Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Fairfax, Del Rey and 11 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 13 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Nine neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Fairfax was the most unusual, recording six reports compared with a weekly average of 1.6 over the last three months. Del Rey topped the list of four neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. gun buyback day next week: Mayor, LAPD announce locations
The Los Angeles Police Department and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced two locations for the city's gun buyback program next Wednesday, which was moved up months ahead of schedule after the deadly Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut. Gun owners can turn in their weapons at either the Los Angeles Sports Arena in downtown Los Angeles or the Van Nuys Masonic Temple, officials announced.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD investigation of killing hobbled by DEA
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has refused for more than two years to allow its agents to cooperate with a Los Angeles Police Department investigation into the death of a drug suspect shortly after he was arrested in a DEA operation, according to LAPD records. The LAPD's homicide investigation has effectively stalled, and officials said in documents reviewed by The Times that without assistance from the DEA they cannot determine how the man's fatal injuries were inflicted.
Los Angeles Times

Northridge shooting victim's family angry suspect wasn't in prison
The relatives of one of four people shot and killed outside a Northridge boarding house earlier this month criticized a judge for allowing the suspect in the case to receive drug treatment instead of prison time. Ka Pasasouk, 31, who has been arrested on suspicion of murder but not charged, was scheduled to attend two hearings Wednesday on pending cases unrelated to the Northridge slayings. Both were postponed.
Los Angeles Times

Police practice for nightmare: shooter on CSUN campus
The sounds of shouting and fake gunshots echoed around the Cal State-Northridge campus this morning as about 100 police officers gathered to practice for a worst-case scenario that has become all too real: a shooter on campus. It was coincidence that the "active shooter" drill at CSUN came just six days after 26 people, including 20 children, were shot dead at a Connecticut elementary school.
Los Angeles Daily News

Bomb threats against LAPD car, temple charged as hate crimes
The case against a suspect accused of hate crimes in a bomb threat against Los Angeles' oldest Jewish temple and a nearby police car is on hold until a court can determine if he is competent to stand trial, authorities said Thursday. Wan Ryung Song, 46, was arrested by Los Angeles Police Department Anti-Terrorist officers on Wednesday, after multiple phone threats made Tuesday in Koreatown generated a major response from the bomb squad.
NBC4

Suspect Tasered after allegedly biting LAPD officer
A Los Angeles police officer was injured after being bitten on the arm during a scuffle Thursday morning with a man who ran into traffic on a busy Sherman Oaks street, department officials said. The incident unfolded shortly after 10 a.m. when officers attempted to talk to the man who was walking in traffic in the 14000 block of Moorpark Street, police said. After a brief foot pursuit, officers tried to detain the man, who was not immediately identified.
Los Angeles Times

Bath salts mystery: Ex-Universal Pictures co-chair breaks silence on LAPD beatdown
On a Sunday morning in May, a paranoid man walked up to the Glendale police headquarters and began asking a slew of questions. "I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I feel like there are people following me. I feel like there was a chopper -- do you hear a chopper?" the man asked, suspicion seeping through his voice. Informed by an officer that police in the L.A. suburb were not flying any helicopters, he began to waver. "So it's not yours. Do you hear one? I could be nuts."
Hollywood Reporter

Homeless woman allegedly threatens to kill LAPD Chief's wife
The wife of Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck has been granted a temporary restraining order against a homeless woman accused of threatening to kill her. In court papers filed on Thursday, Cindy Beck said that on Sept. 12, a woman called her cell phone numerous times claiming that the police chief was following her and harassing her and that she wanted it to stop. Mrs. Beck said she reported the calls to her husband, and detectives determined the caller was 43-year-old Veronica Roberts.
Associated Press

$50K reward offered in slaying that left a neighborhood in tears
Kendrick Blackmon - a 22-year-old church musician they all watched grow up - had been shot to death while driving home in South Los Angeles. Months have passed since that April morning and there is still no answer as to why an affable young man who steered clear of trouble was gunned down. Authorities say they have exhausted every lead. Now, Kendrick's family and friends are hoping that a $50,000 reward offered by the city of Los Angeles will turn the tide by encouraging witnesses to come forward.
Los Angeles Times

Public Safety

L.A.-area fire departments consider linking 911 dispatch systems
Top commanders from the Los Angeles city and county fire departments are exploring ways to connect their dispatch systems and ensure that the closest available rescuers are sent to victims during life-threatening emergencies, according to interviews and records obtained by The Times. The fire chiefs from county, city and Glendale fire departments recently met to discuss creation of a regional network that would automatically deploy fire and rescue units based on their proximity to an emergency, regardless of jurisdictional boundaries, according to L.A. County Fire Chief Daryl Osby.
Los Angeles Times

Study: Unlicensed drivers found to be more reckless
A new study by the California Department of Motor Vehicles or DMV has found that suspended or revoked and unlicensed drivers are much more reckless on the road than validly licensed drivers. The study, called Fatal Crash Rates for Suspended/Revoked and Unlicensed Drivers, found that compared to licensed drivers, suspended, revoked and unlicensed drivers are nearly three times more likely to cause a fatal crash. The study also found that unlicensed drivers tend to be more hazardous than suspended and revoked drivers.
KION46 Central Coast

City Government

Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich to send gun buyers a letter
Following last week's schoolhouse massacre in Connecticut, Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich announced he and other law enforcement officials will send letters to all Los Angeles gun buyers reminding them of city laws regarding safe storage of weapons and reporting if a gun is lost or stolen. In a letter to Vice President Joe Biden, who is heading the federal task force looking at gun control and gun safety issues, Trutanich pledged his support and said he would be contacting gun buyers to advise them of city laws.
Los Angeles Daily News

City Election 2013

Assault Weapons Ban Takes Center Stage In Race For LA City Attorney
Candidates hoping to become the next Los Angeles City Attorney on Thursday roundly rejected accepting any campaign support from pro-gun lobbyists. Veteran police attorney and candidate for Los Angeles City Attorney Greg Smith was among the candidates who gave his endorsement on Thursday for a full federal ban on assault weapons in the face of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shootings in Newton, Conn.
CBS2