Law Enforcement

City Council approves salary increase for 1,000 LAPD officers
A legal settlement, approved by the Los Angeles City Council in a 13-0 vote on Wednesday, grants about 1,000 officers a salary increase. Future hires will also get about a 20 percent increase, according to an attorney for the police officer's union. On Tuesday, city officials announced a tentative agreement to raise the salaries of rank and file LAPD officers who were hired at lower pay rates over the past four years.
KPCC

Amid protests, LAPD explains fatal shooting of South L.A. man
Los Angeles police on Wednesday defended an officer-involved shooting that left a 25-year-old man dead, saying he tackled one of two officers, forcing him to use a backup gun. The account differs from what family members of the man, Ezell Ford, told KTLA-TV. They said he was complying with police orders and was on the ground when he was shot Monday night about 8:10 p.m. Ford succumbed to his wounds after undergoing surgery at a hospital. |
Los Angeles Times

Silver Lake's Allesandro Elementary lockdown to be lifted after no evidence found of armed men
Police searched the grounds of Allesandro Elementary School in Silver Lake Wednesday morning, and the school was placed on lockdown after a call was placed alleging that two armed men had entered the campus. However, police found no evidence that was true and the lockdown was expected to be lifted around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Sgt. Frank Gonzalez.
Los Angeles Daily News

Man wounded in LAPD-involved shooting
A male suspect was hospitalized in stable condition Wednesday after an officer-involved shooting in Jefferson Park, police said. The suspect was shot by a narcotics officer, said Los Angeles police Sgt. Daniel Ellerson. It happened near the intersection of 30th Avenue and West 9th Street around 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, added LAPD Officer Jane Kim. "It was a narcotics incident that involved an officer-involved shooting," Ellerson said.
City News Service

Police to citizens: Be careful what you tweet
Police in Washington state are asking the public to stop tweeting during shootings and manhunts to avoid accidentally telling the bad guys what officers are doing. The "TweetSmart" campaign began in late July by a coalition of nine agencies, including the Washington state patrol and the Seattle police, and aims to raise awareness about social media's potential impact on law enforcement.
Associated Press

Homelessness

City, county join forces in program to help homeless get off skid row
Los Angeles city and county workers launched a major effort Wednesday to clean up skid row and offer medical, mental health and social services to help an estimated 1,700 homeless people get off the streets. Dr. Susan Partovi, the medical field director for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, joined 35 city sanitation and street service workers, and a couple dozen mental health, medical and outreach workers, on San Julian Street between 5th and 6th streets.
Los Angeles Times

Real Change Movement aims to help Pasadena homeless with new donation meters
A series of bright orange parking meters, emblazoned with a large yellow smiley face, will soon pop up throughout the city. But they're not there to track the minutes shoppers spend at Paseo Colorado and provide fodder for parking enforcement; the meters are donation portals in a new city-wide effort to more effectively help the city's homeless.
Los Angeles Daily News

City Government

L.A. lawmakers vote for plan to settle gridlock on DWP trusts
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to demand that city auditors get "unfettered access" to records for two controversial nonprofits affiliated with the Department of Water and Power, one of a string of conditions they want to impose to end the city's legal battles with the leaders of a powerful DWP union.
Los Angeles Times

Free WiFi to debut at L.A. parks, beaches on Thursday
Los Angeles officials Thursday plan to roll out a free public WiFi service at six public city parks, as well as a mobile service to handle service requests sent in from the field. Visitors to Cabrillo Beach, Echo Park Lake, Griffith Observatory, Pershing Square, Reseda Park and Venice Beach will be able to access the wireless network at designated hotspots, according to the city.
Los Angeles Times

Drought fuels backlash against proposed downtown water-slide event
A permit application to set up a 1,000-foot water slide in downtown next month is facing opposition from thousands of people who say the event would be irresponsible, and certainly unseemly, given California's severe drought. More than 6,000 people have signed an online petition to stop "Slide the City" from setting up on Olive Avenue on Sept. 27, saying it is "extremely irresponsible" for any city in California to allow an event featuring a giant water slide to take place given the record dryness being felt across the state.
Los Angeles Times

Garcetti sees progress on film tax credit negotiations
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that Gov. Jerry Brown has agreed to support an expansion of California's film tax credit, a high-profile effort to keep production jobs in the state. It's unclear, however, how large the expansion would be. Garcetti wants $420 million, which is equal to New York's credit and more than four times the size of California's current $100 million offering.
Los Angeles Times