Law Enforcement

L.A., police union reach legal deal over salaries for new recruits
Los Angeles officials said Tuesday that they have reached an agreement to resolve a union lawsuit over the pay provided to nearly 1,000 police officers hired since 2010. The settlement with the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the rank-and-file officers' union, would end a 2012 lawsuit alleging that department recruits had received erroneous salary information. Stephen Silver, an attorney for the league, said the city's website showed entry-level salaries that were higher than the amounts ultimately paid.
Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles police chief gets second 5-year term
Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck was reappointed Tuesday to a second five-year term despite concerns about the LAPD's disciplinary policies and openness with information. The Police Commission voted 4-1 in favor of Beck's reappointment, with senior commissioner Robert Saltzman casting the lone dissenting vote. President Steve Soboroff praised Beck for the elimination of a backlog involving the testing of rape evidence and for falling crime numbers in the nation's second-largest city.
Los Angeles Times

Man killed by LAPD during stop in South LA
A man was shot and killed by police in Los Angeles Monday night after officers stopped him in the 200 block of West 65th Street, according to the LAPD. The confrontation occurred around 8:20 p.m., a few blocks east of the 110 Freeway and south of Slausen Avenue. "During the stop, a struggled ensued" before the man was shot by a Newton Division patrol officer, according to a written statement from the department. "The suspect was transported to a local hospital and after lifesaving efforts he succumbed to his injuries."
KPCC

Sylmar man arrested in wife's shooting death, pistol and note found at scene
A 59-year-old man was in custody Tuesday on suspicion of shooting and killing his wife at the Sylmar home they lived in for at least 25 years, police said. The 45-year-old victim was shot multiple times around 9 p.m. Monday at the house in the 14000 block of Herron Street, Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Paul Vernon said. Maria Morales was found in the living room.
City News Service

LAPD probing man's death after struggle with sergeants during arrest
Los Angeles police are investigating the death of a 37-year-old motorist after a physical altercation with two LAPD sergeants who were arresting him. Omar Abrego, 37, was declared dead Aug. 3 about 12 hours after he was arrested by the two gang-unit sergeants, according to officials. The sergeants took Abrego into custody after they spotted him driving fast in South L.A. and nearly striking a pedestrian in a crosswalk, according to the LAPD.
Los Angeles Times

Police investigate burglary, home invasion crime spree in West LA
Police Monday were investigating a crime spree involving burglary and home invasion in West Los Angeles. CBS2's Greg Mills spoke with neighbors of the kidnapping victim and officials regarding the multiple crimes. A suspect entered an apartment around 8 a.m. in the 100 block of Marques Place West where he allegedly forced an elderly woman to drive him to Beverly Hills, according to officials.
CBS LA

City Government

L.A. to pay $26 million for ban on naps by garbage-truck drivers
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday finalized a $26-million legal settlement to end a lawsuit over a ban on lunchtime naps by trash-truck drivers. The expenditure, approved on a 9-2 vote, resolves a class-action lawsuit involving nearly 1,100 sanitation workers who said they were improperly barred from sleeping and engaging in other activities during their meal breaks.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti says city-county homelessness agency 'needs to function better'
In a pointed criticism of one of the region's largest agencies overseeing homelessness issues, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said leadership at Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority needs to "go up to the next level." Garcetti, who in his campaign for mayor vowed to end chronic homelessness in the city, said he wants to "invigorate" LAHSA.
Los Angeles Daily News

L.A. lawmakers name conditions for paying $4 million to DWP trusts
Five Los Angeles lawmakers are proposing that the city provide a $4-million payment that is due to two controversial nonprofits affiliated with the Department of Water and Power only after city auditors are given "unfettered access" to their records and a long list of other conditions are met. For months, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18 has been locked in a legal battle with the city over transparency at the nonprofit trusts, which are run jointly by labor and management-appointed trustees.
Los Angeles Times

2 L.A. councilmen want city to stop watering its lawns
With California's drought worsening, two Los Angeles City Council members want the city to stop watering lawns on city property that aren't used for recreation and eventually replace them with native, drought-tolerant plants. Councilmen Felipe Fuentes and Mike Bonin said in a motion introduced Tuesday that the city "is sending Angelenos mixed messages about the crucial importance of conserving" by watering its own turf-grass lawns even as residents face mandatory watering restrictions.
Los Angeles Times