Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Lincoln Heights and 12 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 13 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of Los Angeles Police Department data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Six neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Lincoln Heights was the most unusual, recording four reports compared with a weekly average of 1.8 over the last three months. Lake View Terrace topped the list of eight neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

How dangerous are unlicensed drivers? Are their IDs and insurance really valid? Nobody knows
About 2:30 a.m. last Friday, a car with six women aboard slammed into a tree at Florence and Halldale avenues in South LA, throwing five women from the vehicle and trapping a sixth, according to a City News Service report, which quoted Sgt. Norma Vargas as saying: ``We don't yet know what happened, but our officers found an open container in the vehicle so alcohol may be a contributing factor.'' Three of women have died from their injuries. What wasn't reported was the driver, Tenina Calhoun, had been cited 30 days earlier by a CHP officer for driving without a license but her car was not impounded, presumably because under the "caretaker" doctrine a licensed driver was readily available.
Ron Kaye LA

Long Beach Police Motor Officer injured in collision with unlicensed driver
On Saturday, a Long Beach Police Department Motor Officer was en route to assist with a checkpoint to screen for unlicensed and impaired drivers, when he was involved in a collision involving an unlicensed driver who made an unsafe turn. The officer was traveling westbound on Anaheim Street and about to pass through the intersection at Walnut Avenue on the green light, when a blue Ford Focus traveling eastbound on Anaheim, made a left turn in an attempt to turn northbound on Walnut.
LBPD News Release

LAPD seeks information in slaying of Sun Valley man
Los Angeles police on Monday were looking for leads in the killing of a man who was shot after an argument in Sun Valley. Travis Solorio, 26, who lived in Sun Valley, got into a dispute with a neighbor Sunday night in the 9300 block of Tamarack Avenue, the Los Angeles Police Department said. Other people showed up during the dispute, police said, and one of them drew a gun and shot Solorio. He was pronounced dead a short while later at a local hospital.
Los Angeles Times

Man killed in South L.A. shooting; gang connection suspected
A man in his 20s was fatally shot early Monday in South Los Angeles in an incident that authorities say they suspect was gang-related. The shooting occurred at about 1 a.m. at West 87th Place and Broadway, when a man walked up to the victim and fired multiple rounds, wounding him in the body, said Officer Wendy Reyes of the Los Angeles Police Department. The victim was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Los Angeles Times

Janitor at Germain Elementary in Chatsworth arrested in student molestation case
A janitor at Germain Elementary School in Chatsworth was arrested early Monday on suspicion of molesting a student, adding to the woes of Los Angeles Unified officials trying to contain a sex-abuse scandal at a South Los Angeles campus. | See photo gallery. Paul Adame, 37, of Mission Hills, was arrested shortly after 1 a.m. Monday, about 10 hours after a mother went to the LAPD's Devonshire Division and reported there had been "inappropriate contact" between the janitor and her child.
Los Angeles Times

Miracle Mile gunman shot victim in face, witness says
Police have arrested a man accused of shooting another person on Wilshire Boulevard near La Brea Avenue. According to LAPD Sgt. Anthony Vasquez, officers used only nonlethal force -- beanbag rounds -- and that they do not believe the suspect fired at police. John Burroughs Middle School on Wilshire was placed on lockdown as a result of the incident, and Wilshire was closed.
Los Angeles Times

300 9/11 cops diagnosed with cancer...with average age of just 44
Hundreds of young police officers who responded to the 9/11 attacks have been diagnosed with cancer following the horrific tragedy, it was revealed today. A staggering 297 cops - with an average age of just 44 - have been diagnosed, according to figures obtained by The New York Post. The data shows almost three times the number of officers are applying for cancer-related disability pensions than before the tragedy.
The Daily Mail

FBI warns of threat from anti-government extremists
Anti-government extremists opposed to taxes and regulations pose a growing threat to local law enforcement officers in the United States, the FBI warned on Monday. These extremists, sometimes known as "sovereign citizens," believe they can live outside any type of government authority, FBI agents said at a news conference.
Reuters

FBI cuts back on GPS surveillance after Supreme Court ruling
The FBI has begun cutting back GPS surveillance in an array of criminal and intelligence investigations following a Supreme Court ruling last month restricting its use, a federal law enforcement official said. The bureau began implementing the change the day after the Jan. 23 ruling in which the court found that attaching such a device to a car amounted to a search covered by the Fourth Amendment, requiring police to seek warrants in many cases.
USA Today

Ballot Initiatives

Paycheck protection or political power grab?
Once again, a ballot initiative purporting to curb the influence of unions and corporations on elected officials has qualified for California's November ballot. The initiative, pitched by proponents as the "Stop Special Interest Money Now Act," would ban corporate and labor union contributions to candidates. More significantly, it would also prohibit corporations and labor unions from using funds collected through payroll deductions to be used for political purposes, hence "protecting" employees' paychecks.
LAPPL Blog