Law Enforcement

Former LAPD recruits win lawsuit over department
A judge Thursday upheld a jury's award of more than $2 million apiece to five former Los Angeles police recruits who were denied the temporary city jobs they sought while recovering from injuries suffered during training at the police academy. Los Angeles Superior Court Frederick Shaller denied motions by the City Attorney's Office to either issue a judgment in the city's favor despite the verdicts or to grant a new trial.
City News Service

Surveillance video shows hit-and-run driver colliding with man in South L.A.
Police released surveillance video Thursday in their effort to find a motorist who fled the scene after striking a 71-year-old pedestrian at a South Los Angeles gas station. In a still from surveillance video released by LAPD, Fernando Valdivia is seen standing at left just before he is struck on June 28, 2014, by the hit-and-run driver of a pickup truck. The collision occurred just before 11:30 a.m. June 28 at a Mobil gas station in the 200 block of West Slauson Avenue, leaving 71-year-old South Gate resident Fernando Valdivia severely injured, according to LAPD.
KTLA

Digging in at MacArthur Park: Kids replant after vandals uproot dozens of fruit trees
Police Thursday sought the public's help in finding vandals who apparently uprooted dozens of fruit trees planted by a group of Southland students in MacArthur Park. KNX 1070's Margaret Carrero reports the act of vandalism hasn't stopped the students from digging in their heels - and in the park's soil - to help make a first-of-its-kind urban fruit trail a reality.
CBS LA

Charlie Beck's prolific pen: A look back at the LAPD chief's letters
Since taking the helm of the Los Angeles Police Department, Charlie Beck has been one of the more prolific letter-writing chiefs. The Times has published five of his often lengthy letters since he became chief in 2009, and - as one would expect - nearly all of Beck's missives take issue with articles in the paper, especially editorials. But summing up Beck's letters as opposed to The Times would be an oversimplification (and, actually, wrong; memorably, the chief wrote to us some years ago to admit that "The Times was right and the Los Angeles Police Department was wrong").
Los Angeles Times

Scam Alert

Scammers pretend to be from health department, ask women about surgeries in attempt to steal bank information
Men with foreign accents pretending to work with the state's health department are phoning residents to ask about specific surgeries, hoping to obtain personal bank and medical information, state officials said Thursday. The fraudulent callers seem to be targeting women, inquiring if they have had surgical mesh or bladder sling surgery.
Los Angeles Daily News

Courts

9th Circ. upholds LAPD officer's win in retaliation suit
The Ninth Circuit on Thursday ruled that a Los Angeles police officer's federal retaliation claims against the city were not precluded by an administrative board's decision to fire him for insubordination, upholding a $600,000 lower-court verdict for the officer. A California federal court had found that the Los Angeles Police Department had fired Leonard Avila for testifying in a fellow officer's wage-and-hour lawsuit under the pretext that his termination was because he worked through lunches without reporting overtime.
Law360

Multiple convictions from one act count as one 'strike,' court rules
The California Supreme Court decided unanimously Thursday that two felony convictions stemming from a single act may not be considered separate strikes under the state's "three strikes" sentencing law. In the past, the court has ruled that two felonies may be treated as separate strikes even if they were prosecuted in a single trial.
Los Angeles Times

New Law

Gov. Jerry Brown signs bill ending ban on Orange Line light rail in San Fernando Valley
A measure that ends the 23-year ban on light-rail construction in the San Fernando Valley has been signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, carving a path for optimizing the use of the Orange Line. Assembly Bill 577, by Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian, D-Sherman Oaks, would allow the building of above-ground rail, but any such project could run into a roadblock with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority over its potential cost.
Los Angeles Daily News

City Government

New process for hiring L.A. firefighters wins OK; recruiting to resume
Members of the Los Angeles Civil Service Commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve an overhaul of the rules for hiring city firefighters, restarting a recruitment effort halted in March amid concerns about nepotism and mismanagement. In a bid to boost the number of women and minorities in the Los Angeles Fire Department's ranks, a lottery will be used to winnow the pool of candidates seeking coveted slots in three new fire academy classes budgeted this fiscal year.
Los Angeles Times