Law Enforcement

LAPD seeks hit-and-run driver who struck man in crosswalk
Los Angeles police Monday night were searching for a hit-and-driver who critically injured a man in a crosswalk. The 25-year-old victim was struck around 2 a.m. Sunday at Wilshire Boulevard and Spaulding Avenue near the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The suspect was driving a dark BMW with no license plates or possible European plates, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Los Angeles Times

Graffiti killing: Police seek witnesses in church shooting
Los Angeles police were looking Monday for anyone with information about a shooting that left a congregant dead when he tried to stop vandals from spraying gang graffiti on a Westlake storefront church. Andres Ordonez, 25, was fatally shot about 6:20 p.m. Sunday when he came out of the evening service at Principe de Paz church on Beverly Boulevard and spoke to a man tagging the wall of the church. Another parishioner, who was not identified, was wounded.
Los Angeles Times

Alleged USC shooter charged with four counts of attempted murder
The man arrested in connection to the shooting at a USC Halloween party has been charged with four counts of attempted murder, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Monday afternoon. Authorities say Brandon Spencer, 20, opened fire on four people, including former Crenshaw High School football star Geno Hall, at an Oct. 31 on-campus party in what is believed to be a gang-related shooting.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD officers use beanbags to arrest machete wielding man on Marmion Way
According to a status update posted on LAPD Northeast Division's Facebook page on Monday afternoon, officers used a beanbag gun to apprehend a "non-compliant" man who was carrying a machete near Marmion Way and Avenue 51. According to the status, "Officers took a non-compliant man with a machete in custody." The arrest was made at approximately 2:30 p.m.
Highland Park - Mount Washington Patch

Passengers stop man from attacking MTA bus driver, officials say
A man was arrested early Monday after he allegedly attacked an MTA bus driver in Westchester before passengers were able to stop him, transit officials said. Authorities were called to Aviation Boulevard and 111th Street, near Los Angeles International Airport, at 2:18 a.m., Metro spokesman Rick Jager said. There, witnesses told airport police the man had also tried to grab the wheel of the bus before passengers pulled him away.
Los Angeles Times

Man found dead near Griffith Park Observatory in apparent suicide
Authorities said the body of a man was discovered Monday afternoon hanging from a tree in a ravine below Griffith Park Observatory, Los Angeles police said. The man, who was not identified, is believed to be in his 30 or 40s. He was discovered in the area of the 2800 block of East Observatory Drive after someone called park rangers and the LAPD around 1:35 p.m. Homicide investigators were dispatched to the scene approximately 60 feet below the trail.
Los Angeles Times

Election

California ballot filled with competitive races
Tuesday's general election will be a super-charged affair compared to California's sleepy primary in June, when less than a third of registered voters bothered to cast a ballot. This time, Democrats are angling for even greater control of the state Legislature, both major parties are spending record amounts in newly competitive congressional districts, and the philosophical divide over the role of government and taxes is the backstory to several hotly contested ballot propositions.
Associated Press

Prisons & Jails

Fewer prison inmates eligible for transfer to county jails
As California struggles to meet a court-ordered reduction of its prison population, newly released figures show corrections officials overstated the number of low-level offenders eligible to be diverted to local jurisdictions as part of Gov. Jerry Brown's public safety realignment plan. At issue are inmates who were being sent to state prisons for parole and other technical violations and became eligible to serve their sentences in county jails after Oct. 1, 2011.
California Watch

L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca wants cameras on deputies in jails
Sheriff Lee Baca is recommending that some deputies in violence-plagued parts of Men's Central Jail wear video cameras on their uniforms - even though a pilot program raised doubts as to whether the devices would prevent abuse of inmates. The cameras, which would cost about $620,000, are intended to serve as a deterrent to abuse and violence, and were recommended by independent groups that have been monitoring problems with the Los Angeles County jail system.
Los Angeles Daily News

Traffic

Faster 405 campaign launches to speed 405 car-pool lane construction
Most San Fernando Valley and Westside commuters facing the never-ending construction around the 405 Freeway just grit their teeth and pray for a finish date. But now a group is stepping up to put pressure on the contractors and workers behind the project, calling for a faster completion of the 10-mile northbound car-pool lane. The Faster 405 campaign, an initiative that acts as part cheerleader, part watchdog, launched last week, seeking to speed up the timeline. The project is now about six months behind schedule.
Los Angeles Daily News