Good Morning. Please join us on Wednesday, May 12th for the Police Week Blood Drive to honor the fallen. The blood drive will take place at Mission Station from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Those interested in donating can visit redcrossblood.org and use sponsor code LAPDMissionArea to choose a donation time. Click here for more information.
|
|
Garcetti's Proposed City Budget Increases Spending For LAPD By 3%
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is proposing a 3% increase in funding for the city's Police Department for the upcoming budget year, disappointing advocates who have called for the agency's defunding. Garcetti's proposed $11.2-billion budget allocates $1.76 billion for the LAPD, up from the $1.71 billion the council approved in July. The mayor's plan, which covers the fiscal year starting July 1, would continue to provide a force of about 9,750 sworn police officers. The number of officers at the department now is lower, however, because of retirements and resignations. The LAPD is expected to have 9,489 officers on June 30. Garcetti's proposed budget, released Tuesday, comes nearly a year after widespread protests over police brutality and racial injustice. Polls have shown public support for measures that shift some duties away from police. At the same time, the city is grappling with an uptick in murders and shootings. Craig Lally, president of the union representing rank and file police officers, offered a mixed review Tuesday about the mayor's proposed spending on police. Garcetti's proposal, he said, does not address the "significant damage" caused by last year's budget cut. However, Lally said, the proposal "does make investments in beginning to add back officers to patrol our streets. We are hopeful that City Council is committed to rebuilding the department as well." Homicides in the city have risen by 27.6% so far this year, compared with the same period in 2020. The number of shooting victims is up nearly 80%, according to LAPD figures that cover the period through April 10.
|
|
|
|
Has Homelessness Gotten Better or Worse Since Mike Bonin Was Elected to the City Council? |
Hear directly from Bonin’s constituents by viewing this video made by them. You be the judge.
|
|
LAPD Declares Tactical Alert ‘In An Abundance Of Caution’ Following Chauvin Conviction; Demonstrations Remain Peaceful
The LAPD Tuesday called a tactical alert in the city following the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in connection with the murder of George Floyd. The agency acknowledged that while there are no current unlawful assemblies, the tactical alert is in “an abundance of caution.” “The department is proactively taking initiative to ensure adequate resources to respond to any situation should the need arise,” LAPD officials said in a tweet. “We remain committed to ensuring the balance of ensuring public safety of all and being respectful to the community. We strive to protect and serve every member of the community equally.” Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
|
|
LA County DA George Gascón Details Plans For New Crime Reduction Division
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón on Tuesday formally announced a reorganization of the vaunted Hardcore Gang Unit to reduce crime in troubled neighborhoods. The disbanded unit will be replaced by the newly established Community Violence Reduction Division, which will be staffed by experienced prosecutors who will collaborate with the Los Angeles Police Department and other community partners, Gascón said in a statement. Prosecutors initially will be assigned to three of the LAPD’s most crime-plagued divisions — 77th, Foothill and Newton — to investigate and prosecute the most troubling incidents of street violence. Eric Siddall, vice president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys in Los Angeles County and a former Hardcore Gang Unit prosecutor, believes Gascon’s approach is misguided and politically motivated. “Mr. Gascón decimated the gang division to fulfill reckless political promises to special interest groups,” Siddall said. “He did this notwithstanding the rise of gang violence, especially in economically disadvantaged communities. Year to date, neighborhoods like Watts have experienced a 130% increase in homicides compared to last year. “Now he is attempting to disguise this public safety blunder by rebranding the gang unit and embellishing on his achievements,” he said. “There is nothing new to his approach of embedding prosecutors in police stations. The only difference is that he is devoting fewer resources to combat an explosion of gang violence.”
|
|
Man Killed, Woman Injured In Los Angeles Shooting
A man was killed and a woman was injured Tuesday in a shooting in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles. The shooting was reported at about 11:30 a.m. in the 1400 block of 126th Street, according to a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department statement. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, and the woman was transported to a hospital with unspecified injuries. The victims’ names were not released. LASD Homicide Detectives are investigating the shooting and anyone with information should contact the LASD Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be called in to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or submitted online at lacrimestoppers.org.
|
|
Investigation Underway After Man Found Shot To Death In Huntington Park
An investigation is underway after a shooting in Huntington Park left a man dead Monday night. The incident occurred about 10:17 p.m. in the 6800 block of Malabar Street, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department stated in a news release. Detectives arrived to find an unidentified man down with gunshot wounds. The man was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Sheriff’s Department. Video showed crime scene tape and evidence markers in the street, and surrounding a bicycle that was left on a nearby sidewalk. Investigators did not say whether the bike belonged to the victim or if the victim was riding the bike when he was shot. No details about a shooter or shooters being sought were immediately released. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at 323-890-5500.
|
|
Body Found Near 170 Freeway Overcrossing In North Hollywood
A body was found Tuesday near a freeway overcrossing in the North Hollywood area. The body was discovered about 11 a.m. near the 170 Freeway overcrossing at Laurel Canyon Boulevard, according to the California Highway Patrol. Information on the person’s identity, age or cause of death was not immediately available.
|
|
Authorities Searching For 29-Year-Old Woman Reported Missing In Florence Area
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department sought the public's help on Tuesday to locate a missing 29-year-old woman last seen in the unincorporated Florence area. Stephanie Privich was last seen at about 10 a.m. on April 9 in the 1400 block of East 64th Street, near Compton and Gage avenues and Huntington Park, according to Deputy Trina Schrader of the Sheriff's Information Bureau. Privich is white, 5-feet-2 inches tall, weighs about 164 pounds and has blonde hair and green eyes. She was last seen wearing a black shirt with white stars. Her family is very concerned, authorities said. Anyone with information about Privich's whereabouts is asked to call the Sheriff's Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be called into Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
|
|
Kristin Smart’s Body May Have Been Recently Moved From Under Home’s Deck, D.A. Alleges
Investigators believe that Kristin Smart’s body was recently moved from beneath the deck at the Arroyo Grande home of the father of Paul Flores, who is accused of her murder, according to court records. San Luis Obispo County prosecutors said detectives are “in possession of biological evidence that makes them believe the victim was buried underneath [Ruben Flores’] deck at one time.” Few other details were provided. Smart, a freshman at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, was last seen around 2 a.m. on May 25, 1996, leaving an off-campus party. Two students told police they last saw her walking with Flores, also a freshman at the university. Flores has maintained through the years that he walked Smart to within a short distance of her dormitory and returned to his room. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance or any knowledge of her whereabouts. Smart’s body has never been found. A judge on Monday ordered that Flores remain in a San Luis Obispo County jail as he awaits trial on charges he killed Smart during an attempted rape in 1996. The judge agreed that Flores’ father, Ruben Flores, who is charged as an accessory to Smart’s killing, should be granted bail.
|
|
L.A. County Offers $10,000 Rewards In Pasadena, Mount Baldy Homicides
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved $10,000 rewards Tuesday in the unrelated shooting deaths of a 27-year-old Pasadena resident and a 63-year-old man whose body was found in a culvert off Mount Baldy Road. Supervisor Kathryn Barger recommended a reward in the case of 27-year-old Ernesto Jimenez, who was found wounded and lying on the sidewalk in the 200 block of Parke Street, near Orange Grove Boulevard and Marengo Avenue in Pasadena, around 8 p.m. Nov. 13. Jimenez, who was shot more than once in the upper body, was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers who responded to the shots fired call later learned that Jimenez left his home after dinner and was walking to Villa Park when someone opened fire. Jimenez tried to run back to his residence but collapsed before he could reach the door. Neighbors lovingly called him “Big Ernesto” and “Big Boy,” according to Barger, who said he was a caring person who liked to play music and hang out with neighbors in Villa Park. Jimenez was not a gang member and had no gang affiliations, she said. Barger urged anyone with additional information on the shooting to call Detective Jordan Ling at the Pasadena Police Department, 626-744-4081, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
|
|
Be Honest: We Are Not Doing Enough About Law Enforcement Suicide
Last month the Chicago Police Department lost two officers to suicide within days of each other. Town Hall District Officer 21-year veteran James Daly, 47, fatally shot himself in a locker room inside the district’s police station on the North Side. Four days later, Officer Jeffrey T. Troglia, 38, an 18-year veteran, died after shooting himself inside his home in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood neighborhood on the Far Southwest Side. Across the country, officers continue to take their own lives. Forty-four officers have died this year by suicide. While line-of-duty death continues to rise – primarily due to COVID – the loss of an officer to suicide is preventable. So why, once again, do we find ourselves talking about what to do? Why are some of the same agencies once again scrambling for answers? Law enforcement suicide is not a new thing. It’s been occurring at agencies large and small for decades. We’re talking about it now because we haven’t done enough to curtail it within the ranks. At many agencies, the topic is avoided altogether. When an agency loses an officer, or several, to suicide, what comes next?
|
|
Crews Battle Brush Fire Burning Homes In Lincoln Heights; Evacuations Underway
A brush fire in Lincoln Heights is threatening structures in the area, Los Angeles Fire Department officials said Tuesday. The blaze was reported around 1:30 p.m. on the 2800 block of North Sierra Street, the fire department said in an alert. At least one structure has been fully engulfed by the flames and possibly two others as well, according to LAFD. About 10 homes in the area that are threatened by the fire and evacuations have begun. Fire crews approached the scene with a ground base attack, structural defense and helicopters that would conduct water drops, officials said. About 146 firefighters are assigned to the fire at this time and an additional L.A. County Fire helicopter was on the way for additional support.
|
|
LA City Council Votes To Develop Voluntary Approach To Homeless Encampment Cleanups
The Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to develop a more voluntary, service-based approach to replace the city's mandatory cleanups of homeless encampments. The motion authored by Nithya Raman and Mike Bonin calls for the Bureau of Sanitation, in consultation with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, to develop standards for street engagement and hygiene services "with a preference for voluntary compliance whenever possible." The enhanced hygiene and sanitation services would: occur on a regular schedule; offer services including trash and bulky item pick-ups; create designated areas for trash and waste to be placed for disposal and removal; use community partners and ambassadors for outreach and facilitation; provide easy-ups or shade structures to help unhoused people temporarily relocate with their belongings during cleanups; provide mobile showers, bathrooms, COVID-19 testing, COVID-19 vaccinations, tent exchange and distribution, and food and water; hire unhoused Angelenos to keep areas tidy between cleanings; and provide reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities; and do not involve law enforcement personnel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
