LACP.org
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Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch
LA Police Protective League

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Los Angeles
Police Protective League
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the union that represents the
rank and file LAPD officers

  Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch

Daily News Digest
from LA Police Protective League

July 19, 2022
Law Enforcement News

LAPPL Discuses “George Gascon Crime Wave”
LAPPL Director Detective Jamie McBride discusses the current increase in brazen robberies throughout Los Angeles County as well as the issue of the Board of Supervisors attempting to gain the authority to oust an elected Sheriff. NewsNation Video

Los Angeles Follow-Home Robberies Prompt Community Alert From Police
The Los Angeles Police Department is urging LA residents to be on high alert as follow-home robberies in the city continue to rise. In a community alert, the LAPD warned there is an ongoing trend of follow-home robberies, whereby assailants follow victims home from places like Melrose Avenue, the Jewelry District of Los Angeles, nightclubs, and high-end restaurants. The target of these robberies, the LAPD said, has been expensive jewelry, watches, necklaces, and pursues. Vehicles have also been targeted based on the type of vehicle they're driving. In a tweet issuing the community alert, the LAPD included a list of recommendations for LA residents to avoid being targeted. These included being cautious of displaying high-value property and leaving the job of catching the suspects to the police. The community alert came after Olympian Kim Glass was attacked earlier this month in broad daylight in downtown Los Angeles, allegedly by 51-year-old Semeon Tesfamariam, a repeat offender out on parole despite felony charges in 2018 and 2019. Irene Lee, a former deputy district attorney in Los Angeles, who was attacked by the same suspect in 2020, warned in a recent Fox News interview that the "writing was on the wall" since the suspect is a repeat offender.  FOX News

Don't Wear High End Jewelry In Public While Shopping On Melrose Ave, LAPD Says
The Los Angeles Police department has an interesting warning for people shopping on Melrose Avenue and in the jewelry district in downtown Los Angeles after shoppers have been attacked: don't wear high end jewelry in public. Two more violent robberies in the area last week caused LAPD to put out the bulletin warning people, because the street robberies, which started last fall, haven't gone away. Last Thursday a pair of masked men tried to steal an expensive watch from a couple inside a store on Melrose Avenue. LAPD officers were flagged down, and they fired at the robbers, but they got away. Then Friday, three armed men stole a watch from another couple walking near Rosewood and Harper. The incidents prompted a new community alert from the LAPD, warning people to be aware of the ongoing crime trend of robbers following people and stealing their belongings, often high end jewelry or designer handbags. Tourists still shopping Monday say they understood the risks. “I leave all my pearls, crystals I wear around my neck and rings at home," Matthew Rooney said. Security expert Louis Perry believes the crimes continue because of lenient sentencing laws. “I think the criminals are getting more brazen. The crimes they're committing which are serious crimes, they're getting a slap on the wrist," Perry said. NBC 4

Police Seek Driver In Fatal Hollywood Hit-and-Run
A woman is dead after she was struck by two cars in Hollywood early Sunday morning, and the Los Angeles Police Department is looking for one of the drivers involved. The woman, whose identity has not been released, was initially struck by a Toyota Corolla near the intersection of North Wilton Place and Sierra Vista Avenue just before 5 a.m., the LAPD said in a news release. A couple of minutes later, while the woman was laying in the street, she was struck again, this time by a Nissan Rogue, police said. She was later taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. While both cars left the scene without helping the woman, the Toyota driver has been found and “is cooperating with the investigation,” police said. Police are now looking for the Nissan driver. Anyone with information is asked to call 213-473-0234. Anonymous tips can be made to Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or by visiting  lacrimestoppers.org . KTLA 5

Street Takeover On Sixth Street Bridge Prompts Closure
A street takeover on the newly opened Sixth Street bridge prompted the LAPD to shut the bridge down to traffic overnight on Monday. Skid marks and donuts could be seen all the way across the bridge, and even bike tire skid marks on the pedestrian ramps. A line of vehicles and smoke are not what the newly reopened Sixth Street bridge was designed for, but it's happened. “It is the way things go, there's positive uses and negative uses and everything in between. I think it's just the fabric of the city,” said Cameron Mayer, a visitor. “It's a connector and I think just the idea that cars are blocking a bridge that's truly a connector of the city is just an unfortunate bid,” said Jake Teren, an LA arts district resident. At one point, LAPD's street racing task force had to shut down the bridge overnight because there was so much illegal traffic and even people climbing the pillars for portrait perfect photos. “I understand their excitement about the new bridge and about it opening. The idea of people especially climbing the arches makes me really nervous that someone could get hurt,” said Sherry Carter, a downtown LA resident.   NBC 4

FBI Investigates Multi-Million Dollar Jewelry Heist Of Brinks Truck Traveling From Bay Area To SoCal
The FBI and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) are investigating a multi-million dollar jewelry heist that many only hear about in movies. Luxury items including gems, jewelry and more were loaded onto a Brinks truck that was later broken into while it was pulled over at a rest stop. Arnold Duke, president of the International Gem and Jewelry Show, explained the show was being held at the San Mateo County Event Center. He confirmed Brinks contracted individually with each exhibitor to move their merchandise from the close of the San Mateo show, to the opening of the event's Pasadena show. "It did leave San Mateo on Sunday night, destined for Los Angeles and the Pasadena Convention Center," Duke told ABC7 News. "And sometime on Monday morning, they were robbed." A release by LASD explained that on July 11, deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Santa Clarita Station responded to the "Flying J" rest stop and gas station in the unincorporated area of Lebec. ABC 7

Man Rushed To Hospital During South LA Street Takeover
A man was rushed to the hospital after he was injured during a street takeover overnight in South Los Angeles, authorities said. In video obtained by Eyewitness News, a large crowd was seen taking over an intersection, watching drivers perform donuts. Footage shows the crowd suddenly dispersing. Several people were seen running away. Details surrounding the man's injuries were not immediately made available and there's no word on if anyone was arrested. The area is no stranger to street takeovers. Last month, a wild street takeover in South L.A. reportedly turned violent when a man was apparently beaten. Video showed a man who appeared to be badly beaten in the sea of people near Avalon Boulevard and 135th Street. Meanwhile, some Southern California lawmakers are working to criminalize street takeovers. ABC 7

LA Sheriff's Dept. Searching For Missing Girl, 17
Sheriff's detectives asked for the public's help Sunday to find a 17-year-old girl who went missing in East Los Angeles. Savannah Giselle Munoz was last seen at 8 a.m. Sunday in the 6500 block of Hereford Drive, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Munoz is Hispanic, stands 5-feet-5 inches tall and weighs an estimated 120 pounds, Deputy Raquel Utley reported. She has straight black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black and gray hoodie, gray leggings and white tennis shoes, Utley said. Anyone with information on her whereabouts was asked to call the LASD's Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500 or 911. Tipsters can also call Crime Stopppers at 800-222-8477. MyNewsLA.com

20-Year-Old Man Shot And Killed In Commerce
A man was shot and killed in Commerce early Sunday morning. The shooting was reported at around 4:10 a.m. in the 2200 block of Saybrook Avenue, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Deputies were dispatched to the scene where the shooting occurred following reports of a "person down" in the area. When they arrived, they found the victim, a 20-year-old man, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity has been withheld pending notification of next of kin. Investigators were working to determine whether the shooting was gang-related. No other details were immediately available due to the ongoing nature of the investigation. Anyone with additional information was asked to contact LASD's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. CBS 2

Burbank Police Seize Multiple Firearms, Including Ghost Gun, During Arrest For Meth Possession
The Burbank Police Department on Wednesday announced the seizure of multiple firearms, including a ghost gun, that were found inside a vehicle during an arrest for alleged methamphetamine possession. The weapons were not legally stored, police said in a social media post, which described the ghost gun as "not in compliance with California rifle laws." The post included photos of the confiscated weapons, including handguns, gun magazines, rifles, a shotgun, ammunition, a machete and a hunting knife. The statement noted that the California penal code "restricts narcotics addicts, convicted felons, or persons with active felony warrants from owning, purchasing, or possessing firearms." The identity of the suspect was not released. ABC 7

Catalytic Converter Thefts Are On The Rise Across SoCal; Average Of 40-50 Stolen Each Week
Catalytic converter theft is on the rise, mostly because of how valuable the precious metals are that can be sold as scrap and how quickly they can be stolen. Surveillance video from the front yard of a home in Perris taken on the morning of July 1 shows three thieves get out of a white vehicle and approach the victim's car parked on the driveway. While one of them keeps watch, the others quickly jack the car off the ground and then use a battery-powered saw to cut the catalytic converter from below the engine. The entire process took less than 30 seconds. "Right now, I would say we're averaging 40 to 50 catalytic converter thefts per week," said Riverside police Detective Senon Saldana. "They used to say crime doesn't pay. Well, crime pays right now." According to estimates by BeenVerified using National Insurance Crime Bureau and Google search data, the number of monthly catalytic converter thefts in California were 14 times that of 2019. Police say depending on the load of precious metals in each catalytic converter, thieves can make hundreds of dollars selling them at recycling facilities. ABC 7

California's Answer To Gun Violence Could Be A Model For The Entire Country
Gun violence in the U.S. is currently a public health crisis. In 2020, the most recent year that data is available, more than 45,000 people died from gun-related injuries, according to the Pew Research Center; that's a 14% increase from the previous year, 25% increase from five years ago, and a 43% increase from a decade ago. As numbers climb nationwide, California has a completely opposite trend. For more than 20 years—except for two years during the pandemic—the Golden State's rate of firearm violence has consistently decreased. California has one of the lowest firearm mortality rates in the country. Its residents are less likely to die from a gunshot than almost anywhere else in the country, and are 25% less likely to die in a mass shooting. California's present situation is a sharp contrast to the late 80s and early 90s when the state experienced a high rate of gun deaths. Garen J. Wintemute, an emergency room physician and firearm violence researcher at the University of California, Davis, credits California's success in reducing firearm violations to legislation that the state has passed over the years. Yahoo! News

Public Safety News

LA County Warns Of Monkeypox Vaccine Shortage
Citing a limited supply of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a health advisory Saturday encouraging residents to take precautions to avoid becoming infected with the disease. As of July 15, more than 12,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported globally, including 1,814 cases in the United States, 250 in California and 85 in Los Angeles County. While people of any gender and sexual orientation can acquire and spread monkeypox, most cases have been among men who have sex with men and transgender women. Monkeypox is part of the same family of viruses as smallpox. It is rarely fatal. The symptoms are similar to those of smallpox, but milder. Symptoms of monkeypox typically include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. A rash that can look like pimples or blisters sometimes appears on the face, inside the mouth and on other parts of the body. FOX 11

LA County Announces Nearly 9,000 New COVID-19 Infections
One day after sliding into the "high'' COVID-19 community activity level, Los Angeles County reported nearly 9,000 new infections today, with the true number of new cases likely much higher but unreported due to the prevalence of take home tests. The 8,954 new cases reported by the county Department of Public Health Friday gave the county a cumulative total from throughout the pandemic of 3,207,071. The average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 17% as of Friday. Health officials have noted that the actual number of infections is likely much higher, detected by over-the-counter at-home tests, the results of which are not always reported to the county. Rising case numbers have led to increasing hospitalization numbers, and unfortunately more deaths. Another 16 virus-related fatalities were reported Friday, giving the county an overall death toll of 32,508. According to state figures, there were 1,223 COVID-positive patients in county hospitals, up from 1,202 on Thursday. Of those patients, 120 were being treated in intensive care, down from 122 a day earlier. CBS 2
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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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