Law Enforcement

Judge refuses to relent on LAPD car impound policy
A judge Monday said he would not set aside his recent decision to strike down the Los Angeles Police Department's controversial car impound policy, throwing the question of when cops can impound vehicles of unlicensed drivers into further uncertainty. Last month, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Terry Green announced in court that he had concluded the LAPD's impound policy violates state law. Green's finding came in a lawsuit brought against the city and LAPD by the Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file Los Angeles cops.
Los Angeles Times
LAPPL Blog

One person shot dead in Watts, LAPD says
One person was shot dead near the Imperial Courts Housing project in Watts, police said Monday night. The shooting was reported shortly before 8 p.m., according to officers at the Los Angeles Police Department's Southeast Division Station. The victim was reported down near the housing project's recreation center near 114th Street and Gorman Avenue. Homicide detectives were responding. No other details were immediately available. Anyone with information in Monday's slaying is asked to call (877) 527-3247.
Los Angeles Times

Man gunned down while sitting in his car in South L.A.
Police are investigating the death of a 36-year-old man who was gunned down Sunday while sitting in his car in South Los Angeles. Officers responded to a report of a man shot in the 600 block of West 111th Street in South L.A. at about 10:20 p.m. Sunday, said Officer Drake Madison with the Los Angeles Police Department. The victim, who was found with gunshot wounds, was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Los Angeles Times

Plea deals may be near in kidnapping of Northridge teen
The two men implicated in the kidnapping and assault of a 10-year-old Northridge girl in March may avoid trial by striking deals with prosecutors, a Superior Court judge said Monday. Dustin Tobias Summers, 32, and Daniel Martinez, 29, are accused of taking the little girl from her bedroom in the early-morning hours of March 27. Summers, who is considered the primary suspect in the assault, allegedly then took her to various locations, sexually assaulted her and took nude photos of her, before dropping her off near a Woodland Hills hospital later that day.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPPL position regarding lapel/on-body cameras
Since 2007, the Los Angeles Police Protective League has been involved in efforts to fairly implement cameras in all LAPD patrol cars because we believe this equipment will serve to protect police officers from frivolous and unwarranted complaints. Our position on the benefits of video cameras has not changed, and neither has our concern about the protection of officers' privacy. We expect that video recordings will enhance cases by documenting crimes, as well as serve to refute frivolous claims of police misconduct or brutality.
LAPPL Blog

New FBI director dogged by budget problems
Big budget woes worry the FBI's new director, James B. Comey, a mere two weeks into the hassle-filled job of a lifetime. The training pipeline for special agents is empty, curtailed by prior economizing. By Oct. 1, Comey must find about $800 million in savings out of an annual FBI budget of about $8.1 billion. Layoffs and furloughs appear inevitable. "I'm not playing a game," Comey told reporters Thursday. "I'm not crying wolf."
Washington Post

New Laws

Jerry Brown signs law requiring cars to give bicyclists space
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring motorists to give bicyclists at least three feet of space when passing on a California roadway, after vetoing similar legislation during the last two years. Assembly Bill 1371, by Assemblyman Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, requires motorists to slow down if they can't give room and makes failing to comply an infraction punishable by a fine of $35. Brown vetoed similar legislation in 2011 and 2012.
Sacramento Bee

Calif. law allows minors to delete online postings
Minors in California will have a chance to remove embarrassing photographs and potentially damaging postings on social media websites under a bill that has been signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown. The Democratic governor on Monday announced signing SB568 by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg. Its central purpose is to give those under age 18 a second chance after they post something and later regret it.
Associated Press

Legislation

California immigrant driver's licenses bring many questions
Assuming Gov. Jerry Brown signs legislation on his desk, as he has said he would, California will move down a regulatory road to determine what, exactly, driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants look like. Central to those concerns was how blatantly the licenses would identify their carriers as being here illegally. Stringent new federal requirements, adopted in 2005 in response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, require applicants for government-issued IDs to submit information, like a Social Security number and evidence of lawful status, that undocumented immigrants by definition lack.
Sacramento Bee

Prisons

California signs private-prison deal
California has signed a contract with private prison contractor Geo Group to lease space for 1,400 inmates in overcrowded state lockups. The company announced the contract early Monday morning, even before Gov. Jerry Brown learns whether federal judges will grant his request for a three-year delay in the courts' orders to cap the prison population. The governor's lawyers have asked judges to make their own decision by Friday.
Los Angeles Times

The Economy

L.A. unemployment climbs back over 10 percent
Los Angeles County's unemployment rate climbed back into double digits in August, reaching 10.1 percent, according to state figures released Friday. The state Employment Development Department reported that the August unemployment rate rose from 9.9 percent in July. The jobless rate remained below its 10.9 percent level of a year ago. The August increase came as more than 12,000 people entered the labor force looking for work, countering the gains made by 6,000 previously unemployed residents who reported they were working
Los Angeles Business Journal