Good Morning. Join us on Thursday, September 9th for the LAPD Central Area Golf Tournament Fundraiser honoring Officers Rice and Botello. The tournament will be held at Montebello Country Club at 11 a.m. Tickets are $150.00 an individual and $600.00 a foursome. Click here for more information.
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Critics Assail Purpose, Makeup Of DA George Gascón’s Use-Of-Force Panel
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is drawing fire for both the makeup and mission of his newly formed panel to reexamine deadly use-of-force incidents by police. The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents nearly 10,000 rank-and-file LAPD officers, had equally harsh words for Gascon’s 16-member Factual Analysis Citizen Consulting Team, which is made up of community members, activists, scholars, civil rights attorneys and former police chiefs. Gascon says the panel is necessary “in order to restore trust and move forward as a community.” “If George Gascón was truly interested in taking an honest and impartial look at previous police use of force cases, he would not have stacked this panel with anti-police activists, individuals who make money by suing police departments and organizations who openly state they want to abolish the police,” the union’s board of directors said in a statement. “That’s not seeking justice, that’s pander politics at its worst. “He’d make our community safer if he spent some time reviewing the cases of repeat offenders that he’s given a free pass to or treated with kid gloves.”
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Shooting Near Grocery Store In Miracle Mile Area Leaves One Dead, Woman In Custody
A woman is in custody after she was accused of shooting a man to death near a grocery store in the Miracle Mile area. LAPD officers responded to the Ralphs grocery store near Wilshire Blvd. and Ridgeley Dr. around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday after reports of a person shot. A man was taken to the hospital where he later died. The suspect, described as a 60-year-old homeless woman, ran from the scene before she was placed in custody. Witness Edyta Pachow says she heard the woman scream about 25 minutes prior to shooting. "She kept yelling ‘get out of here, we want you out of here’", Pachow told FOX 11 news. Pachow, who has lived in the area for years, says the suspect is known to live in her car and take care of a man, who stayed with police as they searched for the woman. The female suspect's name had not been released as of Wednesday night.
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Assailant Sought After Man Fatally Shot In Van Nuys Gas Station Parking Lot
A man was fatally shot in a gas station parking lot in Van Nuys Tuesday afternoon, spurring a search for the assailant. The incident occurred about 3 p.m. at the intersection of Sherman Way and Woodley Avenue, Los Angeles Police Department officials said in a news release Wednesday. Responding officers found the victim, 42-year-old Elvis Castellanos, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital where he died from his injuries, police said. An investigation revealed that the assailant got out of a dark SUV, approached the victim on foot and shot him multiple times, police said. The shooter then ran back to the SUV as another person behind the wheel drove out of the parking lot and away from the scene. The vehicle was last seen traveling eastbound on Sherman Way. The assailant was wearing a gray hoodie and a blue face mask. No further details about the shooting have been released. Anyone with additional information is asked to call Valley Bureau homicide Detective Israel Lopez at 213-216-0171, or the Valley Bureau’s homicide office at 818-374-9550.
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LAPD Seeks Public’s Help In Solving West Valley Homicide
Homicide detectives are seeking the public’s help Wednesday to solve a fatal shooting at a West Valley gas station. Around 3 p.m. Tuesday, West Valley area officers received a radio call of a shooting at Sherman Way and Woodley Avenue, the LAPD said Wednesday. Officers found the victim, identified as Elvis Castellanos, 42, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. According to the LAPD, Fire Department paramedics transported Castellanos to a local hospital, but he died from his injuries. So far, the investigation has revealed that a suspect exited a dark SUV at a gas station parking lot, approached the victim on foot and fired multiple times, police said. The SUV then drove out of the parking lot eastbound on Sherman Way, and the suspect ran to the fleeing vehicle and fled the scene. The suspect is described as a male Hispanic, wearing a gray hoodie and blue COVID face mask. Anyone with additional information was urged to call Valley Bureau Homicide Det. Israel Lopez at 213-271-6893, Det. Sharon Kim at 213-216-0171 or the Operations Valley Bureau Homicide office at 818-374-9550.
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LAPD Shootings Up, Despite California’s ‘Necessary’ Force Law
Nearly all Los Angeles Police Department officers have been trained on new state standards for justifying police uses of force that turn deadly, according to a report released Tuesday. As of February, at least 9,011 rank-and-file officers had been trained in the standard established under Assembly Bill 392. Enacted in 2019, the law limited police to using deadly force only in situations where force is “necessary in defense of human life.” That’s a change from the old standard, which only required an officer’s actions to be “objectively reasonable.” The updated rules opened up police officers to harsher penalties, and even potential criminal charges, if they killed people when they didn’t need to. Advocates championed the law as one of the strictest police reform measures in the country that would reduce the number of deaths by police shootings. “The Los Angeles Police Department has one of the most robust and comprehensive use of force policies and review processes in the nation,” said Craig Lally, the president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League.
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Feds Sending Gun Trafficking Strike Forces To Major Cities Amid Spike In Shootings
The Justice Department is deploying anti-gun trafficking strike forces to New York and four other major American cities this summer to crack down on a disturbing surge in shootings, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Tuesday. The five strike forces will focus on upending “trafficking corridors” that funnel illegal firearms from Southern states to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, D.C., where gun violence has been steadily on the rise over the past 18 months, according to Garland. “Working with our local partners to tackle violent crime is one of the Justice Department’s most important responsibilities,” the AG said. “Our firearms trafficking strike forces will investigate and disrupt the networks that channel crime guns into our communities with tragic consequences. This effort reflects our shared commitment to keep communities safe.” The strike forces will be led by U.S. attorneys in each of the five cities and are expected to get to work within 30 days, according to the Justice Department. They will be staffed with officers from local law enforcement agencies like the NYPD as well as agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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Homeless Crisis: LA Sheriff Villanueva Urging County Board Of Supervisors To Declare A State Of Emergency
The homeless crisis in Los Angeles County continues to worsen, especially in the hard hit area of Venice Beach. Homeless outreach teams with the sheriff’s department have been going to Venice Beach often to help clean up and offer housing to homeless residents. Sheriff Alex Villanueva held a press conference Wednesday addressing the public about the ongoing issue and possible ways to address the crisis. Villanueva said a letter was sent this morning to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors urging them to declare a local state of emergency in order to address the homeless crisis. By declaring a local state of emergency, the county will be able to apply for funding from FEMA. The sheriff said resources in LA County are extremely limited. "It’s a national disgrace. We are the wealthiest nation in the planet and we have such an enormous problem with homelessness and it’s a local tragedy," the sheriff stated. He is also urging LA Mayor Eric Garcetti to ‘uncuff the LAPD’ and allow them to do their jobs. Sheriff Villanueva also called out Los Angeles Councilmember Mike Bonin and urged him to do his job for his district.
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At-Risk Woman, 28, Reported Missing In Los Angeles
Authorities Wednesday sought the public’s help to locate a missing 28-year-old woman who suffers from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia who was last seen in Los Angeles. Katie Alexandia Coy was last seen at about 3:20 p.m. on June 8 in the 1600 block of East 120th Street, near Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department statement. Coy is Black, 5-feet-5 inches and weighs 115 pounds, with hazel eyes and orange hair. Anyone with information on her whereabouts was asked to contact the LASD Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be called in to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or submitted online at lacrimestoppers.org.
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DA's Office Asks For Further Investigation Of Deadly Santa Monica Stabbing
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office asked police to conduct a further investigation after a 28-year-old man stabbed another man to death near the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica earlier this week. Sean Alexander Graves, of Long Beach, was named as a suspect in the fatal stabbing and was arrested on suspicion of murder, the Santa Monica Police Department said. On Monday night, Santa Monica police officers responded to a report of gunfire when they found a man suffering from a stab wound to his neck. The victim was taken to a local hospital by paramedics where he died. The victim's name was withheld pending notification of his relatives, and police did not release his age. Officers learned an altercation between the victim and a male and female began near the Santa Monica Pier and ended up in the 300 block of Broadway where the victim was stabbed,'' according to a police statement. Authorities said witnesses who were with the victim provided a description of both suspects along with their last known direction of travel.
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Video: Ohio Officers Use BolaWrap To Prevent ‘Suicide By Cop’ Attempt
New bodycam video released Monday by Wrap Technologies, a manufacturer of public safety services, shows a successful BolaWrap deployment that helped officers prevent a “suicide by cop” attempt. On June 7, officers responded to a call about a suicidal man who repeatedly asked officers to shoot him. The man did not show a weapon but told officers that he was armed. “No, you’re not,” an officer replied. That’s when an officer deployed the BolaWrap, which pinned the subject’s arms to his sides. Officers then handcuffed the man without further incident. Afterward, the subject is heard thanking the officers. “I don’t even know what happened,” he said. “I’m glad that whatever you just did, you did.” The BolaWrap is currently being tested and used by more than 500 agencies in the U.S. and 44 countries, according to WRAP Technologies.
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Speeding Ticket Leads To Heroin Bust
Drug investigators suspected Adonnis Carswell of selling heroin. They wanted to conduct surveillance but had not been able to discover where Carswell lived and/or did business. Carswell decided to tell them – well, sort of. An officer saw Carswell driving his Porsche at over 100 mph through a 45 mph zone. When the officer stopped him, Carswell was obliged to give up his home address. An investigator learned of Carswell’s arrest for the traffic violation and began surveillance for four days. On the first evening of surveillance, the officer noted two trash bins at the end of Carswell’s driveway for pick-up. (You know where this is going, right?) The officer returned to Carswell’s street late at night and plucked several trash bags from the bins. Among the trash, the officer found three opened food-saver bags, two one-gallon Ziploc bags and two sandwich bags containing cocaine residue, two pairs of white latex gloves, and green plastic wrap packaging that resembled a kilogram wrapper for cocaine and also contained cocaine residue. The officer recognized the green plastic wrap packaging as matching photographs of drug packaging seized in a prior case involving Carswell.
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One Person Found Dead In South LA Homeless Encampment Fire
Firefighters found a person dead while extinguishing a blaze at a homeless encampment in South Los Angeles early Thursday morning. The fire was reported at 3 a.m. in the 200 block of West 38th Street, a few blocks from the 110 Freeway and Exposition Park. L.A. Fire Department crews arrived on scene to find flames billowing from a curbside homeless camp with a parked RV. A person’s remains were found in the debris. The victim’s identity was not immediately known. The cause of the fire was also not confirmed. Los Angeles has seen an uptick in homeless encampment fires as the homeless crisis continues to plague the region. According to numbers obtained by CBSLA last week, an alarming 54% of the fires responded to by LAFD in recent weeks have been caused by people experiencing homelessness. In the downtown L.A. area, that rate jumps to 80%.
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Magnitude 3.2 Earthquake Hits Near LAX
A magnitude 3.2 earthquake rattled the Los Angeles area Wednesday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was initially reported as magnitude 3.4 but later adjusted to 3.2. The quake hit at about 5:08 p.m. about 17 miles from downtown Los Angeles, near LAX. Unlike other earthquakes usually felt in Southern California, this quake felt like a short jolt. The coordinates for the epicenter given by USGS show the quake hit just east of airport runways, next to a popular plane-watching spot by an In-N-Out at Sepulveda and Lincoln boulevards. Over 1,500 respondents in the L.A. area felt the quake as weak or light shaking, according to USGS “Did You Feel It?” reporting tool. Retired Caltech seismologist Lucy Jones chimed in describing the quake as “pretty run of the mill,” adding that unlike the Lennox magnitude 4.0 earthquake on April 5, Wednesday’s temblor was one thrust motion.
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LA County Official Say Infectious COVID-19 ‘Delta’ Variant Should Spur Continued Precautions
Los Angeles County’s public health director again on Wednesday, June 23, urged cautionary measures while working or attending events indoors, noting that the highly infectious “Delta” strain of COVID-19 is spreading locally and nationally, particularly among unvaccinated people. The “Delta” variant is blamed for rampant infections in India and other virus hotspots worldwide. While current vaccines are considered effective against the variant, it can spread easily among the unvaccinated population, potentially allowing it to mutate further into a form that could evade vaccine protections. “Given the significant increase in the circulation of the Delta variant — which is now estimated to be responsible for 20% of cases across the U.S. — sensible public health precautions are recommended at all work sites and mega-events,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “Unless vaccination status can be verified when indoors in crowded places, masks prevent virus transmission.
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‘Severe' Blood Donation Shortage Nationwide Reaches Life-Threatening Levels In Inland Empire
Health care professionals in Southern California and nationwide are in desperate need of blood donations of all blood types. Pat Nadeau, a regular donor since his time in the Air Force in the 1980s, is just one person answering the call in the Inland Empire. "As a registered nurse myself, I see the critical need we have out there," he said. As the United States emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, it's also weathering a "severe blood shortage," the Red Cross said in a statement. The number of trauma cases is on the rise, with hospitals responding to an atypically high number of emergency situations that require blood transfusions. "In comparison to 2019, the Red Cross has seen demand from trauma centers climb by 10% in 2021− more than five times the growth of other facilities that provide blood transfusions," the statement read. Overdoses, and the organ transplants that result from them, are also higher than normal right now.
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LA City Council Votes To Delay $5 Million In Boardwalk Homeless Funding
The Los Angeles City Council today delayed a vote to fund Councilman Mike Bonin's initiative to offer all people living in encampments along Ocean Front Walk in Venice a pathway to permanent housing. The vote to approve an initial $5 million in funding, which would be used for interim housing for 200 people along the boardwalk, was delayed until July 1 for procedural reasons. In order to amend the 2021-22 budget, the vote must occur during that fiscal year, which begins on July 1. Bonin's motion to receive funding for the program, which was introduced on May 20, would amend the 2021-22 budget to add $5 million in funding for the program, according to Bonin's chief of staff, Chad Molnar. Sheriff Alex Villanueva held a news conference Wednesday to criticize Bonin's, the city's and the county's response to the homelessness crisis. He said it was the sheriff's department's responsibility to ``preserve peace,'' per California Government Code 26600, and if the city of Los Angeles is not regulating its public spaces and preserving the peace, the sheriff's department must step in. Villanueva added that the city ``handcuffed the LAPD,'' preventing them from using enforcement to prevent people from camping on the beach and sidewalk, which he argued was more humane than letting people die on the street.
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LA City Council Passes Ordinance Banning Landlords From Harassing Tenants
The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday adopted an ordinance that would prevent landlords from harassing tenants by eliminating services, withholding repairs or refusing to accept rent payments. The Anti-Harassment of Tenant Ordinance, which has been under discussion since February of 2017, passed unanimously 13-0. It now goes to L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti for his signature. The ordinance required unanimous approval to be adopted on its first consideration. If it had not, it would have needed a second vote next week, when at least eight council members would have had to vote to approve it. This also comes after the L.A. County Board of Supervisors Tuesday extended the eviction moratorium to Sept. 30. Gov. Gavin Newsom has also said California will pay off all past-due rent that accumulated because of the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
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