Law Enforcement

LAPD officer killed, another injured in Harbor City hit-and-run
A Los Angeles police officer was killed and another was seriously injured early Saturday when their patrol car was violently broadsided by a hit-and-run driver during a pursuit of another car in Harbor City. Police Chief Charlie Beck, who responded to the scene of the accident, identified the fatally injured officer as Roberto Sanchez, a six-year veteran of the LAPD who had worked at Harbor Division for two years. He was married just 90 days ago.
Torrance Daily Breeze

LAPD in mourning after 3 officers killed in 2 months
The LAPD is in mourning after the third deadly crash involving an LAPD officer in two months. "Once again our hearts are broken," Los Angeles Police Protective League President Tyler Izen said in a statement. "This is a hard time for the LAPD family." The latest death occurred Saturday morning. Two officers were making a U-turn to follow a car moving at high speed when they were broadsided by an SUV about 3:55 a.m. near the intersection of Senator Avenue and Anaheim Street, said LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith.
Los Angeles Times
LAPPL Press Release

Cement truck overturns on same street of fatal LAPD crash
A cement truck lost control Friday and overturned on the same downhill road in Beverly Hills where a dump truck in March overturned and killed a Los Angeles police officer, authorities said. About 11 a.m. the cement truck was southbound on Loma Vista Drive when it veered out of control, hit three parked cars and crashed near Wallace Ridge. The truck driver suffered serious injuries and was taken to a local hospital. No one else was injured, police said.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD officers believe the Northeast Station is making them physically ill
The city of Los Angeles breaks ground Monday on a new police facility in Northeast LA. Some officers are concerned their current home is literally making them sick. As CBS2s Investigative Reporter David Goldstein reports, the officers don't believe the new building will be much better. LAPD Officer J.C. Duarte gets emotional when he reads off the names of colleagues who have died from cancer. "James, Mike, Bill, Reggie...," says Duarte, his voice trailing off, "Sorry."
CBS LA

LAPD increases DUI checkpoints during Cinco De Mayo
While Angelenos prepared to celebrate Cinco de Mayo the LAPD planned to increase patrol vehicles and DUI checkpoints. Honoring Mexico's victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, Cinco de Mayo was a tribute to Mexican heritage and pride. To combat the danger caused by a potential increase in people driving under the influence, the Los Angeles Police Department planned to have more sobriety checkpoints on the Friday and Saturday prior to the holiday, according to a news release.
KTLA

South Los Angeles altercation leads to stabbing
Two men got into an argument in South Los Angeles prompting one to stab the other two times in the back and run away, a police officer said Sunday. The stabbing occurred at 9:15 p.m. Saturday at Florence Avenue and Figueroa Street, said Sgt. Thomas Bojorquez of the Los Angeles Police Department's 77th Street Station. "It was some sort of altercation," Bojorquez said, between two men in their 30s, which led to a stabbing that sent one man to the hospital.
City News Service

LAPD teams up with Amazon Web Services to crowdsource evidence
The LAPD has teamed up with Amazon Web Services which would provide virtually endless bandwidth. This wouldn't clog the department's servers and thus hinder the investigation. Instead people who have evidence can submit it through an Android and iOS app or through the web portal. The system is called the Large Emergency Event Digital Information Repository. It's essentially a modern police tip line which can accept media uploaded from computers or pulled in from Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Google+.
Ubergizmo

Cyclist seriously injured by hit-and-run driver in Mission Hills
A cyclist was struck and seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver in a white car on Sunday morning in Mission Hills, according to Los Angeles Police Department officials. The cyclist, identified as a 53-year-old North Hollywood man, was traveling westbound at about 9:44 a.m. on Devonshire Street when he was struck by a white car, possibly a jaguar, that had been traveling north on Sepulveda Boulevard.
Los Angeles Daily News

Police arrest man in connection with Pacific Palisades hit and run
Authorities on Friday identified a man who was arrested in the hit-and-run death in Pacific Palisades of a federal judge's son. Michael Vuong, 66, of the Palms area of Los Angeles, was arrested Thursday afternoon and booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter in the Dec. 27 crash that killed David Pregerson, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. Vuong was held on $100,000 bail, the sheriff's department reported. He was expected to be arraigned Monday, according to the LAPD.
Venice MarVista Patch

How the LAPD has achieved better policing through data
Every Wednesday morning, supervisors and officers of the Los Angeles Police Department gather in a windowless room on the first floor of the department's headquarters. There, they analyze crime statistics and get grilled about their strategies for improvement by the department's command staff. This is Compstat, the metric-driven system that has helped the LAPD achieve historic crime reductions and inspired Mayor Eric Garcetti's efforts to create meaningful metrics for other city departments.
Los Angeles Times

Prisons

Brown: Alternatives to prison a priority
During a visit Friday to Orange County, Gov. Jerry Brown offered no apologies for complaints of increased crime and jail violence in the wake of 2011's prison realignment, which resulted in thousands of nonviolent offenders being housed in local jails rather than state prisons. "The U.S. Supreme Court ordered us to release thousands of prisoners," Brown said in a phone interview after meetings with county law enforcement and education leaders. The court order targeted prison crowding.
Orange County Register

City Government

L.A. councilman wants Wall Street banks to cut bond refinance fees
A Los Angeles city councilman wants out of deals with two Wall Street banks he says are costing the city money. Councilman Paul Koretz introduced a motion Friday that calls on two banks to either renegotiate contracts with the city at no cost, or for the City Council to terminate business with the banks altogether if they refuse. "New York Mellon Bank and Dexia need to do what many others have done for the sake of this city, and that is to make sacrifices, not obscene profits," Koretz said.
Los Angeles Times