Law Enforcement

LAPPL denounces police negotiations playbook
The Los Angeles Police Protective League joins with other California police organizations who have condemned the negotiations tactics featured on the website of law firm Lackie, Dammeier & McGill, which focus on representing some law enforcement associations in California. The LAPPL is NOT affiliated with this law firm and does not subscribe to the hardball tactics that the law firm promotes in their "playbook." The League joins the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, Santa Ana Police Officers Association and the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff's Association who have all have criticized the firm's tactics. Tom Dominguez, President of Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, said it best: "Tactics like these erode the public trust in law enforcement."
LAPPL News Release

Wrong-way driver who killed mom, 2 children had suspended license
A wrong-way driver who caused a crash at a Hollywood intersection that killed a mother and her two children was driving on a suspended licensed, Los Angeles police said. Solomon Mathenge, 74, of Lawndale was driving north on Highland Avenue across Willoughby Avenue at 7:20 a.m. when he veered into oncoming traffic and hit a minivan carrying 27-year-old Saida Juana Mendez-Bernardino of Los Angeles and her daughters, Stephanie Cruz, 4, and Hilda Cruz, 6.
Los Angeles Times

5 LAPD officers probed in mother's death; Beck vows answers
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck vowed to thoroughly investigate the death of a mother during a confrontation with LAPD officers. "I take all in-custody death investigations very seriously," Beck said in a statement late Thursday. "I am confident we will get to the truth no matter where that leads us." At least five Los Angeles police officers are under investigation in the death of a woman who stopped breathing during a struggle that included an officer stomping on her genital area and the use of additional force by others to take her into custody, police officials confirmed Thursday.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD raids Woodland Hills marijuana dispensary
Barely a week before the city's deadline to close all pot shops, Los Angeles police raided a Woodland Hills marijuana dispensary they say was operating illegally. The raid Tuesday afternoon at The Loft Co-op at 21146 Ventura Blvd. netted $1,000 cash and 10 pounds of marijuana, police announced Thursday. On Thursday afternoon, no one answered a phone number listed for the business. Anna Woods, 21, of Thousand Oaks and Carmen Hsieh, 22, of Van Nuys were booked for possession for sales of marijuana, a felony that could carry up to three years in jail.
Los Angeles Daily News

Convicted murderer from L.A. attacks two guards on death row
A Los Angeles gang member who was convicted of murder attacked two guards Thursday on death row at San Quentin State Prison, authorities said. Timothy Joseph McGhee, 39, who was convicted of killing three people, used a hand-made weapon to attack the guards Thursday morning as they returned him a a shower to his cell, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said. The guards received cuts and wounds on their heads, necks and arms and were treated at a hospital.
Los Angeles Times

Crash involving 100-year-old driver rekindles age debate
A 100-year-old man who was attempting to back his Cadillac out of a grocery store parking lot struck and injured 14 people, 11 of them children. Three children remained hospitalized Thursday but were expected to recover, police said. The accident in front of a South Los Angeles elementary school where children had lined up to buy after-school treats brought to the forefront again a debate over how old is too old to keep driving. Is it 80? Or 90? And should anyone past 100 be allowed behind the wheel?
Associated Press

Proposition 32 Ballot Initiative

Editorial: Prop. 32 a sham, deserves to lose in Nov. 6 election
Proposition 32 on the Nov. 6 state ballot isn't what it appears to be. "Fraud" and "sham" are strong words, but they come to mind when talking about this initiative. For that reason, The Star recommends a "no" vote on Proposition 32. This measure claims to be aimed at cleaning up politics by clamping new restrictions on contributions. In reality, it amounts to a cynical ploy because it ignores some of the biggest problems of money in politics while putting handcuffs only on the political opponents of some of the measure's biggest backers.
Ventura County Star

Prison Realignment

L.A. County computer screening could produce get-out-of-jail card
In a jail system facing overcrowding and under growing pressure to release inmates early, one of the most difficult questions confronting the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is: Who do you let out? Officials hope a key part of the answer is computer software that can sift through a matrix of "psychometric" data, including a 137-question survey, and help identify inmates who seem least likely to commit new crimes.
Los Angeles Times

Politics

GOP calls for broader gun rights, unlimited capacity ammo clips
Republicans have strengthened the pro-gun-rights portion of their party platform, including a new call for unlimited bullet capacities in guns, in a defiant response to criticism that followed recent mass shootings at a Colorado cinema and an Arizona congresswoman's gathering. The 2012 platform, approved this week by GOP convention-goers who nominated Mitt Romney for president, also endorses "stand your ground" rights for gun owners.
Associated Press

Legislation

California lawmakers approve medical parole for county jail inmates
With county jails packed to bursting throughout California, state lawmakers gave final legislative approval Thursday to a measure allowing inmates to be released early if they are medically incapacitated. The "compassionate release" bill sent to the governor was requested by Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and was modeled after a state program that releases inmates from prison if they are deemed to be so ill or injured that they are not a threat to public safety.
Los Angeles Times

Assembly passes bill to give undocumented immigrants driver's licenses
The state Assembly late Thursday sent the governor a bill that would allow an estimated 400,000 undocumented immigrants to obtain California driver's licenses if they can prove that they qualify for a temporary stay under new Homeland Security rules issued in June. Assembly Bill 2189, by Assemblyman Gilbert Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driver's licenses to people who are not eligible for a Social Security number but who can submit substantial proof that their presence in the United States is authorized under federal law.
Orange County Register