Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Eagle Rock, Valley Village, 9 other neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 11 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Five neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Eagle Rock was the most unusual, recording three reports compared with a weekly average of 0.7 over the last three months. Valley Village topped the list of six neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD gang unit braces for renewal of crime in Highland Park
There hasn't been much gang-related crime in Highland Park lately - but that could change, police say, as the leader of a gang arrested in Eagle Rock in August becomes eligible for parole. Officers from multiple Los Angeles Police Department units arrested a notorious auto thief from Eagle Rock Plaza on Aug. 2, 2012. The arrest coincided with an anti-gang initiative in Highland Park that "took lots of guns of the streets," according to Steve Aguilar, a detective in the LAPD's Northeast Division gang detail.
Highland Park - Mount Washington Patch

LAPD's fingerprint backlog would cost $3 million to analyze
Staff reductions at the Los Angeles Police Department's Latent Fingerprint Unit have led to a backlog of unanalyzed prints. Earlier this summer, the department announced that it would ration prints and analyze only those from violent crimes and would allow area stations to fastrack prints from a small number of property crimes each month. At the time, the department's backlog was preventing new cases from going forward.
Southern California Public Radio

Opinion: LAPD brass responds to criticism of immigrant policy
An assistant chief says he understands why some people might not want Los Angeles Police Department leaders deciding whether or not to cooperate with federal immigration authorities' requests for arrestees to be handed over for potential deportation. But Assistant Chief Michel Moore defended the plan announced last week by Chief Charlie Beck, under which the LAPD would stop handing over illegal immigrants who are arrested for low-grade misdemeanors and have no felony records.
Los Angeles Daily News

Brentwood says farewell to retiring LAPD officer
The Brentwood community came together last week to recognize and say farewell to their outgoing leader from the Los Angeles Police Department, Senior Lead Officer Philip Enbody. Brentwood Community Council Chairwoman Nancy Freedman said the community is at the tail end of someone who's served in the LAPD for more than 27 years, received more than 300 department recommendations and a 1998 Officer of the Year Award. "You've been invaluable to helping us through the crime," Freedman said to Enbody.
Brentwood Patch

Man on moped who allegedly flashed young girl sought by LAPD
Los Angeles police are hunting for a man who allegedly exposed himself to a 12-year-old girl as she walked across a parking lot in Arleta. According to police, the incident occurred around 4:20 p.m. on Aug. 31 when the man, who was riding a black moped, called out to the girl and exposed himself to her. The girl reportedly ignored the man and immediately told her mother. The suspect then rode a brief distance away and walked to a nearby liquor store on Van Nuys Boulevard.
ABC7

Boston man allegedly wore body armor, had weapons in luggage at LAX
A Boston man is facing charges after authorities at LAX discovered a host of hazardous and suspicious items inside his luggage, including a smoke grenade, a hatchet, knives, a gas mask, biohazard suits, and body bags, officials said. Customs officers detained Yongda Huang Harris, 28, on Friday afternoon after he arrived at the airport on a flight from Japan, and they noticed that he was wearing a bulletproof vest and flame retardant pants underneath his trenchcoat, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement.
Boston Globe

Criminal cases that go unnoticed
On the heels of a $3.2 million judgment against LAPD for tasing and shooting Valerie Allen, a bipolar woman who attacked officers with a sharpened construction stake, the media did not report on a similar case where the Crimes against Peace Officers Section of the DA's office successfully obtained a guilty verdict. Officers are called upon to assist with mental illness daily; the vast majority of which are resolved without incident. Unfortunately, that is not always the case and sometimes split second decisions must be made.
LAPPL Blog

Ballot Initiatives

California has chance to change Three Strikes, repeal death penalty
For a state long considered loosey-goosey liberal, California has been rock-ribbed conservative on crime. Only four times in the past century have the state's voters supported ballot measures designed to ease the state's tough-on-crime laws. But on Nov. 6, voters will have the rare option of changing that pattern. For the first time in the state's history, two major crime-related initiatives that would soften the toughest laws on the books will appear on the same ballot.
San Jose Mercury-News LAPPL Blog

Shuttle Endeavour

Space Shuttle Endeavor route and public viewing areas
The Space Shuttle Endeavour will be traveling through Los Angeles and Inglewood on Friday and Saturday. LAPD reminds the public that cooperation from all our residents, visitors, and public safety departments is needed in order to be completed safely and with minimal impact to traffic and to the local communities. Due to the tremendous size of Endeavour, streets along with sidewalks will be closed to vehicles and pedestrians to ensure public safety. The public should anticipate traffic delays on the route and in the surrounding areas throughout the Endeavor's last mission.
LAPD News Release

City Government

Rosendahl makes it formal that he won't seek reelection
Los Angeles Councilman Bill Rosendahl came to City Hall Tuesday to formally announce that he will not seek reelection to a third term as he battles cancer. He burned some political bridges while he was at it. In a wide-ranging council meeting speech, the famously candid politician complained about a variety of public figures who have disappointed him over the years.
Los Angeles Times