Law Enforcement

Eric Garcetti to meet with LAPD officers, explain contract proposal
Working to make his case and rebuild morale among Los Angeles police officers who strongly rejected a proposed one-year contract last week, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Thursday he plans to go to roll calls and meet with officers personally to explain the city's fiscal problems. "We are still there (in a financial crisis)," Garcetti said during his monthly "Ask the Mayor" program on radio station KNX (1070 AM).
Los Angeles Daily News

Mayor tells LAPD vet math 'problem', not lack of respect behind contract talks
The city of Los Angeles cannot afford a big pay raise for police officers to end a labor dispute with the LAPD, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Thursday. KNX 1070s Charles Feldman reports Garcetti showed no signs of conceding to a cost of living increase for the LAPD as contract negotiations heat up. Speaking on KNX 1070s "Ask the Mayor" program, Garcetti made the remarks in response to a question from 18-year LAPD veteran James, who said that "rank and file are definitely frustrated, and frankly, a little disrespected."
CBS LA

Shootings outside Panorama City 7-Eleven leave 2 dead, 1 injured
Police were searching for two male suspects Thursday after two men were fatally shot and another was wounded by gunfire outside a Panorama City 7-Eleven store, officials said. A radio call went out at 5:55 a.m. Thursday of an assault with a deadly weapon and shots fired outside the store at 8243 N. Sepulveda Boulevard, said Sgt. S. Carlsen, a watch commander with LAPD's Mission Station. The suspects are apparently gang members, she said.
Los Angeles Daily News

Residents warned about pre-paid card scams
The Los Angeles Police Department is warning citizens to beware of a common scam in which perpetrators request that a victim use a pre-paid money card to pay a bill. The crimes are usually committed via telephone, and the suspects claim they represent bill collectors for utilities, predominantly the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, but also as collectors for the IRS, or for parking or traffic citations.
Park LaBrea News

LAPD: Man confesses to Vegas roommate's murder
A man has been arrested in Los Angeles for the killing of his roommate in Las Vegas, according to a news release from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Martin Skropeta, 54, of Las Vegas was arrested for murder and awaiting extradition to Las Vegas. According to the release, Metro received a call just before 12:20 a.m. Wednesday from the Los Angeles Police Department requesting a welfare check at a residence. The LAPD officer said the department received a 911 call from a man saying he had killed his roommate a few days earlier at their Las Vegas residence.
KSNV

LAPD investigating robbery in Pico-Robertson
LAPD are investigating an incident involving a stolen pickup truck and a stolen purse in the Pico-Robertson area. Around 12:30 pm, a suspect, who LAPD described as a "black male, six feet tall and weighing 180 lbs, wearing blue jeans and a dark shirt," mugged a woman, who has not been identified, near Pico and Crest. He "jumped out of a stolen car," before approaching the woman, Sgt. Scott Davis of the LAPD K-9 platoon metropolitan division told the Journal.
Jewish Journal

LAPD officers pleads not guilty to beating man with baton in 2012
A Los Angeles police officer has pleaded not guilty to beating a man with his baton while taking him into custody outside a restaurant near Staples Center. A district attorney's statement says 30-year-old Jonathan Lai entered the plea Wednesday to one count of assault by a police officer and one of assault with a deadly weapon.
Associated Press

City Government

Judge calls into question how L.A. handles parking ticket challenges
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has called into question the way L.A. handles parking tickets, saying city employees should review challenges to tickets instead of outsourcing the task to a private company. City workers issue parking tickets, but Los Angeles hires Xerox to process the citations. Xerox, in turn, uses a subcontractor -- PRWT Services -- to review challenges to the tickets. That initial review is the first step for drivers who want to contest their tickets.
Los Angeles Times

Judge signals he'll side with Garcetti allies in DWP nonprofit fight
A judge has signaled his intention to order two controversial Los Angeles Department of Water and Power nonprofits to hold long-delayed meetings with trustees allied with Mayor Eric Garcetti. If those meetings happen, the trustees -- Richard Llewellyn, the mayor's counsel, and Michael Fleming, a DWP board member and executive director of a Beverly Hills philanthropy -- would presumably gain access to the nonprofits' detailed financial records.
Los Angeles Times