Law Enforcement

'Take the riot to Hollywood' tweet fueled crime wave, LAPD says
Los Angles Police Department officials said a crime outbreak that struck Hollywood on Tuesday night was organized by social media. Officials said they've seen several messages on Twitter and Facebook urging people to gather there. "Take the riot to Hollywood," one expletive-laden message on Twitter said. "Hollywood. 7:30."
Los Angeles Times

LAPD intercepts 'Smash White Supremacy Fun Run' in Westwood
A dozen protesters ran through the streets of Westwood Thursday night, ending in at least one arrest. The small group gathered at the Federal Building on Wilshire Boulevard for what was billed on social media as the Smash White Supremacy Fun Run, organized to protest the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case. They jogged en masse as they traveled east on their planned run through the neighborhood at about 7:45 p.m. Just 15 minutes later, when they left the sidewalk and began to run in the street, the group was surrounded by more than a dozen LAPD officers. One protester, who had been cycling with the group of joggers, was arrested.
Los Angeles Daily News

Coastal San Pedro residents rally against outbreak of crime
Residents along the San Pedro coast will use "Amish inspiration," Facebook and surveillance technology this weekend to fight back against an outbreak of crime in their neighborhood. Homeowners will be helping one another install security cameras on their properties Saturday in response to a rash of break-ins. Organizers of the block party-style event said five homes and 11 cars have been broken into since last June.
NBC4

San Pedro cellphone theft caught on supermarket video
For a split second, the woman appears to be looking to do the right thing. But in a crime captured entirely on video, she didn't. Los Angeles police detectives are working to identify the woman who picked up a forgotten cellphone in a San Pedro market and appeared to hand it to a male companion to hide. A surveillance camera recorded the theft, while a second camera spotted the green Kia Soul that the couple used to drive away.
Torrance Daily Breeze

Policing advocates defend use of high-tech license plate readers
The nationwide emergence of this policing tool was highlighted this week in a report that portrayed the digital-era invention as shades of another Big Brother intrusion into American privacy, largely because there are no laws governing how long police can keep the data on vehicles, including those of innocent motorists, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. But some law enforcement officials argue, maybe license plate data from 10, 20 or 25 years ago could be used to track down a suspicious vehicle and solve a cold case. "I would ask the ACLU if we could solve a family's homicide from 20 years ago, why would you want it destroyed?" said Tyler Izen, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, referring to the data. "Really what they're saying is they don't trust society to use that data reasonably, and I say we make sure we use it reasonably. I don't want to violate the Constitution."
CNN

Prisons

California bans inmates rights lawyer from prisons
California corrections officials have barred a prominent legal advocate from visiting prison inmates, saying they are investigating unspecified threats created by one of her volunteers. Marilyn McMahon, executive director of California Prison Focus, on Wednesday said she was sent a fax informing her that her access to inmates participating in a statewide hunger strike - as well as inmates anywhere else in the state - has been cut off.
Los Angeles Times

Four inmates on hunger strike require medical attention
California prison medical officials said Thursday that four inmates participating in a statewide hunger strike have required medical care and a fifth has been referred to a physician. Three of those protesters at the state prison in Calipatria in Southern California were moved to an outpatient housing facility within prison grounds for care, said Liz Gransee, a spokeswoman for the court-appointed medical receiver's office in charge of prison healthcare.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Garcetti appoints three L.A. city representatives to Metro board
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Thursday appointed three Los Angeles representatives to the board of the county's transportation agency, one of the biggest decisions the new mayor has made so far that will influence his administration's transportation projects. Garcetti's appointees to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority are Los Angeles City Council members Mike Bonin and Paul Krekorian and South Los Angeles housing advocate Jackie Dupont-Walker.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti to spend weekend on Navy Reserve duty
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti must resume his part-time duties as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve with a stint on Saturday and Sunday at a military facility near the 710 Freeway in Bell. Since 2005, when he enlisted, Garcetti has worked about 40 days a year on training and exercises with the reserve's intelligence service, juggling his military obligations with his full-time job as a member of the City Council -- and now, as mayor.
Los Angeles Times