More Apply To LAPD After City Approves Raises And Bonuses

The LAPD said Tuesday that more people began the process of applying to become police officers in August, just as the City Council approved a package of bonuses and raises aimed at growing the size of the department to about 9,500 officers. Starting pay is now $86,192, and the department said 1,048 people applied last month, the largest number of applications in any month since September 2020. "We have seen a recent increase in online applications in those interested in joining the department in our sworn positions, which I'm encouraged by," Chief Michel Moore told the Board of Police Commissioners. Until August, the LAPD had received around 840 applications each month, and it had been struggling to fill classes at the police academy. Moore said 52 more officers retired, resigned, or transferred to other agencies in recent weeks, bringing the current staffing level to 8,959, one of the lowest levels in at least a decade. "I'm concerned that the department is rapidly approaching a number where we will not be able to handle the task that is before us, which is to keep the citizens of Los Angeles safe," said Commissioner William J. Briggs, II. The Department said it is conducting more screenings and exams to keep up with the increased number of applications, and said it has been trying to reduce the time to less than three months between application and academy training. Academy classes have a capacity of 60 officers but have been about half full in 2023.

NBC 4

LAPD Officers To Test Next-Gen Taser With 45-Foot Range

The Los Angeles Police Department will test a new generation of Tasers that have greater range, which LAPD officials say could help officers more easily control uncooperative people and prevent the use of deadly force. The Police Commission unanimously approved a yearlong pilot program to test the new Taser 10 devices at its meeting Tuesday morning. During a presentation, LAPD Deputy Chief Marc Reina told the oversight body that the new model is an improvement over its predecessor, the Taser 7, in several key ways. The older Taser shoots two barbed darts on a wire up to 22 feet long, delivering a powerful electric shock that disables a person for about five seconds by “jamming” their central nervous system. The newer models deliver a similar voltage but have a range of 45 feet and 10 metallic prongs instead of two, which can be fired individually to give officers better control and accuracy, Reina said. Initially, he said, the devices will be rolled out at the four divisions with the highest rates of Taser use: Southeast, 77th Street, Central and Hollywood. Each division will receive about 200 Taser 10s, and the officers who are assigned the devices will receive two hours of additional training. Reina said the department hoped to gather data over the coming months to help determine whether to switch permanently to the Taser 10s.

Los Angeles Times

Porsche Stolen At Gunpoint In Hollywood

Police are investigating a vehicle theft that happened in Hollywood on Monday, when a driver had their Porsche stolen from them at gunpoint. According to Los Angeles Police Department, officers were dispatched to the 6000 block of Franklin Avenue at around 2 p.m. after learning of the theft, which involved a gray Porsche that has the California license plate 9CNR7265. The driver told police that they were approached at gunpoint by three suspects, who fled from the area in the stolen car and a dark blue Tesla. Investigators have provided descriptions for two of the suspects. The armed suspect, who had a dark-colored handgun, was reportedly wearing a dark gray hoodie and the second suspect was wearing a light gray hoodie. They were seen fleeing in the two cars westbound on Franklin Avenue. Police did not provide any further information on the incident. 

CBS 2

Toddler Found Abandoned In Larchmont Village With Mother's ID In Stroller

A toddler was found abandoned in a stroller with the ID of the mother overnight in Larchmont Village, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. A woman called police to report a child had been abandoned near the Bank of America on Larchmont Street in the community about 5 miles west of downtown Los Angeles. The mother's ID was found inside the stroller, police said. The LAPD responded to the call at around 3 a.m. The woman who found the baby told police she was not the child’s mother. Officers took the child to the hospital to be evaluated. Police later located the child's father, but the mother remained missing Wednesday afternoon. 

NBC 4

Catalytic Converter Thieves Fire A Shot Before Fleeing Mt. Washington Neighborhood

Two suspects were trying to steal a catalytic converter early Tuesday morning in a Mt. Washington neighborhood when they were interrupted by an onlooker and fired a gunshot as they fled the scene. Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to the 3000 block of Isabel Drive, Mt. Washington, to a call of shots fired. Two men in a dark-colored four-door vehicle were in progress of the theft just before 4:30 a.m. A neighbor walked out of their house to see what was going on, and that's when one of the suspects fired a shot in the air and sped off in their vehicle. No one was injured, and the theft was unsuccessful. 

CBS 2

65 Arrests Made In Illegal Street Racing Crackdown

Dozens of people were arrested last weekend after the California Highway Patrol conducted two separate enforcement operations in response to illegal street racing events that had been promoted on social media, authorities announced earlier this week. The crackdown on illegal racing and sideshows happened on Sept. 8 and 9 in the Compton area, according to a CHP news release. CHP’s Southern Division Street Racing Enforcement Unit said the results of the operation included: 65 arrests, 72 citations issued, and 40 impounded/stored vehicles. The vast majority of the arrests were those participating in the illegal races and street takeovers, as well as those spectating. There were also two arrests made for illegal possession of a firearm and another for assault with a deadly weapon with a vehicle on an officer. Illegal street racing, sideshows and street takeovers continue to be a problem in Southern California. Earlier this week, a white pickup truck sporting a Domino’s delivery sign on top of the roof was among at least three vehicles involved in a street takeover in Sun Valley.  

KTLA 5

El Chapo's Wife Emma Coronel Aispuro To Be Released From California Prison

Emma Coronel Aispuro, the wife of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, will soon be free. Coronel Aispuro, 34, will be freed from the Residential Reentry Management facility in Long Beach Wednesday, according to inmate records via the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Coronel Aispuro was sentenced in 2021 to three years in prison after pleading guilty to helping her husband run his multibillion-dollar criminal empire. Coronel Aispuro also helped her husband plan a dramatic escape through a tunnel dug underneath a prison in Mexico in 2015 by smuggling a GPS watch to him disguised as a food item, prosecutors said. That helped those digging the tunnel pinpoint his location and reach him. The leader of the Sinaloa cartel was recaptured the following year. Prosecutors had asked for four years in prison, but U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras imposed a shorter term, saying her role was a small piece of a much larger organization. 

FOX 11

Teen Suspect Lures Ohio Police With Phony Robbery Call, Then ‘Savagely’ Attacks Officer

A teen male called police Tuesday morning claiming he was the victim of a robbery, then attacked an officer who responded to the call and tried to take his firearm, reports say. The officer had to be taken to a hospital after he was “savagely ambushed, attacked and beaten by an apparently mentally disturbed man,” Dan Hils, president of the Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police, tells WCPO Channel 9. The officer was treated and released, WLWT Channel 5 reports. Jermykle Williams, 19, was arrested following the incident and has been charged with felonious assault, aggravated robbery, making a terroristic threat, failure to disclose personal information and resisting arrest. WXIX Channel 19 reports officers were called to a home in the city’s Price Hill neighborhood just after 11 a.m. Officers at the scene began investigating when Williams reportedly attacked, repeatedly punching an officer in the face. It took four people to pull Williams off the officer, reports say. He reportedly tried to grab the officer’s handgun as he was being restrained. WXIX reports that police say Williams threatened to kill sheriff’s deputies at the jail and others at the city’s justice center. Williams’ grandmother said he struggles with mental health issues and hasn’t been taking his prescribed medication, WCPO reports. She also tells WCPO that she believes her grandson has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and has hallucinations.

PoliceOne

Police K-9 Subdues Escaped Pennsylvania Murderer During Capture

An escaped murderer was captured Wednesday after eluding hundreds of searchers for two weeks, a conclusion that brought relief to anxious residents of southeastern Pennsylvania who had endured sleepless nights as he hid in the woods, broke into suburban homes for food, changed his appearance, and fled under gunfire with a rifle pilfered from a garage, authorities said. Danelo Souza Cavalcante’s heat signal was picked up around 1 a.m. from an aircraft, but storms prevented teams from continuing to track him until the morning, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said. In the meantime, tactical teams secured the area, and later moved in with search dogs, Bivens said at a news conference. “The were able to move in very quietly. They had the element of surprise. Cavalcante did not realize he was surrounded until that had occurred,” Bivens said. Cavalcante — still armed with the rifle — tried to escape by crawling through thick underbrush, Bivens said, and he continued to resist as he was taken into custody after 8 a.m. He was bitten by a police K-9 and suffered a minor wound, he said. State police had announced Cavalcante’s capture on social media earlier Wednesday, as the search entered its 14th day. Bivens said police will discuss new charges with county prosecutors.

Associated Press

Firefighters Battle Large Fire At Commercial Building In Downtown LA

Firefighters battled a large and aggressive fire Tuesday at a commercial building in downtown Los Angeles. The blaze at the three-story building on E. 4th and San Pedro streets was reported around 1:06 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. AIR7 HD was over the scene as thick black smoke billowed from the structure, which could be seen from miles away. The fire involved dense storage on the third floor, the fire department said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. No injuries have been reported.

ABC 7

Beachgoers Urged To Avoid Swimming At These L.A. County Beaches

Southern California residents looking to visit the beach before the summer season fades away are urged to avoid swimming at some Los Angeles County beaches, officials announced Tuesday. Officials are urging beachgoers to avoid swimming, surfing, and playing in ocean waters at the following locations: the entire swimming area at Escondido Creek at Escondido State Beach in Malibu; about 50 to 100 yards up and down the lagoon at Topanga Canyon Beach in Malibu; the entire swimming area at Mothers Beach in Marina Del Rey; about 50 to 100 yards up and down the coast from the Pico-Kenter storm drain at Santa Monica Beach; and about 100 yards up and down the coast from the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica. The warnings were issued since bacterial levels exceeded health standards when last tested by experts.

KTLA 5

New COVID-19 Vaccinations Are Coming, CDC Says. The Shots Will Likely Be Available This Week

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday recommended that much of the American public receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine, marking a new phase in the years-long battle against the coronavirus. Should everything move forward as expected, the shots from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech could be available for everyone age 6 months and up in vaccine clinics, pharmacies and doctor’s offices later this week. CVS Health said the new shots will be available in some of its pharmacies as early as Wednesday. One key question remains, however: How many people will roll up their sleeves? COVID vaccinations now appear to be mirroring the seasonal cadence of the flu shot — with freshly formulated versions released annually in hopes of combating the dominant viral strain circulating in a given year. It’s a goal public health officials have long held, and reflects the shift out of the emergency phase of the pandemic into an era where the coronavirus, though still prevalent, merits more of a predictable schedule than a rapidly shifting response.

Los Angeles Times

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 8,900 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.