Email from Los Angeles Police Protective League Daily News & Updates Law Enforcement News Rhode Island police department collecting gift card donations for LAPD officers who lost homes in wildfires The Warwick Police Department announced it has launched a fundraising campaign to assist Los Angeles Police Department officers who have been severely impacted by the recent wildfires in California, WLNE reported. According to LAPD Headquarters, more than 20 active officers have lost their homes and belongings due to the fires. In response, Warwick Police are collecting gift cards from local retailers and online platforms, according to the report. “We are collecting gift cards for national retailers such at Target, Amazon, Home Depot, Lowe’s etc to deliver to LAPD officers who have lost their homes in the fires…Every little bit helps!” the department stated in a Facebook post. The department stated it will be accepting donations of gift cards in-person or by mail until Feb. 10, according to the report. A Warwick Police Department representative will personally deliver the collected donations to the affected LAPD officers in February. PoliceOne Authorities allege man posing as child-care worker sexually assaulted girl he picked up at bus stop A Los Angeles man posing as a child-care worker allegedly sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl after convincing her to get inside his vehicle, according to authorities. On Nov. 30, Derrick Dwayne Thompson allegedly pulled up to a bus stop in a black Suburban with a sign on the door suggesting that he worked for a child-care business, according to a Los Angeles Police Department news release. He asked the 15-year-old girl if she wanted a ride home and then drove to a parking lot, where he asked her to get in the back seat. Thompson took the child-care business sign off the vehicle and then allegedly sexually assaulted the girl in the backseat, officials said. Thompson was arrested Jan. 15 and charged with forcible rape, sodomy by use of force on a victim 14 years or older and sexual penetration by use of force on a minor victim over 14, police said. He’s being held without bail. Additional victims have been asked to contact Juvenile Division detectives at (424) 259-7097 or 877-527-3247 on weekends or off-hours. People wishing to remain anonymous can contact the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or go to www.lacrimestoppers.org. Los Angeles Times One Hospitalized After DTLA Shooting Police Thursday are investigating a shooting in downtown Los Angeles that left a man in the hospital. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Central Division responded at 12:18 a.m. to an assault with a deadly weapon call at 732 S Spring St. between Broadway and Main Street. When they arrived, officers found the victim on the sixth floor of the building suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, an LAPD spokesman told City News Service. The victim was taken to a hospital in stable condition. There was no suspect information. MyNewsLA Silver Alert Issued for WeHo Man A Silver Alert is in effect Thursday in Los Angeles County for a 67-year-old man who was reported missing after he was last seen just east of the West Hollywood city limit. Herminio Rivera was last seen at 1:07 p.m. Wednesday near Willoughby and Martell avenues, according to the California Highway Patrol, which issued the alert Wednesday on behalf of the Los Angeles Police Department. Rivera is Latino, 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighs 140 pounds, is bald and has brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a short-sleeved black shirt, black pants and yellow socks. Authorities say Rivera is believed to be on foot. Anyone who sees Rivera was asked to call 911. MyNewsLA Man, woman from Oregon charged for impersonating firefighters in Palisades Fire zone, officials say A man and a woman from Oregon have been charged after they allegedly bought a fire truck at auction, dressed up like firefighters and illegally entered the Palisades Fire zone. Dustin Nehl, 31, and Jennifer Nehl, 44, were arrested Saturday after the two claimed to be from the Roaring River Fire Department in Oregon, which deputies learned was not a real agency, authorities said. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the suspects were wearing Cal Fire T-shirts under turnout gear, helmet and had radios in the fire truck. The two allegedly admitted to being in the evacuation zone on Friday as well. Eyewitness News learned Dustin Nehl has a criminal history in Oregon for criminal mischief and arson. This comes as law enforcement agencies have reported dozens of arrests since the fires in Palisades and Altadena broke out on Jan. 7. ABC 7 Real estate agent accused of price gouging, increasing rent by 38% following Eaton Fire A real-estate agent is facing a criminal charge for allegedly attempting to price gouge a couple who lost their home in the Eaton Fire, officials announced. The investigation into Mike Kobeissi began when a complaint was filed with the California Department of Justice after the couple tried to rent a home after the governor's emergency order, which protects fire victims from price gouging, went into effect on Jan. 7, state Attorney General Rob Bonta said. The DOJ has also sent at least 500 warning letters to hotels and landlords who have been accused of price gouging. In addition, the office has more active criminal investigations into price gouging underway, Bonta said. "As I have said repeatedly, the price gouging must stop," the AG said in a statement. "Today, we are making good on our promise to hold price gougers accountable, with more to come. I have been urging the public to report any such incidents to local authorities, or to my office. ... May this announcement serve as a stern warning to those who would seek to further victimize those who have lost everything. DOJ is aggressively and relentlessly pursuing those who are trying to make a quick buck off of someone else's pain." ABC 7 SoCal homes swatted, officers taunted through hacked Ring camera A man from Wisconsin pleaded guilty on Thursday to reporting false emergencies to police in places like West Covina and Oxnard, then taunting officers using residences’ Ring cameras. Racine resident Kya Christian Nelson, 23, admitted to one count of conspiracy and two counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release. From Nov. 7 to 13, 2020, Nelson went on a “swatting” spree where he’d falsely report dangerous situations at residences across the country, then livestream the ensuing police raids on social media, “sometimes while taunting responding police officers in communities such as West Covina and Oxnard,” the DOJ said. Those officers had often just cleared a home’s residents at gunpoint, as the reports they received often indicated that children were in danger from adults armed with guns. KTLA 5 BWC: Man hides in bathtub, jumps out and threatens NYPD officers with knife before fatal OIS The NYPD released body-worn camera footage showing a fatal officer-involved shooting of a man who hid in a bathroom before jumping out at officers with a knife, according to a critical incident video release. The Sept. 13 incident began when detectives and officers entered a home to serve a warrant, according to the release. Body-worn camera footage shows the officers entering the home and instructing another individual to move out of the way. As officers move toward the back of the residence, one can be seen carrying a ballistic shield. One of the detectives, who was not carrying a shield, moved to open a door and enter a bathroom. As the detective walked into the room, the suspect suddenly revealed himself from where he was hidden inside a bathtub behind a wall. He raised a knife and started to climb out of the tub. Officers quickly moved out of the room and repeatedly instructed the suspect to drop the knife. The suspect retreated back into the tub, out of the officers’ line of sight. Officers continued to instruct the suspect to drop the knife while preparing a TASER and maneuvering the ballistic shield into a protective position. PoliceOne Video: Missouri officers, firefighters pull mother, infant from crashed vehicle in frigid water Dramatic body camera footage captured the heroic efforts of first responders who saved a mother and her infant after their SUV crashed into an icy creek, KCTV reported. Emergency crews were dispatched to the scene of a single-vehicle collision on Jan. 15 where they found the SUV tipped on its side in rising creek water, according to the report. The Liberty Police Department stated that two passengers were trapped inside as the freezing water levels continued to rise. The footage shows a Liberty police officer and a firefighter wading into the frigid creek to reach the vehicle. Working in icy conditions, the team used tools to break through the windshield, cutting a hole to free the occupants. They first pulled the mother to safety, drying and warming her before continuing the rescue. The video also captured the moment an officer removed his vest and assisted in pulling the infant from the back of the SUV. The child was rushed to awaiting first responders and reunited with the mother. Both were transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation and treatment. PoliceOne Public Safety News LA County Partners with End Overdose to Address Fentanyl Crisis Los Angeles County health officials and volunteers will host workshops at music and cultural festivals throughout the region as part of an effort to combat the fentanyl crisis, it was announced Thursday. While attendees wait to enter stadiums and other venues, they have an opportunity to learn about the risks of fentanyl. They can also receive training and certification on how to administer naloxone, also known by its brand name Narcan, a live-saving opioid overdose reversal medication. The initiative is being done through a partnership between L.A. County Department of Public Health and End Overdose, an organization dedicated to preventing overdoses. Personnel from these organizations will provide free resources to address overdoses. “Our partnership with End Overdose enhances our ongoing efforts to put an end to the fentanyl crisis by providing critical education, training and resources to our communities,” Gary Tsai, the director of DPH’s Substance Abuse Prevention and Control Bureau, said in a statement. MyNewsLA LAFD Firefighters Battle Flames in Hillside Sepulveda Fire in Brentwood Evacuation warnings were lifted and forward progress of a fire in the Sepulveda Basin was stopped Thursday, but not before the fire burned 40 acres in Brentwood. Firefighters made significant progress battling the Sepulveda Fire near Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles Fire Department officials said Thursday. The Sepulveda Fire was reported at 11 p.m. Wednesday near the northbound San Diego (405) Freeway and the Sepulveda Pass. Around 250 LAFD firefighters quickly responded to the area as the blaze grew from 10 to 20 acres, according to Cal Fire. Using both aerial and ground attacks, firefighters sought to gain control of the flames in the hillside area against light winds, Stewart said. The fire prompted an evacuation warning for the residents south of the 1500 block of Casiano Road, north of Moraga Drive, east of Sepulveda Boulevard and west of Chalon Road, Stewart said. Those evacuations warnings were lifted at 2 a.m. Westside Current LA has seen 15 days of red flag warnings in January. What's in the weekend forecast? Firefighters are gaining ground on three major fires in Los Angeles County, where a red flag warning that went into effect earlier this week for parts of the region was extended into Friday. So far in January, the high fire danger forecast is a recurring theme. There have been 15 days of red flag warnings in Los Angeles County through 23 days this month. That includes consecutives days of red flag warnings from Jan. 6 to Jan. 16 that offered little relief for firefighters who have battled the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires, the fast-moving Hughes Fire in Castaic and many other smaller fires that crews prevented from reaching structures and neighborhoods. The Palisades Fire started on the morning of Jan. 7 in Pacific Palisades followed hours later by the Eaton Fire in the Altadena area in a Santa Ana windstorm that firefighters described as among the worst they've seen. "Today is another one," said NBC4 meteorologist Belen De Leon. "We have fire danger very present with the winds increasing as we go through the middle of the day." NBC 4 Hughes Fire in LA County burns 10,000 acres, containment rises as some evacuations remain Firefighters made progress on the more than 10,000-acre Hughes Fire Thursday, which sent thousands fleeing after sparking near the Los Angeles County community of Castaic a day earlier. Some mandatory evacuation orders have been downgraded to warnings while containment of the wildfire rose over Thursday. A day earlier, the blaze was first reported around 10:45 a.m. near Castaic Lake, off Lake Hughes Road just north of Castaic Reservoir Road, spreading to 500 acres within an hour and continuing to grow through the afternoon and evening Wednesday. With high winds driving the flames, the fast-moving wildfire exploded to more than 10,000 acres by 10 p.m. that night, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. At one point, 31,000 people were under mandatory evacuations, which were issued in LA County by noon before being expanded to include some of neighboring Ventura County. The fire began threatening some communities just west of Castaic in Ventura County later on Wednesday. But on Thursday, no mandatory orders were still in effect in Ventura County and only some warnings remained. CBS 2 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. Listen To Our Podcast Los Angeles Police Protective League | 1308 W 8th St | Los Angeles, CA 90017 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Our Privacy Policy | Constant Contact Data Notice