibly a Dodge Avenger, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. The vehicle was traveling eastbound on Seventh Street at Broadway, when the vehicle ran a red light and went into oncoming westbound traffic and collided with the man.

725 LAPD, 258 LAFD Employees Have Tested Positive For COVID-19

A total of 725 Los Angeles Police Department employees have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. According to Jessica Kellogg of the Emergency Operations Center, 118 employees are at home recovering or self-isolating due to exposure, and 617 have returned to work. In July, 45-year-old Valentin Martinez, a sworn-officer, and Erica McAdoo, a 39-year-old non-sworn senior detention officer died from coronavirus complications. As of Tuesday, 258 Los Angeles Fire Department employees have tested positive for the virus. Kellogg said 33 are recovering at home in isolation, 220 have returned to work, and four are no longer quarantining but remain at home. So far, LAFD has reported one virus-related death. A 44-year-old firefighter-paramedic, Jose J. Perez, died from coronavirus-related complications on July 25.

19-Year-Old Killed In Gang-Related Shooting In Compton Area, Authorities Say

A 19-year-old man sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle was killed in an apparently gang-related shooting in the Compton area Tuesday. Homicide detectives were sent to the 400 block of West Alondra Boulevard, near Figueroa Street, about 10:45 a.m., according to Deputy Trina Schrader of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The man was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in his torso, Schrader said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His name was not immediately released. No suspect description was available Tuesday evening. Authorities said the shooting appears to be gang-related. Anyone with information on the shooting was urged to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.

Man Who Tried Running For Mayor Of Hawthorne Among 2 Charged With Voter Fraud In L.A.

Two men, including one who unsuccessfully attempted to run for mayor in Hawthorne, face a slew of charges after allegedly submitting thousands of unlawful voter registration applications on behalf of homeless people, prosecutors announced Tuesday. Carlos Antonio De Bourbon-Montenegro, 53, and Marcos Raul Arevalo, 34, are accused of turning in the fraudulent applications between July and October of this year, according to a Los Angeles County District Attorney’s news release. Bourbon-Montenegro, who also goes by Mark Anthony Gonsalves, allegedly submitted more than 8,000 such applications, the release read. He is also suspected of falsifying names, addresses and signatures on the nomination papers he submitted in his failed mayoral bid. The Daily Breeze reported in August that Bourbon-Montenegro fell short of the 20 signatures required to get on the ballot. A warrant was filed in the case last Thursday, prosecutors said.

Man Armed With Scissors Wanted For Sexual Assault At Bell Gardens Store

Police need help identifying a man who is accused of trying to sexually assault a woman in a bathroom at a Bell Gardens shopping center. The sexual assault was reported Monday just before 4 p.m. at Petco in the Los Jardines Shopping Center, in the area of 6810 Eastern Avenue. Police say a man armed with a pair of scissors followed a female employee to a bathroom, where he forced entry and sexually assaulted her. She fought back and he ran off. “She did suffer a facial injury,” said Sergeant Angelo Sinisi, of the Bell Gardens Police Department.n”Injuries on one of her arms and on her legs, and that was during the altercation with suspect.” The suspect was described as a Black man between 25 and 35 years old, 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-6, medium built with a flat-top style haircut. He wore a white T-shirt, dark-colored jeans, white shoes, a blue face mask and eyeglasses with thick frames. He was last seen leaving the area on foot toward Eastern Avenue.

Couple Gets Prison Time For Paying $250,000 To Have Daughter Admitted To USC As A Volleyball Recruit

A California couple got prison time Tuesday for paying $250,000 to get their daughter into USC as a volleyball recruit — the latest sentencing in the college admissions bribery scheme that’s roiled the worlds of higher education, sports and entertainment. Diane Blake was sentenced to six weeks behind bars while Todd Blake was sentenced to four months, under plea deals made with prosecutors. Diane Blake had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud. Todd Blake had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Wright described Todd Blake as the more active participant in the scam but said his wife was “fully complicit.”

FBI Releases 2015 Attack Plan Of Radicalized California University Student Who Stabbed 4 On Campus

A troubled California university freshman who burst into a classroom in 2015, stabbing four people before police shot him dead, planned to praise Allah while slitting the throats of classmates and use a gun taken from an ambushed officer to kill more, according to records released by the FBI. Authorities determined that Faisal Mohammad, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of California, Merced had no connections to organized hate or terror groups and no past behavior to suggest violence. Still, records released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to the Daily Beast publication include a chilling, handwritten 31-step plan for the Nov. 4 attack with names of people to target. The plan included putting on a balaclava at 7:45 a.m. and saying “in the name of Allah” before stepping into his classroom and ordering students to use zip-ties he provided to bind their hands. Mohammad also planned to make a fake 911 distress call to report a suicidal guy and wait for police outside the classroom before ambushing from behind “and slit calmly yet forcefully one of the officers with guns.”

Public Safety News

Crews Quickly Douse Brush Fire Near Hansen Dam In Lake View Terrace

Firefighters quickly gained the upper hand on a brush fire that broke out near Hansen Dam in the Lake View Terrace neighborhood of Los Angeles Wednesday morning. The fire was reported about 4 a.m. near the intersection of Osborne Street and Foothill Boulevard, according to a news alert from the Los Angeles Fire Department. Multiple water-dropping helicopters were sent to the scene to assist ground crews battling the blaze. Traffic on the nearby 210 Freeway did not appear to be impacted. All forward progress on the fire had been stopped by about 5 a.m. The fire, which had burned about 1 acre, was nearly 100% contained, according to the Fire Department. No injuries have been reported and no structures were damaged.

LA County Reports 2,301 New COVID-19 Cases, 25 Deaths

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Tuesday reported 2,301 newly confirmed coronavirus cases and 25 new deaths, bringing countywide totals to 344,523 cases and 7,299 deaths. Of the 25 new deaths reported, seven people were over the age of 80, eight were between the ages of 65 and 79, seven were between the ages of 50 and 64, two were between the ages of 30 and 49 and one was between the ages of 18 and 29. Nineteen of those who died had underlying health conditions. As of Tuesday, there were 1,126 people with COVID-19 hospitalized, 27% of whom were being treated in intensive care units — a more than 40% increase from two weeks ago. The county has not experienced hospitalizations over 1,100 since late-August. Health officials also reported that the county’s current five-day rolling average of daily new cases was 2,884.

LA County To Implement 10 PM Curfew For Restaurants, Bars And Nonessential Businesses

Los Angeles County is expected to implement new restrictions later this week as COVID-19 cases continue to surge across California. A curfew will be implemented for all restaurants, breweries, wineries, bars and nonessential businesses from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., effective Friday, November 20. Restaurants with outdoor dining, breweries and wineries across Los Angeles County will also be reduced to 50 percent capacity, the source told FOX 11. Services at personal care establishments are expected to be appointment-only. The number of customers at cardrooms, outdoor minigolf, go-karts and batting cages will be limited to 50 percent outdoor capacity.

Most Of California Is Back In The Purple COVID-19 Tier. What Does That Mean Again?

California is turning purple — but not in the political sense. Following a major spike in coronavirus cases, 41 of the state’s 58 counties — encompassing about 37 million people — will remain or roll back to the strictest tier of the state’s four-part, color-coded reopening roadmap. That means a large number of businesses will have to suspend or severely limit indoor operations. Officials announced the new restrictions Monday, the same day California reported a record 13,412 new coronavirus cases. Counties that have newly fallen back into the purple tier include Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Kern and San Luis Obispo. Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego and Imperial counties were already in that category. Most counties in the Bay Area — Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa and Solano — were also sent back to the purple tier. Gov. Gavin Newsom launched the state’s four-tier system in late August, replacing an informal structure that allowed local officials to determine their own readiness to reopen.