Law Enforcement

LAPD officers arrest 20-year-old man after standoff in South L.A.
A 20-year-old man was arrested by police Thursday in South Los Angeles after threatening a woman with a gun and then barricading himself inside an apartment. The barricade situation happened on Avalon Boulevard near East 108th Street. The man's girlfriend told police that he had threatened her with a gun while they were having an argument the night before, the Los Angeles Police Department said. She reported the incident Thursday morning, which is when police responded to the area.
Los Angeles Times

1 Dead, 3 in custody after South L.A. shooting and pursuit
Three men were taken into custody Friday morning after a fatal shooting and pursuit that ended in a single-vehicle crash near Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said. The incident began shortly before 2 a.m. when 77th Division officers heard gunshots in the Vermont-Slauson neighborhood, according to a sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department. The officers responded to a 7-Eleven store in the 5400 block of South Figueroa Street, where they found a shooting victim and saw a minivan fleeing the scene, the sergeant said.
KTLA

Two men shot at Vermont Square liquor store; gunman at large
Two men were shot early Thursday at a Vermont Square liquor store, authorities said. A suspect shot one man in the leg about 1:20 a.m. following a verbal dispute at the store in the 4400 block of South Figueroa Street, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said. The gunman then shot the store clerk in the face and hip. A customer who would only give his name as Dominic described the clerk as "a really nice guy," according to KTLA-TV. "He's worked there for a long time."
Los Angeles Times

Burglars sought for home break-in
Detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department West Los Angeles Division are asking for the public's help in providing information about a burglary that occurred on May 4 in the 1100 block of Fiske Ave. The incident occurred at approximately 8:30 p.m. Two suspects entered a residence by prying open the rear door window. Surveillance camera footage was captured of the suspects, and can be viewed at lapdonline.org. Anyone with information is urged to contact Det. Guevara, with the West L.A. Division, at (310)444-1522 or (310)444-1523. During weekends and off hours, call (877)LAPD247.
Park LaBrea News

8 arrested during labor protest at LA airport
Eight people have been arrested for blocking a road at Los Angeles International Airport during a labor protest. Airport police tell City News Service that Thursday's arrests involved planned civil disobedience and were peaceful. They followed a two-hour demonstration by hundreds of union members. A union representing 2,500 airport service workers is in contract negotiations with the airlines but the sides are far apart on the issues of health care costs, wages and work hours.
Associated Press

Game of Drones: How LAPD quietly acquired the spy birds shunned by Seattle
When a Seattle Police Department commander boarded a commercial jet to L.A. three weeks ago, below him in the cargo hold were two large packages he'd checked as baggage - two miniature, 3-foot-long, camera-equipped helicopters, destined for the LAPD. It had been almost a year since the two 3.5-pound Draganflyer X6 drones caused a huge public uproar in Seattle over privacy rights and police snooping, forcing the mayor to permanently ground the mini spy drones before they took their first official flights.
LA Weekly

Beverly Hills adopts rules for street where LAPD members died in crashes
Rules to improve safety on a Beverly Hills street where two members of the Los Angeles Police Department were killed in separate crashes with construction vehicles earlier this year were adopted Wednesday night by city officials. The interim safety plan outlines regulations for Loma Vista Drive, where LAPD Officer Nicholas Lee was killed March 7 in a crash with a construction truck.
NBC4

Notorious L.A. serial killer convicted in murders of four more women
Prolific serial killer Chester Dewayne Turner, who was already on death row for killing an unborn child and 10 women, was found guilty Thursday of killing four more women, prosecutors said. The latest verdict against Turner, 47, would make him subject to the death penalty again, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said in a statement. Jurors deliberated for less than a day to return with guilty verdicts on four counts of first-degree murder, prosecutors said.
Los Angeles Times

iPhone's 'kill switch' reduces thefts, data show
New crime data show Apple's addition of a "kill switch" to its iPhones last September has sharply reduced robberies and thefts, authorities said Thursday. The report by state attorneys general, prosecutors, police and other officials from a year-old initiative called "Secure Our Smartphones" said Google and Microsoft will incorporate a kill switch into the next version of their operating systems on smartphones.
Associated Press

Driver's Licenses

Driver's licenses too costly for immigrants under proposed regs, advocates say
Next week, when state officials hold hearings on the soon-to-be-launched driver's license program for immigrants here illegally, they'll get an earful on how expensive applying for the license will be. Immigrant rights groups who've reviewed the state's proposed regulations predict many of the projected 1.5-million applicants will have trouble paying for the documents required to prove identity. They're urging the California Department of Motor Vehicles to broaden the range of documents it will accept.
KPCC

Prisons

Audit faults lack of consent for California inmate sterilizations
More than one-quarter of inmate sterilizations performed in California from mid-2005 to mid-2013 followed deficient consent procedures, including 18 cases in which the waiting period between consent and surgery was potentially violated, the state auditor said Thursday. State Auditor Elaine Howle said in a report that of 144 inmates sterilized using bilateral tubal ligations, 39 inmates were sterilized "following deficiencies in the informed consent process."
Sacramento Bee

City Government

L.A. won't appeal ruling striking down ban on living in vehicles
City Atty. Mike Feuer said Thursday he would not appeal a federal appeals court ruling that strikes down L.A.'s ban on living in vehicles, a key enforcement tool in the city's efforts to deal with homelessness. But Feuer said he would work with other city figures to write a new ordinance that "respects both the rights and needs of homeless individuals and protects the quality of life in our neighborhoods."
Los Angeles Times