Good Morning. Join Mission Division officers for a memorial bike ride honoring the 1-year anniversary of LAPD Officer Valentin Martinez's passing. There is a 20 mile and 40 mile route. The event will take place Saturday July 24th, 2021. The proceeds raised for this event will benefit Mission's youth groups and more importantly, an education fund for Officer Valentin Martinez's 5 month old twin boys. Click here for more information.
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37 Police Officers Murdered On The Job In First 5 Months Of 2021, Says FBI
Five months into 2021 and 37 police officers have been “feloniously killed” in the line of duty, said FBI Director Christopher Wray during a House hearing last week. That’s a big jump when compared to the 46 officers violently killed in all of 2020, according to NBC News. “And that's not counting all those officers who've died in the line of duty facing the countless other inherent dangers of the job, like from a car accident in pursuit after a subject or drowning during an attempted rescue,” said Wray. “Or even the scores of officers who've died from COVID-19. Because, of course, law enforcement kept coming to work every day despite the pandemic.” Line-of-duty deaths in general are up this year too, from 134 to 148, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Traffic deaths in particular have risen 42%, according to the data.
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1 Killed, 1 In Critical Condition After Shooting Near Eagle Rock Dispensary; Suspect In Custody
Police Thursday were investigating a fatal shooting near a marijuana dispensary in Eagle Rock, scouring the neighborhood and taking a close look at personal items left in the street. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers were called out to the 4800 block of York Boulevard at about 4:40 p.m. for reports of a shooting. When they arrived on the scene, they found two people with gunshot wounds. “It wasn’t a surprise,” Armando, a neighbor, said. “I was expecting it sooner or later, because I seen the kind of people that come in and wait in line.” Armando, who did not want to share his last name, said he has seen some “sketchy” characters frequent the business, though he said the dispensary has a heavily armed security guard on duty at all times. “He’s fully equipped,” Armando said. “He even wears a bulletproof vest.” Police said the shooting happened after to people got into an argument with the guard outside of the dispensary. The argument escalated and gunfire was exchanged.
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Authorities ID Man Stabbed To Death Near Park La Brea; Teen Suspect In Custody
A man who was stabbed to death at Park La Brea was identified Thursday, and his 17-year-old alleged killer was in custody, authorities said. Jose Mejia, 50, of Los Angeles, died at the scene of the attack, which occurred just before 2:35 p.m. Wednesday in the 300 block of South Burnside Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. Mejia was found mortally wounded in a stairwell, and a knife was recovered at the scene, police said. Authorities withheld the name of the suspect because he is underage, and released no information about the circumstances that led up to the attack or the relationship, if any, between Mejia and the boy.
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Suspect Leads LAPD On Chase, Hits Parked Car, Ditches Van In San Fernando Valley
The pursuit of a stolen black van ended in a crash in North Hollywood Thursday night, officials said. The chase started shortly after 9 p.m. in the area of Arapahoe and 20th streets in the Pico-Union neighborhood, said Officer William Cooper, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department. Sky5 arrived above the pursuit around 9:25 p.m. as the van was winding around surface streets in Burbank. The vehicle made its way into the San Fernando Valley, where it crashed into the rear of another car in North Hollywood just before 9:30 p.m. The driver exited the van and fled on foot in the area of Peach Grove Street and Vineland Avenue. Officers set up a perimeter in the area as they searched for the man, who remained outstanding when Sky5 left the scene just after 10 p.m. No other details were immediately available.
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Man Killed, Woman Wounded In Florence-Firestone Shooting
A man died early Friday morning in a shooting in the unincorporated Florence-Firestone area that also left a woman hospitalized with a gunshot wound. Deputies responded at 1:47 a.m. to the scene near East 64th Street and Wilmington Avenue, where they discovered the victim, who was taken to a hospital, where he later died, according to Deputy Morgan Arteaga of the Sheriffs Information Bureau. The name of the victim and a motive for the shooting were not immediately known. Anyone with information about the incident was asked to contact the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323 890-5500.
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Video Released In Search For Attacker In Possible Hate Crime Assault On Asian American Victim In Culver City
Police have released surveillance video capturing an assault on an Asian American woman that’s being investigated as a hate crime as the search for the perpetrator continues Wednesday. The attack occurred around 1 a.m. Monday as the victim was walking on the sidewalk along Washington Boulevard near Redwood Avenue, according to Culver City police. The woman told investigators she was walking to work when a man came up and asked her for a cigarette. She told him she did not have one, and began walking away as she felt uncomfortable, officials said. That’s when police say the man came up from behind, called her an “Asian motherf—,” and punched her upside the head unprovoked. The surveillance footage released Tuesday shows the woman fall into the street from the force of the impact and lay motionless. The perpetrator stands over her looking down for several seconds before walking away.
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Former NBA Player Sentenced To Probation For Attack Outside Nightclub
A two-year probationary sentence was handed down Thursday for a former professional basketball player who attacked a man outside a West Hollywood nightclub. Ronald Glen Davis, now 35, pleaded no contest in December 2019 to a felony count of battery with serious bodily injury. Davis threw a man against a wall during an April 8, 2018, altercation outside a club in the 600 block of Robertson Boulevard, according to prosecutors. He was arrested the following month by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and released a few hours later on bond. Davis — whose nickname is “Big Baby” — played for the Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers.
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Documented Gang Member Charged In Beverly Hills Robbery Pleads Not Guilty
One of three documented gang members accused of carrying out an armed robbery at a Beverly Hills restaurant in which a customer was held at gunpoint, another was struck by gunfire and a $500,000 watch was taken pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal charges. Marquise Gardon, 30, entered his plea to charges of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and using a firearm in a crime of violence, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Last week, Khai McGhee, 18, pleaded not guilty to the same charges. Another co-defendant, Malik L. Powell, 20, waived his appearance at his arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty via the filing of a court document. A July 22 trial date has been set in Los Angeles federal court for all three defendants.
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After A Baby Is Found In The Trash At A Lynwood Park Bathroom, 2 Women Are Sought
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has released images from video of two women being sought for questioning in connection with a newborn boy who was found in the trash of a Lynwood park bathroom last week. A woman visiting Yvonne Burke-John D. Ham Park around 8 a.m. Friday heard whimpering from a trash can in a women’s restroom. Inside the bin, she found an infant among the rubbish, Lt. John Adams of the Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Bureau said at a conference Thursday afternoon. There was evidence the child — a boy — was delivered in the bathroom, and authorities said he appeared to be a day or two old when found. The baby was taken to a hospital, where he was admitted to the neonatal intensive care, Adams said. The child is currently in stable condition, authorities said. Surveillance video that the Sheriff’s Department released shows what appears to be two women and a young child with a pink stroller walking together before sitting on a bench. Authorities also released a sketch of one of the women. Adams did not disclose what connection the two may have to the incident. Investigators are trying to identify the women, saying they are “people of interest that we believe will provide pertinent information to this case,” he said.
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Police: Georgia Officer Killed After Being Dragged By Car In Traffic Stop
A police officer has died after a traffic stop in which he fatally shot a man, possibly as the officer was being dragged, authorities said. Holly Springs Police Chief Tommy Keheley said investigators believe Holly Springs officer Joe Burson shot the suspect late Wednesday while he was being dragged by a vehicle, but said an inquiry is ongoing. Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Nelly Miles said Burson was dragged but managed to fire shots at the suspect. She said Burson and suspect both died despite first aid. The state agency is investigating Burson’s shooting of the suspect. Officials had initially said Thursday that Burson had been shot to death. The deceased suspect was not immediately named. Keheley said a shift supervisor was also present for the traffic stop due to speeding. Keheley said investigators are examining video footage and other evidence.
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Entire Portland Police Crowd Control Unit Resigns After Officer Indicted On Protest Assault Charge
Members of a specialized Portland, Oregon, police unit that deals with crowd control have resigned from the assignment en masse a day after a fellow officer was indicted on an assault charge stemming from alleged illegal use of force during a protest last year. The Portland Police Bureau's Rapid Response Team, which is primarily responsible for providing public safety at crowd events, consisted of approximately 50 officers, all of whom resigned Wednesday, the bureau announced. The assignment is voluntary and the officers will remain on the force and continue their regular assignments, the bureau said. The mass resignation comes a day after a grand jury indicted Portland Police Bureau Officer Corey Budworth on one count of fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor, for what prosecutors allege was an "excessive and unlawful use of force" during a protest in August 2020. Budworth, who at the time was on the bureau's Rapid Response Team, is accused of striking a woman in the head with a baton during an Aug. 18, 2020, demonstration outside the Multnomah Building. The indictment marks the first time a Portland police officer has faced prosecution for striking or firing at someone during a protest, according to the Oregonian.
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‘His Spirit And Legacy Live On Forever’: Slain Firefighter Tory Carlon Remembered At Forum Memorial
The sound of bagpipes echoed through the Forum on Thursday as firefighters, loved ones and family members of slain Los Angeles County firefighter Tory Carlon memorialized him as a beloved fire specialist whose modest demeanor belied his fierce dedication as a public servant for two decades. “We had no idea he was held in such high esteem by his coworkers,” said Carlon’s brother, Brent, as he spoke in front of hundreds of blue-uniformed firefighters and mourners on a stage decorated with wreaths from his brother’s battalion. Just left of the stage, perched on an easel, was a photo of his brother in uniform. “He was so humble about his career. The lives he had saved. The countless people he helped over the years, the people he mentored over the years,” Brent Carlon said. Tory Carlon, 44, was fatally shot at Fire Station 81 in Agua Dulce by a colleague with whom he had been feuding with over workplace issues, authorities said. His death was the latest of several in the past decade, according to Chief Daryl Osby, who said at the memorial that he has hugged too many families of lost firefighters. “This loss is extremely heartbreaking and tough, but also what remains in the hearts of many of us is Tory and how fondly we remember him for the man that he was,” Osby said.
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‘Delta’ COVID-19 Variant Stokes Growing Worries In LA County As Vaccine Rates Slide
Young Black and Latino residents in Los Angeles County continue to lag behind the rest of the population in COVID-19 vaccination rates, a gap the public health director said on Thursday, June 17, could put the group more at risk as the state’s economy reopens, workplaces get more crowded and public gatherings increase. Creating further concern is the slow but steady rise in the local number of COVID-19 cases involving the so-called “Delta” variant of the virus. The variant is blamed for rampant infections ravaging India and select other areas worldwide. “We’re especially concerned about this variant because it appears to be highly transmissible, and by that we mean it’s more contagious, even than other highly contagious COVID variants,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. “It’s also though that this variant may cause more severe infections than other COVID variants. And while fully vaccinated people appear to be very well protected from infections with Delta variants, people with only one vaccine are not well protected at all.”
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Second Flex Alert Issued For Friday As Heat Wave Continues Into Weekend
The second “flex alert” of the week — this one scheduled for Friday evening — was issued Thursday by the California Independent System Operator in an ongoing effort to urge energy consumers to reduce stress on the electrical grid and avoid power outages amid a heat wave that is expected to linger through the weekend. On Wednesday, state energy officials issued their first flex alert of the year, urging residents to cut back on their energy consumption on Thursday, June 17, between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.. The second flex alert, with similar guidance for energy consumers, is targeted for Friday between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., according to the California ISO. “I want to express appreciation to the public for the conservation efforts that they’re making during this heat event,” said Mark Rothleder, senior vice president of California ISO during a media briefing Thursday afternoon. “We know it’s an inconvenience but at this point, we feel like a little inconvenience up front will help us reduce the risk of power outages for today and hopefully the rest of the summer.”
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In New Milestone, California Administers 40 Millionth Dose Of COVID-19 Vaccine
In a week of milestones, California has hit another major turning point in the fight against the pandemic: More than 40 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have now been administered across the state. State officials announced the latest total, 40,098,803 doses, Thursday afternoon, two days after the economy was fully reopened. Officials and health experts have said California’s high vaccination rates have reduced the risk of outbreaks with the wide reopening, noting that new cases and deaths continue to plummet. According a Times analysis, the doses have been administered to California residents and out-of-state visitors. About 57% of Californians have received at least one dose. Only a small portion of the shots — about 700,000 — have gone to out-of-state residents. California in recent weeks has also reported some of the lowest virus transmission rates in the nation.
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