Results tagged “police”

Santa Monica police today released the names of the four suspects allegedly involved in Tuesday night's murder. Patrick Dwight Birdsong Jr, 18; Norman Lovan Cole, 33; Sean Alex Mermer, 29; and a male juvenile were all booked on murder, attempted murder and "promoting of a street gang." Cole and Mermer were also charged with violating parole.

The town hall train has already taken off with three community meetings set up in order to introduce Beck to the public. As noted earlier, one meeting will take place this afternoon in South L.A. Then tomorrow, the public can attend a meeting in the Valley and in El Sereno on Thursday. Details are below.

78-year-old Mong Kim Tran does not like getting pulled over. Via the Daily Breeze, here's the craziness that took place last week: "When he was told he was getting a speeding ticket, Tran came within three inches of the officer's face and began screaming... When the officer told Tran to back off, Tran took a fighting stance, and struck the officer twice with a closed fist and then kicked the officer in the groin... The officer pushed Tran back to the ground and handcuffed him. Tran sat on the curb while paramedics responded. As more officers arrived, Tran again stood up and kicked the officer in the groin."

Today is the big day. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will name our new Chief of Police. Per former Chief William Bratton's recommendation, the new LAPD leader is from within the department. The candidates are Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Charlie Beck, Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell and Deputy Chief Michel Moore.

Crime Mapping is a website that "automatically retrieves data from a records management system," and tracks and maps the information for the public to view, explains KTLA. The San Gabriel Police Department has joined with about two dozen California law enforcement agencies to make use of the Google-powered mapping site so that are residents "can now track crime trends in their neighborhoods." The service for San Gabriel launched today, and marks the first time a police department within Los Angeles County is making use of the service, which "requires no man-hours from police."

Yesterday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa met with all three of the finalists for the position of Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, to replace William Bratton, who surrendered his star this weekend and is moving back to New York to work in the private sector. The three candidates all come from within the LAPD, a consideration that the departed Bratton and many Angelenos felt was essential to the future success of the department. Sunday's meetings were the second of the week between the three and the Mayor; Villaraigosa's "request to see them again appeared to indicate that the choice was not an easy one," notes the LA Times.

Gunfire erupted outside Wilson High School in Long Beach at around 10 o'clock Friday night as about 200 students were inside the building enjoying their Homecoming dance. The bullets took the life of 16-year-old Melody Ross, a "popular honors student and athlete," and the "daughter of Cambodian immigrants," who died in hospital half an hour after the shooting, according to LA Now. Ross and friends had just left the Homecoming football game when the shots were fired. Police are working to determine who killed Ross and wounded two young men, but "said they have no suspects and no motive," and "don't have a description or many leads to go on."

The LAPD officers who used "questionable tactics" in their response to protesters on the 2007 May Day immigration march will not be prosecuted, reports the LA Times. The LAPD investigated the incident in which video footage showed police firing rubber bullets into the crowd Park May Day Melee. Their report reviewed the actions of 30 officers and "blamed poor leadership and overly aggressive tactics", but prosecutors were unable to "establish that any particular officer's actions were unreasonable or without lawful necessity in light of the tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving circumstances." Nineteen officers faced punishment last year, and earlier this year $12.85 million was awarded to victims injured in the protest.

Since this morning, one block of Wilshire Boulevard has been closed to traffic. Police were alerted at 8 a.m. to a suspicious bag left on the 3600 block of Wilshire, prompting the usual response by the LAPD--close the area down, send out the bomb squad. Officer Rosario Herrera said there is no word when the street will be reopened.

It was February 19th when 38-year-old Pasadena resident Leroy Barnes was sitting in the passenger seat of a car that was pulled over. As officers approached the car, Barnes put his hands into his backpack, which led to a series of events ending in his death, after 11 bullets, seven in his back, reports the Pasadena Star News.

The Los Angeles Police Department's new home in Downtown is a state-of-the-art facility that has been the topic of much praise and scrutiny since construction began in 2007. Today, however, the building, which has yet to be graced with an official name, will be opened in a public ceremony helmed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and outgoing Chief William Bratton. "At the 10 a.m. ceremony, Bratton will welcome the public to tour the new building," notes abc7, which is thought to be the most expensive and modern police facility in the country.

A video of a San Bernardino police officer striking a man with his baton multiple times as he lays on the ground with another officer on top of him has surfaced on the net and has been picked up by TV stations.

The new abstract public art at the Police Administration Building in downtown is garnering some nice discussion and attention, as all good art should. Artist Peter Shelton tells blogdowntown that the six "beasts of burden" should have viewers making up their own stories as to what they are.

     

Social security numbers, evidence, witness information and more are stored in a parking structure accessible by civilian employees and some visitors at the LAPD's Southwest Division. Over at the Northeast Division, more of the same near the employee main entrance.

Although his paintings were allegedly stolen fro his westside home last month, Richard L. Weisman waived the $25 million he could have gotten under his insurance policy, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Police are currently searching a Hollywood neighborhood after an after-school shooting near Helen Bernstein High School. At 1:55 p.m., police received a call about shots fired on the 1300 block of North Wilton Place. A 16-year-old girl was shot in the hip area, according to police. LAUSD officials say she is in stable condition.

There may be a $405-million budget shortfall, but that's not going to affect the levels of police officers employed by the city, according to an accord reached yesterday by a couple City Councilmembers and Mayor Antonio Villaragosa.

Following a handful of fellows arrested for attempted murder in a September stabbing, another one, likely unrelated, happened this afternoon on campus. At about 12:20 p.m., UCLA police were called about a stabbing on the sixth floor of Young Hall. They responded and have already taken a suspect into custody. So far, a connection between the victim, who was taken to the hospital, and suspect is unknown. Police are asking if you have information regarding this incident contact UCLA PD at (310) 825-9371. [Update: More details are coming out. A male student slashed the throat of a female student, leaving her in critical condition.]

Some L.A. City Councilmembers are considering freezing the police department's budget in light of the economy and a downtrend in the city's crime statistics. Specifically, it would affect the goal of hiring 10,000 officers, a Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa campaign promise that is nearing completion. Proponents of the hiring freeze say it doesn't make sense to hire officers and then furlough them.

Although Santa Monica's outdated bicycle license appears to directly contradict state law, officials recently have been promoting the city's bicycle licenses because of a rise in thefts in the Southbay. "We do try to get people to get licensed because it makes the return of stolen bikes easier," explained Don Patterson, the manager who oversees the division that issues bicycle licenses.

Three UCLA students and four others have been arrested in connection with attacks that took place at an off-campus frat party in September. The incident happened in the early hours on Tuesday, September 22nd when police received a call about an assault with a deadly weapon at a Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternity residence on the 600 block of Midvale Avenue.

Under current written law, Santa Monica police are able to throw any cyclists, whether a city resident or not, into jail for not having a bicycle license. Fines can range up to $1,000. The 1995-created law directly contradicts a 1996-written California Vehicle Code section, which states the law shall apply to residents of a city issuing bicycle licenses.

An event that was expected to draw many families from far away has been canceled, the LAPD announced today, hoping to spread the word so people don't make the long commute. Houghton Mifflin Books withdrew their support of the text book giveaway, therefore canceling the event scheduled for tomorrow morning at the LAPD's Hollenbeck Station on the Eastside.

Oh look, the squares at the Burbank Police Department are being investigated by the FBI and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department after seven members of the force, current and former, have filed lawsuits regarding human resource issues, sexual harassment and racial discrimination. The latest lawsuit filing comes from a captain who says he was demoted after pushing for an internal investigation on other officers' misconduct.

After an attempted sexual assault on a young women this week, detectives quickly arrested a suspect and released his photo to the public, believing more teenaged women were victimized by the same man. It was just past 1 a.m. on Monday when a female, possibly a minor, was walking on Melrose Avenue near Alta Vista Boulevard. Police say Christopher Webb, 22, walked up, engaging her in conversation. He then allegedly pulled her into an alley where he attempted to rape her, but numerous calls to police prompted a swift response by police, whose lights and sirens spooked Webb.

William Bratton, the soon-to-be retired Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, was in Washington D.C. today, urging members of congress to make a wireless public safety broadband network a reality nationwide. In his testimony to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, he talks how such a network could help the development of predictive policing:

Los Angeles County Sheriff's patrol large swaths of land from up in the Antelope Valley to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Charged with all unincorporated areas such as parts of South LA and communities like Castaic and cities that contract their services like West Hollywood and Santa Clarita, yesterday the agency announced a major drop in crime despite the economic downturn. The news comes on the heels of four fatal deputy-involved-shootings that occurred within one week's time.

Police are happy to announce this afternoon that officers in downtown rescued a 4-month-old baby from a woman, who was "frantically waving" a steak knife on 7th Street, near Hope, this morning.

This rumor has been floating around for years. If you're getting robbed and forced to take out money at an ATM, you can alert police by entering your PIN in reverse, but still get the money out so the bad guy is none the wiser. The locally based Snopes.com calls the rumor false and gives a history of the technology, which was first patented in 1994 by a Chicago businessman, but hasn't found an real-world use. Even a bill related to the idea went through the Kansas legislature but never became law. However, the LA Times reports today that Councilman Greig Smith, in his new role as chairman of the Public Safety Committee, wants to explore the technology in light of teenager Lily Burk's murder. She was killed after attempting to withdraw money from ATMs with a credit card (it never worked). Smith says the technology would cost $25 per ATM to install. If this technology were to become citywide, ATM robberies would likely become seldom, or at least and unfortunately, more efficient.

Is this guy sly or what? As an international manhunt ensued, he got not one, but two women on each side of the border to help him out, sources tell the Los Angeles Times: Investigators said they are looking at whether one unidentified woman aided Ryan Jenkins when he was hiding in Washington state and a second woman helped him in British Columbia