Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Brentwood, Mount Washington, 11 other L.A. areas
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. Seven neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Brentwood was the most unusual, recording three reports compared with a weekly average of 0.4 over the last three months. Mount Washington topped the list of six neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

Witnesses sought in 3 fatal L.A. shootings
Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department are searching for people who may have witnessed three fatal shootings that occurred in South Los Angeles over the weekend. Although crime and homicide rates are down citywide, a spate of violence left three people dead from Friday to Monday, when there were 14 shootings and 11 people hit by gunfire, said Capt. Robert Arcos with the 77th Street Division.
Los Angeles Times

Justices allow DNA collection after an arrest
The police may take DNA samples from people arrested in connection with serious crimes, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a 5-to-4 decision. The federal government and 28 states authorize the practice, and law enforcement officials say it is a valuable tool for investigating unsolved crimes. But the court said the testing was justified by a different reason: to identify the suspect in custody.
New York Times

Innocent parties hurt in nearly 1 of every 10 LA police pursuits
Nearly a third of Los Angeles police pursuits end in traffic collisions, and two-thirds of those crashes result in injuries -- to suspects, officers, and to innocent bystanders, according to statistics compiled by the department. Throughout California last year, 45 people were killed during police pursuits, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Twenty-seven of them were in a fleeing vehicle, 18 were not. As the state's largest city, Los Angeles had the most pursuits, though the number has dropped nearly in half since a decade ago, when the department revised its pursuit policy to limit when pursuits should be initiated or continued.
NBC4

Los Angeles nightclub attack leaves man brain dead, police say
An investigation is under way into a violent assault at a downtown Los Angeles nightclub. Police say the incident occurred around 1 a.m. Sunday at the Icon Ultra Lounge in the 1200 block of South Figueroa Street, near the Staples Center. Investigators say the victim has been declared brain dead. So far, there is no information on a motive or suspects.
ABC7

Man killed in South Los Angeles drive-by shooting
A man was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting early Sunday morning in South Los Angeles. The shooting happened around 3:30 a.m. at 65th Street and Vermont Avenue. Police said they found the 35-year-old victim with two gunshot wounds to the head. Detectives said they do not believe the shooting was gang-related. Anyone with information was urged to call the Los Angeles Police Department at (877) LAPD-24-7.
ABC7

Police investigate shooting death in Van Nuys at Hazeltine and Emelita
The LAPD investigated two unrelated shooting deaths that occurred about the same time in Van Nuys and South Los Angeles Sunday. About 5:15 a.m., officers responded to a ''shots fired'' call at Hazeltine Avenue and Emelita Street in Van Nuys where Jose Flores Ruiz, 30, was shot dead inside his home, said Los Angeles police officer Norma Eisenman of the Media Relations Section. Neighbors heard gunshots and a suspect, described only as a white or Hispanic man, run from the resident, Eisenman said.
Sherman Oaks Patch

2 wounded in shooting near downtown Los Angeles
Two people have been shot and wounded a block away from an elementary school near downtown Los Angeles. Police spokesman Richard French says officers responded to a call of several shots heard near a playground at 12:30 p.m. Monday. Firefighters responded to the 1400 block of West 11th Street and took two people to a hospital. Details remained sparse, but French says police do not have anyone in custody and believe there were possibly two suspects who were seen running away.
Associated Press

Eagle Rock senior lead officer warns of residential burglaries
A little more than a week after the Northeast Community Station of the Los Angeles Police Department warned on its Facebook page that residential burglaries are on the rise in Eagle Rock, another community alert against burglaries has been issued, this time by Senior Lead Officer Nina Preciado. In an e-mail blast over the weekend to residents and stakeholders, Preciado reminded neighbors to be vigilant-and social: "Get to know your neighbors and keep a watchful eye out for any suspicious activity," Preciado's e-mail reads.
Eagle Rock Patch

Court orders new trial in suit alleging LAPD framed suspects
Two men who spent 16 years in prison before their murder convictions were overturned, and who claim that Los Angeles police officers intimidated a witness into giving false testimony, were granted a new trial Friday in their civil suit against the officers and the city. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said confusing jury instructions by U.S. District Judge Otis Wright of the Central District of California may have led jurors to hold the plaintiffs to a higher standard of proof than the law requires.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Ex-Deutsche bank executive can pursue police-beating suit
A former Deutsche Bank AG executive can pursue his civil rights claims against Los Angeles policemen who he says savagely beat him last year while he was in a neighborhood to visit a medical marijuana dispensary. U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner in Los Angeles today denied a request by one of the officers, James Nichols, to dismiss the case. The judge said without ruling on the merits that the ex-bank executive, Brian Mulligan, adequately pleaded his allegations.
Bloomberg

People

Retired Los Angeles Police Department lieutenant chosen as ESGR national chair
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel selected Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Paul E. Mock as the national chair for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. The ESGR national chair is an official Department of Defense, three-year volunteer position and carries the protocol status of a military four-star flag officer. A retired lieutenant with the Los Angeles Police Department, he also has extensive experience serving military members and their families through work with the Association of the U.S. Army, Fisher House Foundation and the Military Child Education Coalition.
Department of Defense Press Release