LAPD union files lawsuit demanding takedown of photos of undercover officers

The union representing rank-and-file Los Angeles Police Department officers is suing Chief Michel Moore and the city to demand they take action to reclaim photos of potentially hundreds of undercover officers whose images were mistakenly released as part of a public records request earlier this month. The Los Angeles Police Protective League is seeking to force the city to request a judge intervene in the publication of the photos in order to protect the identities of undercover officers and others who work sensitive assignments, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday, March 28.

Los Angeles Daily News

7 CHP officers charged in death of L.A. motorist caught on video

Seven California Highway Patrol officers and a nurse were charged with manslaughter Wednesday in connection with the death of a man who screamed, “I can’t breathe!” as they tried to draw blood from him, prosecutors said. Edward Bronstein was suspected of driving while intoxicated in 2020 when he was apprehended and later died in CHP custody at the agency’s Altadena station.

Los Angeles Times

LAPD Search Beverly Hills High-Rise Apartment Tied To Triple Slaying In Benedict Canyon

Los Angeles police detectives Wednesday served a search warrant at a Beverly Hills apartment they say is connected to a triple slaying outside a Benedict Canyon home earlier this year. In the most significant development since the Jan. 28 attack that left three dead and four critically wounded in an upscale hillside neighborhood on the Westside, LAPD detectives with the Robbery-Homicide Division gathered potential evidence inside the Beverly Hills high-rise Wednesday morning, police said. Sgt. Bruce Borihanh said the warrant was served on an apartment in the 8600 block of Wilshire Boulevard as part of a search for evidence related to the shooting. Borihanh said at the time of the shooting that the women were killed at a “short-term rental home” in the 2700 block of Ellison Drive, a street of large hillside homes north of Beverly Hills. Neighbors reported seeing several cars driving away from the scene within minutes of gunfire that rang out shortly before 3 a.m., police said. Detectives released a crime alert with information they received from both witnesses and surveillance video from the scene. They said the suspects were last seen driving a blue, four-door Tesla with damage to its right front fender and no license plates.

Los Angeles Times

Suspect Arrested In Two-Vehicle Crash In Downtown Los Angeles

One person was arrested after a two-car crash that injured four people in downtown Los Angeles, police said Thursday. Los Angeles Police Department officers responded just after 9 p.m. Wednesday to 858 S. Hope St. and Ninth Street where they learned the suspect crashed their car after a brief police pursuit, LAPD Officer Mike Lopez told City News Service. The suspect was arrested at the scene. It was not immediately known what initiated the crash. Four people were taken to a hospital with various injuries.

MyNewsLA

Death Investigation Underway After Body Found In LA Riverbed Near Vernon

Authorities have launched a death investigation after a body was discovered in the LA Riverbed near Vernon. Vernon Police Department officers were first dispatched to the scene at around 2:10 p.m. after first learning of the body, which was located in the portion of the riverbed near the 4900 block of District Boulevard. The victim, a man between 40 and 50-years-old, was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators noted that his body was partially burned. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detectives are assisting VPD with the investigation. Anyone with additional information on the incident was asked to contact detectives with LASD's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.

CBS 2

Jury Deliberations Continue Into Day 5 In Ridley-Thomas Corruption Trial

Jurors in the federal corruption trial of suspended L.A. City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas will try for a fifth day Thursday to reach a verdict, one day after concluding a long day of deliberations by submitting another question for the judge to answer. With Ridley-Thomas facing a slate of charges, the jury, in a series of notes to U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer, has expressed confusion over the elements and definition of bribery charges alleged by prosecutors to be at the heart of the complex case. Jurors have also questioned whether taking “an official action where one of the motives is to influence county business” is unlawful. As an answer to several queries, the judge told panelists to simply “refer back to the jury instructions previously given.” At about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, the panel sent a note to the judge asking for more information about the components of the honest services fraud charge, of which Ridley-Thomas is facing more than a dozen counts. The judge asked attorneys on both sides to fashion a response to be discussed and delivered Thursday morning, when the jury returns to resume deliberating.

MyNewsLA

Homicide Investigation Underway After Man Found Fatally Stabbed In Lancaster

Authorities are investigating a fatal stabbing that occurred in Lancaster early Wednesday morning. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detectives were called to the 43200 block of Sierra Highway at around 10:10 a.m., after receiving reports of a person not breathing. Upon arrival, they found a man in his late-20s to mid-30s suffering from apparent stab wounds to the upper body. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have not released his identity pending notification of next of kin. Investigators were unable to provide information on either a suspect or motive in the incident. Anyone with additional information was asked to contact LASD's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.

CBS 2

Trucker Injured In Shooting On 5 Freeway North Of LA

Lanes on the 5 Freeway reopened Tuesday morning following an investigation into a shooting that wounded a trucker that left traffic at a standstill for hours. The shooting was reported around 7:30 p.m. Monday. The CHP said drivers earlier reported a man pointing a gun at the trucker. "We got calls of brandishing on the freeway, which is someone brandishing a firearm at a truck driver that turned into an altercation which ended up in the truck driver being shot, at this time the wounds are non-life threatening." Officer D.C. Williams of the CHP told 17 News. The truck driver's injuries are not considered life threatening, the agency said. No arrests were reported. Northbound lanes near Lebec were closed for the investigation. The lanes reopened around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, allowing traffic to resume at a crawl through the Tejon Pass between Los Angeles and the San Joaquin Valley.

NBC 4

PD Releases Bodycam Video Of Officers Taking Down Nashville School Shooter

The former student who shot through the doors of a Christian elementary school in Nashville and killed three children and three adults had drawn a detailed map of the school, including potential entry points, and conducted surveillance of the building before carrying out the massacre. Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake did not say exactly what drove the shooter to open fire Monday morning at The Covenant School before being killed by police. But he provided chilling examples of the shooter’s elaborate planning for the targeted attack, the latest in a series of mass shootings in a country that has grown increasingly unnerved by bloodshed in schools. “We have a manifesto, we have some writings that we’re going over that pertain to this date, the actual incident,” he told reporters. “We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place.” He said in an interview with NBC News that investigators believe the shooter had “some resentment for having to go to that school.” The victims included three 9-year-old children, the school’s top administrator, a substitute teacher and a custodian. Amid the chaos, a familiar ritual played out: Panicked parents rushed to the school to see if their children were safe and tearfully hugged their kids, and a stunned community held vigils for the victims.

Associated Press

Las Vegas K-9 Officer Has Earlobe Bitten Off By Suspect In Fight On Bus

A violent bus passenger bit off the earlobe of a police officer during a standoff that escalated into a fight with officers on an RTC bus, according to an arrest report. The passenger, Allyn McFarland, 29, of Las Vegas, faces numerous charges after the Monday night melee on the bus, which had stopped at Durango Drive and Blue Diamond Road in the southwest Las Vegas Valley. A Metropolitan Police Department arrest report provided more details about the incident, which was sparked when McFarland allegedly turned irate after missing his stop on Warm Springs Road. According to the report, McFarland struck the protective plastic partition that surrounds the bus driver’s seat. This prompted the driver to press the emergency button, which alerted his supervisors to the outburst and turned on the bus’s security cameras. A security officer later arrived at the scene. McFarland yelled at the driver and security officer, threw a trash can at the security officer’s face, hit the partition again, spat on both the security officer and driver and threw rocks at them, threatening that “they were going to die today,” the report said. Police arrived to find McFarland on the bus shouting and banging a softball-sized rock against the windows and interior, refusing to get off the bus.

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Father Of Slain Indiana Officer Sworn-In As Reserve Officer While Wearing Son’s Badge

The father of an Elwood police officer who was shot and killed while on duty last year is now wearing his son’s badge after being sworn-in as a new member of the department. Matthew Shahnavaz was sworn-in Wednesday as a reserve officer with the Elwood Police Department, WTHR reported. Matthew completed training and a 40-hour pre-basic course to qualify for joining the reserves. His badge number is 139 in honor of his 24-year-old son, Noah Shahnavaz. Noah was killed when a man got out of his car during a traffic stop and opened fire. He had served in the U.S. Army for five years and was an Elwood police officer for 11 months before his death. On Facebook the Elwood Police Department posted, "We are excited for [Matthew] to help live out Noah’s legacy at our department." 

PoliceOne

Firefighters Put Out Flames In Studio City Garage; Woman Hospitalized

It took nearly three dozen firefighters a little over half an hour to put out flames in a two-story garage attached to a home in the Studio City area of Los Angeles. The fire was reported just before 5:45 p.m. at 3571 N. Berry Drive, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Brian Humphrey. The firefighters had to confine and put out flames Humphrey described as “stubborn.” Paramedics evaluated a woman at the scene and took her to a hospital for “a yet to be determined medical need,” he said. The cause of the fire was under investigation, he said.

MyNewsLA

What Does LA County Ending Its COVID Emergency Mean?

Los Angeles County's COVID-19 Emergency expires on March 31. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger breaks down what that means for residents.

FOX 11 Video

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 9,200 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.