Law Enforcement

Suspect arrested in hit-and-run death of LAPD officer
A man driving a vehicle that crashed into a Los Angeles police cruiser, killing a veteran officer and seriously injuring another, has been arrested on suspicion of murder, officials said Officer Roberto Sanchez, 32, was killed in a weekend collision that occurred as the officers were making a U-turn to follow a speeding vehicle. They were broadsided by an SUV about 3:55 a.m. near the intersection of Senator Avenue and Anaheim Street.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck seeks body cameras, flying drones in crime-fighting tech push
In a wide-ranging discussion Monday, Police Chief Charlie Beck laid out his hopes for technologically advanced crime fighting. By the end of this year, about 1,000 officers will likely have cameras attached to their uniforms, and currently, the department is working through a field test of 33 devices and has about $1.2 million in private donations to spend on a program, Beck said.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD body cameras: Tests show they fall off
Early tests of police body cameras - which the LAPD is considering to record officer interactions with the public - showed that they tend to fall off officers' shirt collars or sunglasses during movement. That is the finding presented Tuesday to the L.A. Police Commission by L.A. police officials, who are about to start another round of testing this month. The department is testing the cameras before rolling them out widely as part of an effort to cut down on public complaints about officer behavior.
KPCC

Cinco de Mayo DUI crackdown yields more than 450 L.A. County arrests
More than 450 drivers were arrested on DUI charges in Los Angeles County during a weekend-long Cinco de Mayo crackdown, officials said Tuesday. The enforcement period began Friday and ended Monday night, yielding at least 466 arrests for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol in the Los Angeles region, said officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Los Angeles Times

Van Nuys arson suspect hospitalized after falling off ledge in confrontation with police
A man was hospitalized and taken into custody after he allegedly attempted to assault police officers, started a fire at a three-story apartment building and fell off a ledge Monday night in Van Nuys. The barricade incident occurred in the 6900 block of Haskell Avenue after a robbery-in-progress call was made shortly before 9 p.m. when the suspect came out and confronted officers, authorities said.
Los Angeles Daily News

LA Police Memorial Foundation hopes celebrity fundraiser will help ease financial strain
The Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation is hoping to raise funds to cover funeral costs for the four officers who died while on active duty in recent weeks. Retired Sgt. Alan Atkins says he's been handling one funeral after another as the head of the small non-profit - and the sudden deaths have shaken the community. "We're all a family, so yes it does affect everyone, and when you have so many in such a short time it affects people," Atkins said.
CBS LA

LAPD Chief signals court battle over $12M recruit verdict
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said Tuesday his department plans to fight a $12 million jury award given to five former police recruits who claimed they were wrongfully denied temporary city jobs while recovering from police academy training injuries. KNX 1070s Ed Mertz reports Beck said the LAPD "strongly but respectfully disagrees" with the verdict and that sometimes jurors "don't get all the information" to make an informed judgment.
CBS LA

Immigration

Feds reject design of driver's license for immigrants in U.S. illegally
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has rejected California's initial design for a driver's license for immigrants in the country illegally, saying it is not distinguishable enough from permits given citizens. "To satisfy the statutory and regulatory standards DHS recommends that any modifications ... ensure that the license (1) clearly states on its face and in the machine readable zone that it is not acceptable for official federal purposes and (2) uses a unique design or color indicator to distinguish them from documents that meet the standards," wrote David Heyman, assistant secretary for policy, and Philip A. McNamara, assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs.
Los Angeles Times

Jails

L.A. County supervisors vote to move forward on $2-billion jail plan
Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to move forward with a $2-billion plan to replace the deteriorating downtown Men's Central Jail with a new facility geared toward inmates with mental health and substance abuse issues and to create a new women's jail. They also voted to undertake an extensive study into how the county could divert more mentally ill offenders from the jail system.
Los Angeles Times

Ballot Measures

Nonviolent crimes measure collects 800,000-plus signatures
Voters will likely get to weigh in on whether California should treat most nonviolent crimes, such as petty theft and drug possession, as misdemeanors instead of felonies and spend the money saved on crime prevention and victim services. The change, say backers of a proposed ballot measure, appears to be gaining traction with an increasingly wide swath of voters.
San Francisco Chronicle

Bid to create L.A. city health commission qualifies for ballot
Los Angeles officials say a bid to create a city health commission has netted enough signatures to get onto the November ballot -- or to be approved outright by the City Council, if it chooses to do so. Activists behind the plan argue that Angelenos need more leverage over health services provided by the county. Their new proposal emerged after a court struck down an earlier push by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation to create a city health department, which was strongly opposed by city and county officials.
Los Angeles Times

City Government