Law Enforcement

Sword-swinging man shot by officers in South L.A., police say
Police said officers shot and wounded a man who charged at them with a 24-inch sword in South Los Angeles. The confrontation took place around 4:30 p.m. Thursday after the officers responded to a radio call regarding an assault with a deadly weapon in the 6600 block of South Main Street, the Los Angeles Police Department said. The officer fired a Taser at the suspect, but that failed to stop him, an LAPD spokeswoman said. At least one officer opened fire. The suspect was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. No officers were injured.
Los Angeles Times

Man suspected of opening fire at LAPD station, wounding officer dies
A 29-year-old man shot by police after allegedly opening fire at a Los Angeles Police Department station early this month, wounding an officer, died Thursday, officials said. Daniel Christoph Yealu, who was charged with two counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, had been hospitalized in critical condition after being wounded when police returned fire in the April 7 attack.
Los Angeles Times

Vandalism at synagogue ruled a hate crime
Investigators have ruled that an incident on March 28 in which rocks were thrown through three stained glass windows at a synagogue on Fairfax Avenue was a hate crime. Det. Jennifer Lee, the hate crimes coordinator with the Los Angeles Police Department's Wilshire Division, said the decision was made because the rocks were thrown at windows with Jewish symbols such as the Star of David, the Torah and a menorah.
Park La Brea News/Beverly Press

'Purse packing bandit' strikes again
A female bank robber nicknamed the "purse packing bandit" struck for the seventh time in the local area on March 27, and police have released new photographs that they hope will help identify her. The most recent robbery occurred at approximately 4:40 p.m. at a Bank of America branch in the 400 block of N. La Brea Ave. The suspect entered the bank and waited for a teller, then presented a note demanding money. The suspect also brandished a handgun, said Det. Tracey Benjamin, with the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide Division, Robbery Special Section.
Park La Brea News/Beverly Press

Bill Bratton, Mayor de Blasio reject City Council proposal to hire 1000 cops
Top cop Bill Bratton rejected the City Council's proposal to hire 1000 new officers - saying he'd rather have the money to give police officers raises - while his boss Mayor de Blasio also shot down the idea. “The city's in a very significant budget situation. To be quite frank with you, the issue of pay raises for my personnel, I'm more supportive of that at the moment than I am [of\] additional officers,” Bratton said. “We need a lot of money to address that issue.” NYPD officers - like the rest of the city's unionized workers - are currently working with expired contracts, and pushing for raises that could cost the city billions.
New York Daily News

Homeland Security

Family of TSA officer slain in LAX shooting sues city of Los Angeles for $25 million
The family of the Transportation Security Administration officer who died in a November shooting rampage at Los Angeles International Airport has filed a claim against the city of Los Angeles, alleging the airport failed to protect travelers and workers. The wrongful death claim was filed by Ana Machuca, the widow of TSA officer Gerardo Hernandez, and their two children, Luis Hernandez and Stephanie Hernandez. The claim, submitted to the city clerk on April 16, asks for more than $25 million in damages.
Torrance Daily Breeze

California Supreme Court

California courts strike down local sex-offender ordinances
The California Supreme Court has left intact a lower-court ruling that invalidates local ordinances aimed at restricting the movements of registered sex offenders in dozens of cities statewide. The court's decision Wednesday not to hear a case involving a Southern California sex offender means city and county ordinances banning such offenders from public parks and other public areas no longer may be enforced, attorneys say. Instead, a state law governing where sex offenders on parole may live now stands as the main restriction.
Sacramento Bee

Metro

Metro backs extension of freeway toll lanes, adds $1 monthly fee
Citing the time saved for Los Angeles County drivers who were willing to pay an extra fee, transportation officials Thursday unanimously approved extending the life span of 25 miles of experimental toll lanes on the 110 and 10 freeways. Elected officials and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority staff members said Thursday that tolling provided a new option for commuters crawling along a 900-mile freeway network that is largely built out.
Los Angeles Times

Legislation

California lawmakers aim to tighten handgun restrictions
A bill banning the sale of single-shot handguns that can be modified into semi-automatic weapons advanced in the California legislature on Thursday as lawmakers sought to close what the bill's supporters say is a loophole in the state's gun safety laws. Gun control advocates say thousands of weapons are sold in California each year without a required safety feature that indicates when a bullet is in the chamber, endangering children and others who may be shot accidentally.
Reuters

Bill requiring mobile phone 'kill switch' falls short in Senate
California legislation requiring a "kill switch" to render stolen smart phones inoperable met a premature death on Thursday. The measure from Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, fell two votes short of a majority, despite receiving strong support from law enforcement groups and officials. Senators took up Senate Bill 962 after several leading wireless phone providers such as AT&T and Verizon announced plans to install software allowing customers to delete information and permanently turn off devices.
Sacramento Bee

City Government

Garcetti, activists form panel to look at parking ticket policies
A grass-roots group that has been railing against Los Angeles' parking ticket policies announced Thursday that it is teaming up with Mayor Eric Garcetti to work on changes to the enforcement system. Steven Vincent, founder of the Los Angeles Parking Freedom Initiative, said Garcetti invited members of his organization to participate in an official city working group earlier this week.
Los Angeles Times