Los Angeles police union proposes limits to 911 responses

The Los Angeles Police Department’s rank-and-file union is proposing that someone other than police respond to more than two dozen types of 911 calls in a bid to transfer officers’ workload to more serious crimes. The move is part of a national trend aimed at limiting situations where armed police officers are the first to respond. “Police officers are not psychologists. We are not psychiatrists. We are not mental health experts. We are not social workers, doctors, nurses or waste management experts,” Debbie Thomas, one of the union’s directors, said Wednesday during a news conference. “I do believe that many people think we should be all those things but we are not. We should be focused on responding to emergencies, saving lives (and) property, and of course, engaging in community policing.”

Associated Press

2 Arrested In Stabbing Death Of Father On Downtown LA Street

Los Angeles police Wednesday announced the arrest of two men in the death of a 33-year-old father. Eric Cleto, 25, and Johnnie Garay, 26, are each charged with one count of murder in the Dec. 10, 2022, killing of Malcom Collins on a Downtown Los Angeles sidewalk, Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Ryan Rabbett said. Collins, who had a 6-year-old daughter, was celebrating his impending graduation from Los Angeles Trade-Technical College when he was stabbed to death, his father said. “He was happy he finally finished at 33,” his dad said, adding that his son was earning an electronics degree on a $25,000 scholarship and already had a job lined up after graduation. The night he was killed, Collins was on the 200 block of West 7th Street a little before 11 p.m. when he began talking with Cleto and Garay, Rabbett said. Video showed that the interaction escalated into an argument, with Cleto and Garay attacking Collins and Cleto stabbing the victim, the lieutenant said. Collins ran a few steps and then collapsed on the sidewalk, where he died. Rabbett said the victim and suspects didn’t know each other and that the argument appeared to be a “spontaneous event.” Cleto and Garay were arrested Feb. 22 in Huntington Park. Rabbett said both had a prior criminal record, though it was unclear for what. IT was unclear if they had retained an attorney to comment on their behalf.

NBC 4

LA County Serial Rapist Sentenced To 310 Years In Prison

A Santa Clarita man who pleaded no contest to sexually assaulting seven women was sentenced Wednesday to 310 years to life in prison by a judge who called him a “predator.” “Frankly, it’s stunning how much pain and suffering one man can inflict,” Superior Court Judge Jared Moses said after hearing statements from four victims who were attacked by Nicolas Morales. “We’re here because of the courage of the seven women.” The judge noted that he believed all of the victims who testified at an earlier hearing that they didn’t think they were going to survive the attacks, saying that one woman’s head was smashed against a vehicle dashboard and that another woman was choked when she tried to fight back. “The defendant was a predator pretending to be an Uber or Lyft driver,” the judge said. “He took advantage of a position of trust by pretending to be a rideshare driver.” The judge also ordered the 49-year-old defendant to register as a sex offender if he is released from prison, but said he believes the defendant is too dangerous to ever live outside prison walls.

Los Angeles Daily News

Former L.A. Man Wanted For Multiple Molesting Children Charges: FBI

A man wanted by the FBI for molesting children in Manhattan Beach is believed be in the Philippines. In 2015, Edgardo Feralin Dormido, Jr., 48, was charged in Los Angeles County with five felony counts, including oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child 10 years old or younger and forcible lewd act on a child. He was not found in California, and the Manhattan Beach Police Department requested the help of the FBI. Last June, Dormido was federally charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and a federal warrant was issued for his arrest, FBI officials said. He has not been located but is believed to have fled to the Philippines, and he may still have family and associates in Los Angeles. Authorities released his photo in hopes of generating leads in the case. He has black hair, brown eyes, weighs 130 pounds and is 5 feet 4 inches tall. Anyone with information about Dormido’s whereabouts is asked to contact their local FBI office or nearest American Embassy. A reward money may also be available for anyone with information.

KTLA 5

Hidden, Illegal Casinos Are Booming In L.A., With Organized Crime Reaping Big Profits

One thing was clear from the body lying in the Boyle Heights street: The woman was no victim of robbery. Whoever pumped four bullets behind her left ear didn’t touch the $1,000 in her purse, the bills clutched in her left hand or the diamond ring on her right index finger. Detectives eventually would learn the woman was part of an underground gambling circuit booming in Los Angeles. She had worked at an illegal casino known as a casita. Like modern-day speakeasies, they are hidden in homes, in warehouses, in the backrooms of smoke shops and behind storefronts that pretend to be legitimate businesses. Offering mostly electronic forms of gambling, casitas — Spanish for “little houses” — can bring in tens of thousands of dollars a week. The ultimate beneficiaries, authorities say, are members of the Mexican Mafia, the prison-based syndicate that oversees Latino street gangs in Southern California. These men, nearly all of whom are incarcerated, collect a share of the gambling profits in exchange for allowing the casitas to operate in their territory.

Los Angeles Times

Authorities Seek Missing Woman In Carson

Authorities sought the public’s help Wednesday to find a 41-year-old woman who went missing in Carson and whose family is concerned about her. Felicia Victoria Taylor was described as a 5-feet-8-inch tall Black woman, weighing 180 pounds, with shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen around 11 p.m. Sunday in the 21000 block of South Edgar Street in Carson wearing white pants and a black jacket. Anyone with information about Taylor’s whereabouts was asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 800-222-8477.

MyNewsLA

RFK Assassin Sirhan Sirhan Is Denied Parole For 16th Time

A California panel on Wednesday denied parole for Robert F. Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan, saying the 78-year-old prisoner still lacks insight into what caused him to shoot the senator and presidential candidate in 1968. The ruling was a reversal of the ruling two years ago by a different California parole board that voted to release Sirhan. But Gov. Gavin Newson rejected the decision in 2022. Sirhan's lawyer Angela Berry disputed he lacks insight, and his psychiatrists have said for decades that he is unlikely to reoffend or be a danger to society. Berry said she believes the new board members on Wednesday were influenced by Newsom and by the lawyers representing Kennedy's widow and some of his children. In rejecting Sirhan's freedom last year, the governor said the prisoner remains a threat to the public and hasn't taken responsibility for a crime that changed American history. I do feel the board bent to the political whim of the governor, Berry said after the hearing at a state prison in San Diego County.

ABC 7

Officers And Community Gather To Remember Slain Memphis Officer

A Memphis police officer who was shot while responding to a confrontation at a library was remembered at his funeral Tuesday as a strong, proud and dedicated U.S. Marine and public servant. Officer Geoffrey Redd, 49, died on Feb. 18, two weeks after the shooting at the Poplar-White Station Library. Redd served in the Marine Corps before joining the Memphis Police Department in 2008. Redd worked in crisis intervention and trained fellow officers, colleagues said. He also was director of security at his church, the Greater Community Temple of the Church of God in Christ. Redd, a husband and father, was honored Monday evening with a “Sea of Blue,” in which law enforcement officers rode around Memphis with their vehicle lights turned on. At his funeral Tuesday at Hope Church, pastors read from the Bible and strong-voiced singers performed religious anthems, backed by a choir. James Patrick Riley, who served with Redd in the Marines, said that although Redd was not the biggest person, he was his unit's strongest Marine. Riley also recalled that Redd smiled a lot. “I couldn't be grumpy around him,” Riley said.

Associated Press

Chicago Mayor Ousted, Blamed For Divisiveness And Increased Crime

Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson will meet in a runoff to be the next mayor of Chicago after voters denied incumbent Lori Lightfoot a second term, issuing a rebuke to a leader who made history as head of the nation’s third-largest city. Vallas, a former schools CEO backed by the police union, and Johnson, a Cook County commissioner endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, advanced to the April 4 runoff after none of the nine candidates was able to secure over 50% of the vote on Tuesday to win outright. Lightfoot, the first Black woman and first openly gay person to lead the city, won her first term in 2019 after promising to end decades of corruption and backroom dealing at City Hall. But opponents blamed Lightfoot for an increase in crime that occured in cities across the U.S. during the pandemic and criticized her as being a divisive, overly contentious leader. She is the first elected Chicago mayor to lose a reelection bid since 1983, when Jane Byrne, the city’s first female mayor, lost her Democratic primary.

Associated Press

Firefighters Attack Commercial Building Fire In Compton

Firefighters battled flames Wednesday morning at a commercial building in Compton. The fire was reported just before 8 a.m. in the 12900 block of South Broadway. There were no reports of injuries. Details about how the fire started were not immediately available.

NBC 4

LA County Reports 15 More COVID-Related Deaths; 882 New Cases

Another 882 COVID-19 infections were reported by Los Angeles County along with 15 more virus-related deaths in its latest data. The new cases lifted the county’s cumulative total from throughout the pandemic to 3,705,624. Daily case numbers released by the county are undercounts of actual virus activity in the county, due to people who use at-home tests and don’t report the results, and others who don’t test at all. With 15 new virus-related fatalities, the county’s death toll rose to 35,704. A majority of people who die with COVID-19 are elderly or have an underlying health condition such as diabetes, heart disease or hypertension, health officials have said. The seven-day average rate of people testing positive for the virus was 6.2% as of Wednesday, roughly steady from the past week.

MyNewsLA

Storm Leaves Trail Of Damage As Strong Winds Knock Down Trees In LA Neighborhoods

From street flooding to downed trees and mudflows, Los Angeles residents are assessing the damage left behind by recent powerful storms. Crews Wednesday morning were in a Northridge working on clearing a large tree that fell and took down power lines. No people were hurt and no homes were damaged, but the neighborhood lost power. Another tree came down in the Hollywood Hills and hit some power lines on the way down. The same thing happened in a Brentwood neighborhood. Forecasters said scattered rain and snow would continue into Wednesday evening. Elevations as low as 1,500 feet could still get a dusting of snow, with 2 to 4 inches possible in elevations above 2,500 feet. But the more significant issue Wednesday afternoon was the wind. Strong gusts knocked down large trees in areas including Inglewood and Glendale. No injuries were immediately reported due to any of the downed trees.

ABC 7

Newsom Declares State Of Emergency In 13 Counties As Winter Storm Hammers California

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Wednesday evening for 13 counties, including Los Angeles, affected by winter storms that have ushered in unusual snowfall and strong winds and have damaged state highways and roads. The other 12 counties under the order are: Amador, Kern, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Nevada, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sierra, Sonoma and Tulare. The order makes it easier to bring in resources from out of state and to hire snow-removal teams and equipment that isn’t always easy to access. It will also provide financial resources and reduce bureaucratic red tape that often stall disaster response at the local level, as well as activate the state National Guard and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to support counties. In Los Angeles County, the order might free up federal highway funds for road repairs, said Brian Ferguson, spokesperson for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

Los Angeles Times

LA Council Votes To Explore Independent Oversight Of Land Use Issues

The City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to have the Ethics Commission report on implementing an independent auditors and investigators office that would have oversight over land use issues. The motion, filed by Council Members Paul Krekorian and Marqueece Harris-Dawson, states that the city lacks an Office of Inspector General. Given that several city officials have recently faced criminal indictments on suspicion of accepting cash from people attempting to influence the city’s land use process, the council members sought additional safeguards. The council action shifts the purview of reporting on the office from the Chief Legislative Analyst to the Ethics Commission. A previous motion had instructed the CLA to report on the matter, but it has yet to be acted on. “This is a very critical, time-sensitive, urgent need that we have to ensure that no one in the city feels that they can be involved in pay-to-play schemes without being identified and held accountable for it,” Krekorian said.

MyNewsLA

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 9,200 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.