Law Enforcement

LAPD officers who stopped Hollywood gunman's rampage honored
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Police Chief Charlie Beck on Friday showered praise on the three officers who confronted a gunman firing on people in Hollywood last week. The officers "put themselves directly in harm's way, face to face with this suspect. They absolutely saved the lives of an untold number of people, who unknowingly were headed toward the violence," Villaraigosa said at a press conference to honor the officers.
Los Angeles Times

Crime alerts for Mid-City and three other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in four L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Three neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Mid-City recorded 10 reports compared with a weekly average of 5.2 over the last three months. Elysian Valley was the lone neighborhood with a property-crime alert.
Los Angeles Times

Suspect from LAPD's 'most wanted' list arrested at LAX
One of the Los Angeles Police Department's "most wanted" suspects was arrested as he was getting off a flight from South Korea to Los Angeles International Airport, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said today. The LAPD had issued a warrant 12 years ago for Richard James Kim, 33, who was accused of attempted murder during a gang-related shooting in West Los Angeles, said CBP spokesman Jaime Ruiz. He was held on $5 million bail, according to the county Sheriff's Department's website.
Torrance Daily Breeze

Pair of drive-by shootings in South L.A. leave two dead
Gunmen opened fire on revelers outside two parties in South Los Angeles, killing two people and wounding eight, authorities reported. A 23-year-old man died in the first shooting in the 1500 block of East 81st Street at about 7:20 p.m. Saturday, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Lillian Peck said. He was among five people hit by gunfire from a large sports utility vehicle, Peck said. In the second incident, at about 2:25 a.m. Sunday in the 800 block of West 84th Street, another man died and four others were wounded, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Los Angeles Times

Father of 3 killed in Rampart area shooting
An investigation is under way after a father of three was killed in a shooting in the Rampart area on Saturday. The incident happened just after midnight in the 400 block of Witmer Street. The victim, 41-year-old Juan Jose Barajas Jr., was shot in the upper torso outside of the apartment building where he lived. He was rushed to the hospital, but died from his injuries. No arrests have been made.
ABC7

Five California traffic laws that drivers might be confused about
How well do you know traffic laws? Can you wear headphones while driving? Can you drive barefoot? Must you turn your headlights on when your windshield wipers are on? Here's a look at five laws you might not know.
Los Angeles Times

Study: Nearly 1 in 3 will be arrested by age 23
Nearly one in three people will be arrested by the time they are 23, a study to be published today in Pediatrics found. "Arrest is a pretty common experience," says Robert Brame, a criminologist at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and principal author of the study. The new data show a sharp increase from a previous study that stunned the American public when it was published 44 years ago by criminologist Ron Christensen.
USA Today

Unlicensed Drivers

Weekend pedestrian fatality underscores public safety danger of allowing unlicensed drivers to escape car impounds: L.A. police union president
Reacting to another tragic pedestrian fatality caused by an unlicensed driver, the Los Angeles Police Protective League late Sunday called on Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to cancel a directive to have the LAPD end 30-day vehicle holds on unlicensed drivers. A 60-year-old woman from Missouri was killed Saturday when she was hit by a sport utility vehicle driven by an unlicensed driver in Panorama City, officials said. "The tragic accident in Panorama City shows how the mayor's new policy can result in innocent people being injured and killed," said LAPPL President Paul M. Weber. "The Mayor's directive puts politics above public safety and should be rescinded."
LAPPL News Release

L.A. Police Commission goes wrong way on stopping automatic impounds for unlicensed drivers
It's difficult to comprehend that a citizens panel charged with representing the public in law enforcement proceedings could make a decision that actually puts the public in danger. But that's exactly what the Los Angeles Police Commission did last week when it endorsed Police Chief Charlie Beck's plan to stop automatically impounding the cars of unlicensed drivers.
Los Angeles Daily News

Just call the LAPD the LAPC
Politically Correct Charlie Beck strikes again. As Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's designated wingman, the police chief is the principal apologist for the sanctuary city policies that have turned L.A. into - as author David Rieff dubbed it back in 1992 - "The Capital of the Third World." Whenever the mayor needs to un-enforce laws against the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants living here, he sends for the chief.
Doug McIntyre/Los Angeles Daily News

Election 2012

Wesson backs Buscaino for council seat
Council President-elect Herb Wesson, seeking to solidify his position, last week looked into political tea leaves and decided to endorse police officer Joe Buscaino for the Harbor-area council seat vacated when Janice Hahn was elected to Congress. In doing so, he overlooked his own political relationship with Assemblyman Warren Furutani, D-Torrance, developed over the years when Furutani served on the Los Angeles Board of Education and community college board.
Los Angeles Daily News