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Los Angeles
Police Protective League
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the union that represents the
rank and file LAPD officers
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Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch
Daily News Digest
from LA Police Protective League
November 24, 2021 |
Law Enforcement News
Police Commission Backs A 12% Increase In LAPD Budget For Next Year
The Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday approved a $213-million budget increase for the Police Department next year, a plan that would raise police staffing levels. The commission voted to approve LAPD Chief Michel Moore's request for a $1.9-billion budget, representing a 12% increase in spending from the general fund over this year. More than half of the increase would cover police salary, related expenses and overtime costs, according to a letter Moore sent to the commissioners last week. Moore wrote that he is seeking funding to add 94 positions to boost sworn staffing levels to 9,800 positions and to restore civilian positions lost through a recent city separation incentive program. Homicides this year are up 14% over last year and up 45% compared with 2019, LAPD statistics show. The city is also seeing a rise in violent robberies, spurred by an availability of handguns, Moore told reporters at an afternoon briefing. Craig Lally, president of the union representing police officers, said the commission's support for more police officers is a “stride in the right direction” amid rising crime incidents, including the shooting death of a man on Sunset Boulevard on Tuesday morning. “As the city grapples with increases in gun crimes, homicides and fatal follow-home robberies, it is critical that the department recovers from the ‘defund the police' cuts and that city leaders stop listening to the reckless ideas of anti-police groups,” Lally said. Los Angeles Times |
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Man Shot Dead In Armed Robbery Outside Popular Hollywood Restaurant
Police sought up to eight suspects in the deadly shooting of a 23-year-old man outside the Bossa Nova Brazilian Cuisine restaurant in Hollywood Tuesday morning. Responding officers with the Los Angeles Police Department said they arrived at the scene located near Sunset and Formosa avenues around 2:30 a.m. where they discovered the victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. The victim was located on the street and was pronounced dead at the scene by fire paramedics. The LAPD said multiple bullet holes could be seen on the driver's side window of a Mercedes G-Wagon that was next to the victim. A woman who was outside the victim's vehicle was talking to him when the group of suspects approached her and attempted to rob her, according to the LAPD. The victim, armed with a handgun, exited his vehicle to assist and was shot and killed by one of the suspects. Investigators added two semi-automatic handguns were used in the shooting. The suspects were described as seven men who were wearing black face masks. FOX 11 |
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Smash And Grab Crimes On Rise, State Leaders Blame Light Punishment For Robbery
Violent, frightening and disturbing robberies has shoppers and retailers on edge. On Monday, burglars targeted shops at the Grove in a smash and grab spree. As many as 20 people bashed out a storefront window at Nordstrom and then escaped with thousands of dollars in merchandise. Billionaire businessman and Grove owner Rick Caruso lashed out at local leaders for not doing enough to address rising crime. Caruso has toyed with the idea of a run for mayor of Los Angeles. “I think it's a manifestation of weak leadership. I think it's a manifestation of some really bad decisions that our leaders made. It's a manifestation of we're going to defund the cops,” Caruso said. The violent smash and grab robbery at the Grove capped off days of similar of jaw-dropping crimes in the Bay Area. Eighty robbers plowed their way into a Nordstrom, and in San Francisco's Union Square Friday night, numerous stories were either burglarized or vandalized. Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke to the need of better prosecution of suspects. “I have no sympathy or empathy for people smashing and grabbing, stealing people's items, creating havoc and terror in our streets. None,” Newsom said. Critics think the recent crime wave is a result of years of lawmakers – and even voters – watering down penalties for committing these acts. Greg Totten is the executive director of the California District Attorney's Association. Some state leaders point to Prop 47 as one of the root causes – which passed in 2014. Prop 47 lessens sentencing requirements for theft and drug charges. “When you don't punish these crimes – then you know gradually the severity of the offenses escalates or nip in the bud and that's why you're seeing these truly horrifying events,” Calif. Assembly Kevin Kiley said. CBS 2 |
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Alarming Rise In Follow-Home Robberies In Upscale L.A. Prompts Police Crackdown
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore announced Tuesday he is setting up a task force to apprehend follow-home robbers, saying the department has not seen violent hold-ups “like this in decades.” The troubling trend, which has targeted celebrities and upscale restaurants in recent months, turned deadly in the predawn hours Tuesday when a man was gunned down during an attempted robbery outside Bossa Nova restaurant in Hollywood. Moore told the city's civilian oversight Police Commission he was creating a follow-home robbery task force of more than 20 detectives from elite investigative divisions, including Robbery-Homicide, Metropolitan and specialized gang narcotics units, to identify and stop the growing threat to public safety posed by organized groups of criminals. The department is already investigating at least 133 such robberies from areas including the Sunset Strip, Melrose Avenue, the Jewelry District and Westside shopping areas. In the latest incident, a man was sitting inside his vehicle, along with a female passenger near Bossa Nova. The woman stepped outside, and eight people approached her from a car and tried to rob her, police said. The man, who was described only as a 23-year-old, “was coming to the aid of a female who was being attacked” by the robbers when he was fatally shot shortly after 2 a.m., Moore said. Los Angeles Times |
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Man Killed In Florence Shooting
A 27-year-old man was fatally wounded while walking in the middle of a street in the Florence area of Los Angeles, authorities said Monday. The shooting was reported at 5:23 p.m. Sunday outside 221 W. 78th St., according to a desk officer at the Los Angeles Police Department's Operations Center. “He heard a pop and discovered he was hit,” the officer said. Paramedics took the victim to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, the officer said. Suspect information was not available, he said. MyNewsLA.com |
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3 Suspects In Custody After Smash-and-Grab Robbery At Nordstrom Store At The Grove, LAPD Says
Three suspects are in police custody Tuesday in connection with a reported smash-and-grab robbery at The Grove. One group of suspects led police on a freeway chase and foot pursuit through South Los Angeles, using the 10 Freeway and the 110 Freeway as their getaway routes before exiting the 110 at Manchester Avenue at approximately 11:06 p.m. Monday, said Los Angeles Police Department Officer Drake Madison. Police then created a perimeter and began a foot pursuit of the suspects in the area near Hoover Street and Vermont Avenue. Officers recovered several items of clothing, a cash register and gloves from a Nissan SUV, which they believe is the suspect's vehicle. It was not immediately known if the arrested suspects were part of the police pursuit, Madison said. Other suspects remain on the loose. Police said they believe the suspects were part of a group of at least 20 people who allegedly robbed a Nordstrom store at the popular retail and entertainment complex in the Fairfax District just before 11 p.m. Monday. The robbers at The Grove used a sledgehammer and assorted tools to smash one of the department store's windows and reportedly took several items of men's clothing, police said. ABC 7 |
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L.A. Pilot Program To Divert 911 Calls About Homelessness
Los Angeles residents who dial 911 for nonviolent issues related to homelessness will have their calls diverted away from law enforcement to trained, unarmed professionals under a pilot program announced Tuesday. The new initiative is being tested in Hollywood and Venice, where teams including outreach workers and mental health clinicians have been deployed part-time in neighborhoods with a concentration of people experiencing homelessness and high volume of calls for service. Beginning next month, the teams will be available around the clock to respond to nonemergency calls from the 911 system and the police nonemergency number. “The teams will continue to build a rapport with the unhoused community, conduct light sanitation work, de-escalate situations as they arise, and create referrals to local service providers,” said a statement announcing the program from Mayor Eric Garcetti's office. The Crisis and Incident Response through Community-Led Engagement program is part of Garcetti's sprawling plan to confront an out-of-control homeless problem. The mayor has proposed spending nearly $1 billion in the coming year to get people off the streets, build housing and clean up squalid encampments that have spread into nearly every neighborhood in the city. KTLA 5 |
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Man Charged With Carjacking Vehicle, Leading Police On Wild Chase
Criminal charges were filed Tuesday against a man who allegedly led authorities on a wild chase from downtown Los Angeles to Orange County to Lakewood that ended with police repeatedly ramming the vehicle. Luis Silvas, 33, is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on one count each of carjacking, assault on a peace officer and fleeing a pursuing peace officer, according to Greg Risling of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Silvas was arrested about 4:15 p.m. last Friday following a police pursuit and standoff. The chase began about 12:45 p.m., when Los Angeles Police Department officers tried to stop the car, which had been reported stolen in Downey, near Hill and 25th streets, according to the LAPD. The man — who was subsequently identified in media reports as Silvas — refused to yield, heading onto the southbound Santa Ana (5) Freeway and leading officers on an erratic chase that at times went onto the wrong side of the roadway both on the freeway and surface streets. After about a half-hour, he was in the Buena Park area driving the wrong way on the freeway shoulder, coming to a stop at Artesia Boulevard, where a brief standoff with officers ensued and traffic was halted on both sides of the freeway. MyNewsLA.com |
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3 L.A. Juveniles Apprehended In String Of Catalytic Converter Thefts After Chase In Ventura: Police
Three juveniles are in custody and nearly a dozen catalytic converters have been recovered following a short pursuit that ended in a crash in Ventura early Tuesday morning, according to police. Around 4:20 a.m., an alert resident witnessed thieves taking a catalytic converter from a neighbor's car in the 2500 block of Harbor Boulevard and dialed 911, the Ventura Police Department stated in a news release. The witness provided a description of the suspect vehicle and told the dispatcher that the car was last seen leaving the area on Harbor Boulevard. Patrol officers in the area began searching nearby neighborhoods, during which time a sergeant came upon the juveniles allegedly trying to steal another catalytic converter, according to the release. The suspects then tried to get away in their vehicle, leaving the scene at a high rate of speed, police officials said. A pursuit was initiated and the vehicle crashed a short time later, according to the release. All three juveniles were taken into custody after the chase ended, authorities said. They were transported to a local hospital to receive treatment for minor injuries. Investigators found 11 catalytic converters in their possession — at least three of which were taken in the city of Ventura — plus car jacks and burglary tools that can be used to take parts from vehicles, according to police. KTLA 5 |
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Pasadena Shootout: Gunman Kills Elderly Man And Takes 2 Women Hostage, Police Say
A police investigation is underway in Pasadena following a crime spree in a neighborhood that resulted in a homicide, according to police. On Tuesday, at around 2:30 p.m., Pasadena police officers received calls of shots fired in the area of Orange Grove Boulevard and Sunnyslope Avenue. Police said when they arrived on scene, they found a man in his 70s who was struck by gunfire several times and a man in his 20's with a firearm – who police believe shot the elderly man – started running from the scene. Police said the suspect then carjacked a vehicle and tried holding the female driver hostage, but then started running again. Officers told FOX 11 that gunfire erupted between the suspect and the officers, and the suspect then took another woman hostage at gunpoint. The hostage victim was rescued and unharmed, according to police. Pasadena Police Chief John Perez said the suspect died from a gunshot wound, either self-inflicted or from an officer's gunfire. That part of the investigation is ongoing. Police also haven't been able to determine the suspect's connection to the victims, if any. The identities of the suspect nor the victims are being released at this time. Perez said the incident does not appear to be gang-related and is not connected to any other recent crimes in the Pasadena area. FOX 11 |
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Authorities Want Public's Help In Investigation Of Fatal Shooting Of Pasadena 13-Year-Old
As detectives worked on leads in the weekend fatal shooting of a 13-year-old Pasadena boy, city and school officials pleaded for the public's help Monday in finding the suspect or suspects. Iran Moreno-Balvaneda, who was an 8th grader at Blair School, was playing video games in his home in the 900 block of North Raymond Avenue on Saturday night when shots were fired nearby. Moreno-Balvaneda was hit and later died at a hospital. Citing the ongoing investigation, police haven't released many details about the shooting or a possible motive. However, investigators don't believe the boy was the intended target. There's “no reason for us to believe he was a target,” Pasadena Police Chief John Perez said Monday. He described Moreno-Balvaneda as a straight-A student and a great kid. City councilman John Kennedy said the community lost an innocent life. Kennedy urged the shooter or shooters to turn themselves in. He also addressed anyone who was with the shooter or anyone who knows the shooter to turn the suspect in. “It does not matter if this man is Black, brown or white. It does not matter if he is in a gang or a lone wolf. It does not matter if he is young or old. Turn him in,” Kennedy said. Los Angeles Daily News |
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3 Suspects Charged In Robbery Of Retired Oakland Police Capt. Ersie Joyner
Alameda County prosecutors on Tuesday announced they had filed murder, robbery and other charges against three men suspected in the Oct. 21 robbery of retired Oakland police Capt. Ersie Joyner, who fatally shot one of his assailants. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office in a news release identified the three suspects as Marlon King, Kemandre King and Joshua Hayles. Joyner was pumping gas at a Chevron station near downtown Oakland last month when three men — identified in the release as Kemandre King, Marlon King and Desoni Gardner — got out of a car parked nearby and confronted him, pulling items out of his pockets and his car, authorities said. Joyner moved to the back of his car, pulled out a handgun and shot two of the men, killing Gardner, 20, of Vallejo, according to authorities and surveillance video. Joyner then approached the men's car as it drove away, but he was shot in the torso and legs and fell to the ground, authorities said. Marlon and Kemandre King fled in the car, which was driven by Hayles, according to the news release. Hayles was arrested in Texas on Friday and was being extradited to California. The Kings were arrested in Elk Grove (Sacramento County) and arraigned Tuesday in Alameda Superior Court in Dublin, officials said. San Francisco Chronicle |
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String Of 'Organized Retail Robberies' Lead
California Investigators To Social Media Mayors in California are investigating the possibility that thieves used social media to facilitate two quick-hitting thefts, including one Saturday night in which dozens of people were reported to have stolen from a Nordstrom. In Walnut Creek, about 25 miles northeast of San Francisco, about 80 people descended on the Nordstrom in Broadway Plaza at 9 p.m. and made off with merchandise within a minute, police said. Mayor Kevin Wilk said he has been in regular contact with the police chief and the city manager about the theft. “The Chief has been clear from the beginning that this was not a random gathering of dozens of people, but a planned, organized attack: Organized retail robbery,” Wilk said in an email. “Evidence gathered and being reviewed by investigators supports the fact social media and social platforms are among the primary methods of communication in cases such as this." Wilk did not disclose which social media platforms were used. Three people have been arrested and face charges of robbery, burglary, conspiracy, possession of stolen property and other counts. At least one person faces gun charges, police said. NBC News |
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Man Charged In Record-Breaking Drug Seizure At U.S. Border
A trucker is facing federal drug charges after he was caught with record-breaking amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl inside his tractor-trailer while trying to cross last week into the United States at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Carlos Martin Quintana-Arias, a Mexican resident, was arrested Thursday after 17,584 pounds of meth and 389 pounds of fentanyl were seized. The U.S. Attorney's Office said both amounts would be the largest seizures of either drug in the U.S. in both 2020 or 2021. In August, federal authorities made what they then called likely the largest meth bust in U.S. history, finding more than 5,528 pounds of the drug inside a big rig that crossed from Mexico at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. The meth, and an accompanying 127 pounds of fentanyl powder that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered Aug. 5, had an estimated street value of more than $12.9 million, according to officials. U.S. authorities have not yet said what the estimated street value is of the 6,266 packages of meth and fentanyl discovered Thursday. Acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said it “would have caused incredible damage in our communities.” “This is a staggering seizure that demonstrates the extent of our current fight against mass production of methamphetamine and fentanyl,” Grossman said in a statement. Los Angeles Times |
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Oregon State Police Seize 'Epic Amount,' 250 Tons, Of Illegal Marijuana
Police in Oregon say they have seized 250 tons of illegal marijuana from several industrial warehouses in White City. The Oregon State Police announced in a news release Saturday that its Southwest Region Drug Enforcement team served a search warrant at a site that included five warehouses on Thursday. They found more than 100 people there — including several migrant workers living in poor conditions without running water — as well as what the police called an “epic amount of illegal, processed marijuana.” The drug enforcement team estimated that during the two-day search approximately 500,000 pounds of cannabis was found, as well as a firearm. The Oregon State Police said the marijuana had an estimated street value of around $500 million. White City is a small community in Jackson County near the California state line. Jackson County Sheriff Nathan Sickler earlier this week told lawmakers the crime rate associated with the thousands of illegal marijuana farms that have sprung up this year in southern Oregon has gone through the roof. Associated Press |
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K-9 Heroes: 2 Florida Dogs Shot In Line Of Duty Get Purple Hearts
Two Volusia County Sheriff's Office police dogs who were shot and wounded in the line of duty received medals for their bravery on Wednesday. The K-9s, Ax and Endo, were awarded Purple Hearts by the Sheriff's Office, while Irondog K9 International, a Georgia nonprofit, presented each with the Medal of Honor. Irondog K9 International also paid for the dogs' medical bills after they were shot in Deltona on Sept. 11 by suspected carjacker, Shedrick Singleton, 21, of Orlando. The awards were handed to the K-9s the same week that their handlers, deputies A.J. Davis and Brett Whitson, along with several other deputies who work with dogs, were being trained in basic first-aid techniques they can apply if their K-9 partners are injured in the future. The first-aid training was also paid by Irondog K9 International. "These awards (Medals of Honor) are something that we personally just wanted to offer to those K-9s that have saved the lives of their K-9 handlers, their human officers," said Mitzi Nash, co-president and CFO of Irondog K-9 International. The dogs were shot following a carjacking in Deltona when the suspect Singleton ran into some woods. Ax and Endo were sent in to flush Singleton out when they received their wounds. The Daytona Beach News-Journal |
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Public Safety News
LA County Reports Another 29 COVID-19 Deaths, 725 New Cases On Tuesday
Another 29 COVID-19 deaths and 725 new infections were confirmed by Los Angeles County on Tuesday, Nov. 23, with the relatively low case number attributed to a drop-off in testing with schools across the area closed due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The 29 new deaths raised the county's overall virus-related death toll to 27,046, while the new cases gave the county a cumulative pandemic total of 1,521,197. Public health officials noted that as many as 100,000 tests a day are normally conducted at schools across the county, so campus holiday closures are resulting in a significant drop in testing numbers. According to state figures, there were 551 COVID-19-positive patients in county hospitals as of Tuesday, down from 558 on Monday. Of those patients, 158 were in intensive care, up slightly from 156 on Monday. The rolling average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 1.1% as of Tuesday. Health officials continued to lament disparities in vaccination rates among ethnic groups, with Black and Latino/a residents continuing to lag behind the rest of the population. Among newly eligible children aged 5-11, only 4% of those in the Black community had received one dose of vaccine as of Nov. 14, and 3% of Latino children. That compares to 13% of white children in that age range and 14% of Asian children. Los Angeles Daily News |
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Crews Knock Down Brush Fire Along 134 Freeway In Eagle Rock Area
Crews knocked down a brush fire along the 134 Freeway in the Eagle Rock area Tuesday morning. The fire was reported about 11:10 a.m. along the eastbound side of the highway near the connector with the 2 Freeway, which borders Glendale, according to the California Highway Patrol. The area is adjacent to a CHP communication center. The Glendale Fire Department responded to the scene about 11:15 a.m., according to the CHP log. The Los Angeles Fire Department was also on scene. By 11:30 a.m. the blaze had grown to 2 acres and was burning in four areas 150 feet apart, affecting visibility, officials said. The Harvey Drive off ramp was closed during the firefight, causing a backup on the highway. No structures were threatened and no evacuations were issued. KTLA 5 |
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Local Government News
LA City Council Passes Motion To Improve Hate Crime Reporting
The Los Angeles City Council passed a motion Tuesday aimed at improving the city's systems for people who need to report hate crimes, citing a disparity between the number of such crimes reported to law enforcement and the number reported to the nonprofit Stop AAPI Hate. The motion was introduced by Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who said before the vote that although the Los Angeles Police Department records hate crimes and hate incidents, comparison data from nonprofit organizations show a huge gap in reporting. “This means that the numbers from LAPD are likely a drastic undercount, and that prevents us from making better policy, that prevents us from making resources available that can actually target hate crimes,” Raman added. Reported violent crimes against Asian Americans doubled between 2015 and 2018 nationally, and the LAPD reported an increase in Los Angeles in 2020, when 15 hate crimes were reported against the Asian American Pacific Islander community, compared to seven in 2019. In 2020, the city had a total of 24 reported hate incidents and hate crimes against Asian Americans. MyNewsLA.com |
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LA City Council Sends Ballot Measure For Homeless Encampment Ban To Committee
The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday opted to send its Homelessness and Poverty Committee a motion from Councilman Joe Buscaino to begin the process for a ballot measure that would ban encampments across the city while prioritizing the production of emergency temporary shelter. The motion was before the full City Council for a vote, but several council members spoke in opposition to it. The council has previously rejected proposals from Buscaino to prohibit camping by people who have been offered shelter. Councilman Paul Krekorian motioned to send it instead to the Homelessness and Poverty Committee, which passed on an 11-2 vote. Buscaino and John Lee -- who had seconded the motion for a ballot measure -- opposed sending it to the committee. Krekorian said the ballot measure wouldn't solve the underlying challenges the city faces regarding the homelessness crisis. "There are certain parts of this problem that can't be solved by an ordinance alone, and whatever can be solved by an ordinance alone can be solved by this council, we don't need to put it before the voters," Krekorian said. FOX 11 |
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About the LAPPL - Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents the more than 9,900 dedicated and professional sworn members of the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPPL serves to advance the interests of LAPD officers through legislative and legal advocacy, political action and education. The LAPPL can be found on the Web at:
www.LAPD.com |
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