Good Morning. Officer Al Martinez needs our help. Following a bout with COVID, Al’s wife has been receiving very expensive cancer treatment. Officer Martinez was recently in an on-duty traffic accident which has left Officer Martinez in need of our help. A raffle is being conducted with prizes including a two-night stay at Big Bear among other prizes.
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How LAPD's Community Safety Partnership Bureau Is Working To Build Trust With The Community
Tension between police and the public it serves is an issue in Southern California and nationwide. The Los Angeles Police Department has found a way to address it and build trust within the community. When the department launched its Community Safety Partnership Bureau in 2018, officers literally took to the streets and walked the neighborhood to meet and get to know its residents. But there was real skepticism. South Park resident Marilyn Green was among the hesitant group but about six months later, she ended up building a friendship with Senior Lead Officer Lyndon Barber. "With Ms. Green kind of leading the way and once we built our connection, and everyone pretty much seeing it, then it did open up to everyone else in the community," Barber said. Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides was recently promoted to run the bureau, also known CSP, but the idea isn't new to the department. Tingirides first helped implement the community policing model a decade ago in four public housing projects, from Boyle Heights to Watts. "The primary premise is to address the crime in our communities with a public health lens and in order to do that, we have to be able to partner with our community, partner with our non-profit organizations, work alongside each other to make the change," she said.
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LAPD Officer Injured In Crash During Pursuit Of Carjacking Suspect In South L.A.
An LAPD officer was taken to a hospital after a carjacking suspect he was chasing crashed into a police cruiser in South Los Angeles early Saturday morning, officials said. The crash happened around 2 a.m. in the area of 64th Street and Budlong Avenue in the Vermont-Slauson neighborhood of South L.A., according to Los Angeles Police Department officials. Police were in pursuit of the vehicle for only about five minutes before the suspect pulled into a cul-de-sac, made a U-turn and slammed into an LAPD car, officials said. The officer suffered only minor injuries and was taken to a hospital for treatment. The suspect, who police say was not injured, was taken into custody. LAPD said a gun was also found in the vehicle. Video from the scene shows a damaged sedan crashed into a police vehicle as law enforcement personnel crowded the scene. The injured officer appeared to be standing on his own and speaking with paramedics before they transported him to a hospital.
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3 Children, Aged 3, 2 And 6 Months, Stabbed To Death In Reseda, Their Mother In Custody
A 30-year-old woman is in custody after her three kids, aged 3, 2 and 6 months, were stabbed to death at a home in Reseda Saturday. The LAPD responded to a call from an apartment in the 8000 block of Reseda Boulevard around 9:30 a.m. Upon arrival, officers found the bodies of three young children, prompting a search for a suspect. LAPD later identified the children's mother, Liliana Carrillo, as the person of interest in the triple murder. Carrillo was eventually taken into custody in Tulare County in Northern California. During the search for Carrillo, LAPD said she may have carjacked a Toyota pickup truck in Bakersfield earlier in the day. She was also identified as the sole suspect in the deadly attacks. According to the children's relative, the children's parents had been at the center of a tense custody battle. The father's cousin, Teri Miller, told FOX 11's Christina Gonzalez that the children's father, Erick Denton, had reached out to DCFS and police for help as Carrillo "needed help."
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6-Year-Old Boy Shot, Wounded When Woman Opens Fire On Sun Valley Apartment, Police Say
A 6-year-old boy was shot and wounded when a woman opened fire on an apartment complex in Sun Valley early Saturday morning, authorities said. The shooting occurred about 1:30 a.m. in the 12100 block of Sheldon Street, where the woman approached the building on foot and fired multiple rounds, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The shooter then fled the scene and the boy was transported to a hospital with a leg wound, an LAPD sergeant said. He is expected to recover. No other injuries were reported. A detailed description of the woman, who remained at large, was not immediately available.
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Sister Of Gang Violence Victim Slams LA DA Gascón's Push To Eliminate Juvenile Strikes
Aja Courtney, who reportedly lost her brother in a gang-related shooting, argued on Sunday that Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón's policies are "giving way to more violence." Courtney made the comment on "Fox & Friends Weekend," two days after Gascón argued that eliminating juvenile strikes "will make our community safer." Gascón - joined by Los Angeles Assembly Member Miguel Santiago, a Democrat - unveiled legislation on Friday that would stop strikes committed by minors from later being used against them in adult proceedings, according to a news release. The release noted that, under California’s current Three Strikes law, specified felonies that are found true in a juvenile court proceeding are permitted to be alleged as a strike prior in a future adult criminal proceeding - in an effort to enhance a defendant’s potential length of time behind bars. "The human brain is not fully developed until we are somewhere in the mid-20’s," Gascón said Friday. Courtney slammed Gascón’s argument, calling it a "misguided notion." "Anybody who has children understands that children know at very early ages what's right from wrong," she said. "A juvenile system is based on rehabilitation, not on punishment," Gascón also said on Friday, adding that "criminalization of young people leads to higher levels of recidivism, which means that it creates more insecurity in our community." Courtney blasted the legislation on Sunday, arguing that eliminating the strikes sends a message to criminals that they can commit crimes without any consequences.
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Man Injured In Harbor City Drive-By Shooting
A man was injured in an apparent drive-by shooting in Harbor City on Saturday, April 10, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. LAPD responded to the shooting at about 1 p.m. at 25221 Senator Ave., according to Sgt. Bradley Hearn, with LAPD’s Harbor Station. Hearn said the victim survived his injuries but was not cooperative with police. Hearn said details into the shooting remain “sketchy.” No suspect vehicle information was immediately available.
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Family Pleads For Information In Leimert Park Hit-and-Run That Killed Moped Rider
On Saturday the family of a 55-year-old moped rider that was killed in Leimert Park earlier this month is pleading for help in finding the driver responsible. Reade Torrance Childres was on a moped in the area along Crenshaw Boulevard near Westmont Avenue around 2:35 p.m. on April 1 when a person driving a black Ford Flex struck the back of his moped and fled the scene, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The impact of the collision, which was captured on surveillance video, caused Childres to be ejected from the moped and hit the roadway. The driver of the SUV was seen driving away without stopping to identify themselves, which is required by law, authorities said. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics transported Childres to a hospital, where he died two days later, according to police. “He loved to care for others. He was always doing something extra,” said the victim’s cousin, Sheila Kearns. “We need closure. … We’re just heartbroken and overwhelmed with grief.” Investigators canvassed the area of the crash site and have since released the surveillance video of the suspect fleeing the scene. Police are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the identity, arrest and conviction of the driver. Anyone with information can call Detective Keith Gonzales or Detective Michael Flannery at LAPD’s South Traffic Division at 323-421-2500.
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LAPD Searching For 3 Men Suspected Of Posing As Construction Workers, Burglarizing Homes
The Los Angeles Police Department Sunday released photos of three men suspected of burglarizing two homes in hopes that someone will recognize them. The first burglary happened at about 2 p.m. April 1 when three men knocked on the door of a home near the 1000 block of Mar View Avenue. The men allegedly told the victim that they were construction workers and needed access to the home to check the water pressure. The men then allegedly told the residents to wait in the backyard. While the residents were outside, one men allegedly entered a bedroom, broke open a safe and removed property. The first suspect was described as a man in his 30s with black hair, weighing around 150 pounds. The second suspect was described as a man in his 40s with black hair, standing about 6-feet-2 and weighing about 260 pounds. The third suspect was described as a man in his 20s with black hair, weighing about 150 pounds. LAPD said the men were seen driving a white four-door Toyota Camry with the license plate 8UHE680. Anyone with information was asked to contact Detective Campos at 213-996-1856.
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LAPD rejecting most complaints against officers from summer protests; others still under review
Internal affairs investigators reviewing hundreds of allegations of misconduct and excessive force by other Los Angeles police officers during last summer’s mass protests against police brutality are ruling on the side of the officers in most cases. An internal report, submitted by LAPD Chief Michel Moore to the civilian Police Commission on Friday, noted the department had received more than 600 allegations against officers. Some of those were duplicate complaints about the same incident, and from those launched 210 investigations into 223 officers — 73 of which were related to the alleged use of non-deadly force, and five of which involved the alleged use of deadly force.
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Man Indicted In String Of Trader Joe’s Robberies Across Southern California
A federal grand jury has indicted a Huntington Park man in the robbery or attempted robbery of more than a dozen Trader Joe’s stores across Southern California over a span of three months. Gregory Johnson, 43, was named in a superseding indictment Friday that charged him with 15 counts of interference with commerce by robbery, five counts of knowingly using and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California charged Johnson in February with two counts in connection with robbing a Trader Joe’s in Chino Hills in December, during which he allegedly stole $3,800 in cash. Ciaran McEvoy, a public information officer for the U.S. attorney’s office, said Johnson pleaded not guilty to those charges. Friday’s indictment alleges that from Aug. 28 through Dec. 4, Johnson robbed or attempted to commit robbery 15 times at Trader Joe’s stores in Eagle Rock, Sherman Oaks, Chatsworth, Pasadena, Culver City, Rancho Palos Verdes, Agoura Hills, Simi Valley, Brea, Santa Ana, Tustin, Corona and Chino Hills.
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Iowa Trooper Slain Amid Violent Standoff
A 27-year veteran of the Iowa State Patrol was shot and killed during a violent standoff with a man who fought back against agents in an armored personnel carrier and said he wanted to shoot other officers, authorities said Saturday. Sgt. Jim Smith was killed Friday night in Grundy Center as he and other officers entered the home of Michael Thomas Lang, 41, who fled there after an earlier police pursuit, authorities said. The standoff ended about midnight Friday when a team of highway patrol troopers in an armored personnel carrier smashed into the home. Lang fired multiple shots at the carrier. Three officers inside the carrier returned fire, hitting the man several times, authorities said. Lang was hospitalized in critical condition on Saturday. He was charged with first-degree murder and is being held on a $1 million bond. Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Steve Bayens said Smith “died a hero” and "sacrificed himself protecting others."
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Looting in Minneapolis, National Guard activated after police shooting of Daunte Wright
Minneapolis erupted in looting and riots late Sunday after an officer fatally shot a man during a traffic stop just 10 miles from where Derek Chauvin had George Floyd pinned to the pavement last May. The Minnesota National Guard was activated to quell what devolved into violent demonstrations over the fatal officer-involved shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright earlier Sunday in the city of Brooklyn Center, located in Hennepin County, on the border of Minneapolis
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2 Injured In Explosion At Valley Glen Home Possibly Caused By Gas Leak
Two people were injured, one critically, in an explosion at a home in Valley Glen possibly caused by a gas leak, officials say. The explosion was reported just before 9:30 p.m. in the 12700 block of West Archwood Street. The Los Angeles Fire Department say it appears a large explosion occurred at the one-story, single-family home, although there were no active flames when firefighters showed up. There were seven people home at the time, but only two sustained significant injuries. A man around 59 years old was brought to a local hospital with critical burn injuries. A second man, around 46 years old, was pulled from the debris and was talking to firefighters at the scene. He was then transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Another man suffered minor injuries and declined to go to the hospital. A woman, around 65 years old, and three children at the home were not injured.
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City Of Los Angeles Expanding Vaccine Eligibility To Residents 16 And Older Tuesday
Los Angeles city residents age 16 and older can already start making appointments to get vaccinated through the city’s registration portal, though the appointments will not be until Tuesday at the earliest. “It’s great,” Corey Brule, an L.A. resident getting his vaccine at Cal State, said. “I’m eager to not be a part of this COVID lifestyle anymore, so I think the stress is going to start washing off pretty immediately.” And though there are still questions about vaccine availability, with Johnson & Johnson shipping out fewer doses due to manufacturing problems, healthcare workers say the expansion is necessary. “In order to prevent the next surge from happening, we need a large number of people to be immune, not naturally but through the vaccines,” Dr. Suman Radhakrishna, of Dignity Health California Hospital, said. Also on Sunday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced appointments for Tuesday and Wednesday would be available for entire households living in a number of communities.
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California’s COVID-19 Death Toll Surpasses 60,000 Even As Conditions Improve
The COVID-19 death toll in California has exceeded 60,000, an alarming statistic that comes even as conditions in the state continue to improve. The state’s toll represents 10.7% of COVID-19 deaths nationwide. California is home to about 12% of Americans. Although California’s death toll was lower per capita than in the other most populous states, COVID-19 has hit some communities particularly hard. The state’s lower-income Latino communities — home to many essential workers who often live in crowded housing — saw disproportionately high numbers of deaths while affluent areas saw lower numbers. The milestone in fatalities, recorded this weekend, comes as California has achieved significant progress in slowing the spread of the coronavirus. Deaths and hospitalizations have plummeted, and the state has so far avoided the spring resurgence that has hit other parts of the country. Beginning Thursday, all Californians age 16 and up will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, bringing hope of further taming the coronavirus.
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