Law Enforcement

Services scheduled for LAPD motorcycle officer who died after crash
Services for a veteran LAPD motorcycle officer who died after an alleged DUI driver crashed into him were scheduled for April 21 and 22, the Police Department announced Friday. A viewing for Officer Chris Cortijo was set for 3 to 9 p.m. April 21 at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, next to Griffith Park. A memorial service, followed by traditional honors, was to be held at 9 a.m. April 22 at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.
KTLA

Man found shot dead in home near Benedict Canyon; LAPD investigating
Homicide investigators remained at the scene of a home near Benedict Canyon on Saturday evening, hours after a man with multiple gunshot wounds was found dead inside, Los Angeles police said. Few details were immediately available, but LAPD Officer Raymond Barron said the man's body was discovered by a business associate about 4 p.m. in the 10000 block of Westwanda Drive in Los Angeles' Beverly Crest neighborhood.
Los Angeles Times

Police shoot knife-wielding suspect in East Hollywood
A suspect armed with a knife was fatally shot by Los Angeles police officers responding to a report of a man with a deadly weapon in East Hollywood, police said Sunday. Police responded about 3:45 p.m. to Sunset and Hobart boulevards after a call for help, said LAPD Officer Sally Madera. LAPD Cmdr. Dennis Kato said officers arrived at the 99 Cent Store on the 5200 block of West Sunset Boulevard to find a man with a knife outside the store, according to a KTLA-TV Channel 5 report.
Los Angeles Times

Suspected car thief flees officers, wages hours-long standoff in South LA home
An early-morning pursuit of a stolen vehicle Saturday took an unexpected turn when the suspect ran into a home and waged a tense four-hour standoff in South LA. The man was taken into custody around 7:30 a.m., Los Angeles police spokeswoman Sally Madera said. The incident began at 2:40 a.m. at the intersection of South Vermont Avenue and West 79th Street. Officers spotted a stolen Chevy Tahoe whose driver may have been involved in a nearby shooting, LAPD Sgt. C. Meisner said.
CBS LA

LAPD hopes $50,000 reward will help solve 'senseless' 2012 killing
A $50,000 reward was announced Friday for information leading to the prosecution of whoever shot a 40-year-old father of four to death in 2012, in what authorities described as a senseless killing. Paul T. James died in a hospital after he was shot multiple times just before 9 p.m. on Oct. 11, 2012, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. James was walking in the 9600 block of South Hoover Street in South Los Angeles when he was approached by a black man who produced a handgun and fire, according to LAPD.
KTLA

Audit: LAX paid $8 million to LAPD for services it cannot provide documentation for
Los Angeles International Airport paid about $7.87 million to the Los Angeles Police Department to provide unspecified services and there is no documentation to support the payments, according to an audit from the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Transportation. The full report can be read below. The money used to pay the LAPD came from revenues generated by the busy airport over five fiscal years, beginning on July 1, 2007, and ending June 30, 2012.
KPCC

Privacy an issue with police body cameras
San Diego's police chief wants 300 officers outfitted with body cameras by July, a move she hopes will help restore waning public trust in the department. But how and when will the cameras be used? Who can view the footage? Will people's privacy rights be protected? These are some of the issues the police union and privacy rights experts want addressed before the technology is rolled out across the San Diego Police Department.
U-T San Diego

Guns

New push in state to carry guns openly
Four years ago, Northern California found itself in the crosshairs of gun devotees who gathered at Baker Beach and various Starbucks locations, openly carrying their unloaded 9mm Glocks and .40-caliber Walthers. The meet-ups scared other patrons and prompted the Legislature to ban open displays of unloaded handguns, with exceptions for rural counties where a gun owner obtains law enforcement permission. The resulting law, which went into effect in 2012, brought the displays to a screeching halt.
San Francisco Chronicle

Prisons

California's medical prison beset by waste and mismanagement
California's $840-million medical prison - the largest in the nation - was built to provide care to more than 1,800 inmates. When fully operational, it was supposed to help the state's prison system emerge from a decade of federal oversight brought on by the persistent neglect and poor medical treatment of inmates. But since opening in July, the state-of-the-art California Health Care Facility has been beset by waste, mismanagement and miscommunication between the prison and medical staffs.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Mayor Eric Garcetti seeks rating system for buildings' seismic safety
Mayor Eric Garcetti wants buildings across Los Angeles to be graded for their seismic safety as part of an ambitious plan to help residents understand the earthquake risks of their office buildings and apartments. Garcetti announced what would be the nation's first seismic safety grading system for buildings during his State of the City address Thursday, when he also for the first time said he supports some type of mandatory retrofitting of older buildings that have a risk of collapse in a major earthquake.
Los Angeles Times

Garcetti makes new pitch for L.A. River plan
Faced with losing an ambitious $1-billion plan to revamp the Los Angeles River, Mayor Eric Garcetti on Friday raised the stakes by offering to split the cost with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The corps, which manages the river as a flood control channel, last year recommended a $453-million package of parks, bike paths and other enhancements to make the river more inviting to Angelenos.
Los Angeles Times

Budget guru Rick Cole looks to innovate Los Angeles City Hall
Veteran city manager Rick Cole was working as an administrator at Ventura's San Buenaventura Mission this past July when his phone rang. The caller didn't identify himself, but Cole heard an energetic-sounding male voice. "Do you want to change the world?" the caller asked. It was newly elected Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, asking Cole to join his team.
Los Angeles Daily News

Los Angeles enjoys Arts Day as $10 million arts surplus is revealed
With one in seven jobs in Los Angeles related to the arts, the Los Angeles City Council declared Friday Arts Day L.A. - just as Controller Ron Galperin released a report detailing how an arts-development fund has grown to $10 million without being used. "We need to get this money out to the artists and the communities," Galperin said. "When developers pay into this fund, they expect it to be used to deliver a public benefit."
Los Angeles Daily News