Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Cypress Park and 10 other L.A. 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. Cypress Park was the most unusual, recording five reports compared with a weekly average of 0.7 over the last three months. Los Feliz topped the list of six neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD: Serial rapist strikes 35 times; 'We need to find this man'
For 17 years, a man once dubbed the "Teardrop Rapist" has quietly struck again and again, sexually assaulting 35 women along a corridor that runs through the heart of the city from Hollywood to South L.A. The suspect -- who his victims believe had a tattoo or teardrop-like mark -- left behind DNA in 10 of those attacks, but he has continued to elude detectives, police said. Now, equipped with FBI profilers, a Facebook page , a $100,000 reward and billboards displaying an array of composite sketches, LAPD sex crimes detectives finally hope to uncover clues to help capture one of the city's most notorious rapists.
Los Angeles Times

Man found dead after shooting 2 LAPD officers is identified
The man found dead in a Willowbrook home after allegedly shooting two Los Angeles police officers was identified Thursday by L.A. County coroner's officials. The body of Howard Partee, 33, of Willowbrook was found Wednesday after SWAT officers entered the home in the 2200 block of East 117th Street. The details of his death remain under investigation, according to the coroner's office.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD Chief faults officers' actions during fatal arrest of woman
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck was sharply critical of how several officers acted during an arrest last year in which a woman died during a prolonged struggle with the police, department records show. In a report to the Police Commission, the civilian board that oversees the LAPD, Beck concluded that a veteran female officer violated department policies when she repeatedly used her feet to kick or shove Alesia Thomas in her genitals and midsection.
Los Angeles Times

Prisons

6 prison guards injured by inmate at California Men's Colony
Six state correctional officers were recovering from injuries after they were attacked by an inmate Thursday at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo. At least one of the officers was seriously injured by the inmate, who used his fists and a plastic cup to batter the officers, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. State authorities identified the inmate as Christopher McCoy, 34, who is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for a first-degree murder conviction.
Los Angeles Times

People

American Legion names LAPD veteran 'State Officer of the Year'
The American Legion has named a Los Angeles Police Department senior lead officer as its "State Officer of the Year," officials said Thursday. Heidi Stoecklein, who is assigned to the LAPD's Olympic area station and is a 13-year veteran of the force, earned the award for a combination of outstanding police work and community service, according to the American Legion.
Los Angeles Times

NBC News hires former cop for New York and Los Angeles
NBC News has hired former New York police commissioner and Los Angeles top cop Bill Bratton as a news analyst. Bratton, who also ran Boston's police department in a busy law enforcement career, will specialize in criminal justice policy, domestic intelligence gathering and the role of law enforcement in counterterrorism. NBC said Thursday that Bratton will also appear on MSNBC.
Associated Press

Transit

After 20 years of talk, Crenshaw/LAX rail line gets green light
After some last-minute fiscal reshuffling, transportation officials gave a green light to the proposed Crenshaw/LAX light-rail line on Thursday, capping years of controversy over the train's route through South Los Angeles. The board of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority unanimously approved the Crenshaw Line's $2.06-billion budget, the largest in the agency's history, and awarded the joint project contract to Walsh Construction and J.F. Shea Co.
Los Angeles Times

Labor dispute halts DASH service
A strike by employees of a city bus contractor brought some downtown, Hollywood and South Los Angeles DASH routes screeching to a halt Thursday. A little more than half the routes -- about 21,000 riders -- have been impacted, according to Department of Transportation spokesman Clinton Quan. The labor dispute is between city contractor Veolia, which operates buses on the routes, and its employees' union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 572, whose members walked off the job Thursday morning.
City News Service

State Budget

Brown signs budget that reshapes K-12 spending
Gov. Jerry Brown signed a state spending plan for the coming fiscal year Thursday that makes budget-busting deficits a distant memory, funnels billions of additional dollars to K-12 schools and begins restoring social service programs that were cut during the recession. The budget also expands Medicaid to an additional 1.4 million low-income Californians, adopting an optional provision of the federal Affordable Care Act.
Associated Press

City Government

L.A. Councilman-elect Bonin talks development, gay marriage
The man who will soon replace Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl in a coastal council district offered a passionate defense Thursday of the neighborhood groups that fight large-scale development projects there. Councilman-elect Mike Bonin, who takes office July 1, called for people to "respect" residents who speak out against major construction projects on the Westside and elsewhere.
Los Angeles Times