Daily News & Updates Good morning! On April 15, 2023, Officer B. Jerry Sandoval was killed in a traffic collision. Please consider donating to the Blue-Ribbon account established for Jerry to support his wife, Christine and twin sons, Logan and Jacob. Click here for more details. Law Enforcement News LAPD Officer Has Part Of A Finger Bitten Off During Metro Line Fracas A Los Angeles police sergeant had part of a finger bitten off during a combative arrest at a Metro rail station Thursday, department officials said. Officials said the suspect being detained also sustained minor injuries after officers used force when he resisted. Both the suspect and the sergeant were taken to area hospitals for treatment; neither was named publicly. In a statement, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said he was “deeply disturbed by the vicious and gruesome attack” on the sergeant and his police colleagues who “were simply conducting routine patrol of the transit line.” “We remain committed to our work each day to improve the safety of the entire transit system with dedicated patrols engaging those who pose a risk to the safety of others” the statement said. The incident occurred around 10:15 a.m. at an unspecified Red Line station, where officers saw a man board a train while carrying drug paraphernalia, according to a police news release. The officers confronted the man and escorted him off the train, the release said. As they did so, according to the release, the man became “violent and fought with the officers,” prompting them to use force to detain him. Los Angeles Times 2 Dead After Driver Hits Pedestrian, Then Building In Downtown Los Angeles: LAPD Two people are dead after a car struck a pedestrian, then hit a building in downtown Los Angeles early Thursday morning, police said. A few minutes before 1:30 a.m., a 25-year-old man was walking on a sidewalk alongside 6th Street when he was hit by a car that was traveling in the same direction, police said in a news release. That vehicle then continued on until it struck a building. The driver and pedestrian were both taken to a nearby hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Their identities have not yet been released. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective D. Ramirez at 213-833-3713 or email [email protected]. KTLA 5 Suspects Armed With Apparent Assault Rifle Rob Trio Of Victims In West Hollywood: Surveillance Video A trio of victims were robbed by a group of suspects, one of them armed with an apparent assault rifle, in an incident captured on video Tuesday night in West Hollywood. The incident occurred shortly after 9 p.m. on a sidewalk at the end of an alleyway near the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Orlando Avenue. "A male suspect armed with what appeared to be an assault rifle, and two female suspects armed with a handgun, approached two men as they were walking in an alley and demanded their property," the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement, adding that one of the robbers hit one of the victims in the face with a handgun. Video from a camera mounted in the alley shows one of the suspects pointing the rifle in the direction of the victims. ABC 7 Police Investigating Reported Kidnapping At 99 Ranch In Van Nuys Authorities are investigating an alleged kidnapping that occurred in Van Nuys early Thursday afternoon. Los Angeles Police Department officers were dispatched to the 99 Ranch grocery store located at the corner of Sepulveda and Victory Boulevards just after 2:20 p.m., after receiving reports of a kidnapping that had occurred. Investigators did not disclose exactly what led witnesses to believe that a woman had been abducted. They did however describe the victim to officers as a 5'4" woman weighing around 120 pounds with a yellow t-shirt. They also described the suspect as a Black man with dreadlocks standing around 6'4" and wearing a long sleeved shirt. He is said to have fled from the area in a black BMW. CBS 2 LAPD Arrests 13 Fraud Suspects, Possibly Part Of Romanian “Syndicate" Targeting EBT Recipients The Los Angeles Police Department arrested over a dozen suspects that may be connected to a Romanian syndicate that targets EBT recipients. Officers said they began surveilling the group after receiving a tip they were residing in a motel on the 4700 block of Sepulveda Avenue. The officers stormed the motel room after securing a search warrant and arrested 13 suspects accused of identify theft crimes. During the bust officers found skimming devices, card readers, $36,062 and a large number of false identification cards and documents. Police said the suspects used the card skimmers on devices such as ATMS to drain Electronic Benefit Transfer accounts, stealing millions of dollars from California every month. Officers believe that the suspects may be part of a Romanian syndicate known to target people struggling financially, draining their accounts of the much-needed funds. CBS 2 L.A. Rapper MoneySign Suede Stabbed To Death In Shower At California Prison, Attorney Says MoneySign Suede, a young and popular Los Angeles rapper, was stabbed to death Tuesday night in a shower at a California prison, according to his attorney. Officials with the Monterey County coroner’s office and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed Suede’s death at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, but they did not immediately comment on how the 22-year-old died. Suede’s real name was Jaime Brugada Valdez. He was from Huntington Park. In a statement, CDCR officials said the rapper was found unresponsive just before 10 p.m. after correctional officers found that he was not in his cell during a regular count. Officials said he was found “with injuries consistent with a homicide.” “People are very shocked,” said Valdez’s attorney, Nicholas Rosenberg. “He was a very popular guy, very mild-mannered. People loved him.” The rapper had been attacked in prison before Tuesday’s incident, according to Rosenberg. Around midnight on Tuesday, officials called Rosenberg with word of his death. Los Angeles Times California Officer's Ear Partially Torn Off In Fight With ‘Prolific Burglar' A Fresno police officer had his ear partially torn off while attempting to arrest a burglary suspect Thursday morning. The officer had responded to an alarm call at the Citi Bank on Kern and M streets around 6:15 a.m. and found shattered glass, according to Sgt. Diana Trueba Vega. While waiting for backup units, he saw a man come out and run from the bank. The officer gave chase and tackled the man. Once the suspect was under control, colleagues saw the officer bleeding from the head area and noticed his right ear was partially torn off, Trueba Vega said. The officer was taken to Community Regional Medical Center where he was reported to be in stable condition. According to police, this wasn’t this suspect’s first run-in with law enforcement in the past few days. The Fresno Bee Number Of LEOs Wounded In Active Shooter Incidents Rose Dramatically In 2022 Active shooter incidents in the United States in 2022 decreased, but the number of people shot increased, according to a report released by the FBI Wednesday. The rate of wounded law enforcement officers jumped dramatically, from five in 2021 to 21 in 2022, according to the report. One law enforcement officer was killed in 2022. The FBI designated 50 shootings in 2022 as active shooter incidents. The FBI defines an active shooter as “one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.” Specific to this definition is the use of a firearm. The active aspect implies the ongoing nature and the potential for a response to affect the outcome. Incidents related to self-defense, gang violence, drug violence, domestic disputes, hostage situations or other criminal acts were excluded. The 50 active shooter incidents left 313 casualties, including 100 people killed. The FBI term of “casualty” counts includes deaths and injuries. The report does not count the shooter if killed. PoliceOne Public Safety News LA County’s Weekly COVID-19 Numbers Drop Slightly The number of new COVID-19 infections reported in Los Angeles County over the past week fell slightly compared to the prior week, health officials said, but a slight increase in the concentration of the virus in local wastewater was also detected. According to the county Department of Public Health, the small increase in wastewater concentrations of the virus could potentially indicate the beginning of a spread of a recently detected new strain of COVID-19, although the official number of local cases remains limited. Health officials last week confirmed the first local cases of the new strain known as Arcturus, or XBB.1.16. The county has officially confirmed only three local cases of the strain, but modeling by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that Arcturus accounts for 8% of COVID cases in California and 10% nationally. MyNewsLA L.A. County Public Health Department Issues Ocean Water Use Warnings For Select Beaches As the summer-like weather hits Southern California, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is urging residents planning to visit select county beaches to stay out of the water. The warnings were issued after tests concluded that high bacterial levels were prevalent in the water, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced Thursday. Officials are encouraging beachgoers to avoid swimming, surfing and playing in the ocean water at the following locations: Santa Monica Canyon Creek at Will Rogers State Beach, Zuma Creek at Zuma Beach, Malibu Lagoon at Surfrider Beach, Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Mother’s Beach in Marina Del Rey, and Latigo Shore Drive in Malibu. However, it’s not all bad news for beachgoers. A high bacterial level warning has been cleared at Manhattan Beach Pier in Manhattan Beach. KTLA 5 As Arcturus Grows, Coronavirus In L.A. County Sewage Rises Coronavirus levels in Los Angeles County wastewater have ticked up, potentially as a result of the arrival of a more infectious Omicron subvariant dubbed Arcturus. The latest strain, known officially as XBB.1.16, is probably responsible for a rise in coronavirus cases in India, where there have been a number of anecdotal reports of what had been a rare COVID-19 symptom, especially in children: pinkeye. Arcturus has been making up a greater percentage of coronavirus cases nationwide. It comprised an estimated 10% of U.S. cases for the week that ended Saturday; the prior week, it was about 6%; and the week before that, it was 3%. The California Department of Public Health estimates Arcturus comprises about 7% of coronavirus cases for the same week. At least three Arcturus cases have been identified in L.A. County, the agency said Thursday. It’s too early to say whether Arcturus is associated with a greater rate of pinkeye than older coronavirus variants. Los Angeles Times Local Government News Al Fresco Outdoor Dining Ordinance Receives Approval From City Commission The Los Angeles city Planning Commission on Thursday approved a proposed "al fresco" outdoor dining program, which was initiated at the height of the coronavirus pandemic as a relief tool for restaurant owners struggling to negotiating health restrictions that shut down their indoor dining rooms. The updated proposed ordinance would create a pathway for neighborhood restaurants to provide outdoor dining areas on private property. The ordinance is billed a key component of the city's economic strategy for supporting local jobs and business that were struggled during the pandemic. “While COVID-19 emergency measures at the state and local levels granted temporary relief, they did not provide a pathway to make outdoor dining a permanent reality,” Samantha Millman, president of the Planning Commission, said. “Our proposed updates build upon the success of LA Alfresco, making a permanent outdoor dining program accessible and financially viable for restaurants citywide.” NBC 4 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. 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