Law Enforcement

5 shot, 1 fatally, in 2 separate shootings in Watts within an hour; gunman at large
One person was killed and four others were injured in two separate shootings that occurred within an hour of each other in Watts late Sunday, police said. Three of the victims - two women and a man - were hit by gunfire and wounded in the first shooting, which occurred at 8:30 p.m. near the intersection of East 115th Street and Mona Boulevard, according to Sgt. Stevens with the Los Angeles Police Department's Southeast Division.
KTLA

2 South Los Angeles gang-related shootings leave 1 dead, 3 injured
Four men were shot, one of them fatally, in two separate, apparently gang-related attacks in South Los Angeles, police said Saturday. The first of the two shootings also resulted in a use-of-force by Los Angeles police officers after they were attacked during the investigation, the lieutenant said. That incident will be investigated by the department's Force Investigation Division.
City News Service

LAPD investigates excessive force claim made during drug possession arrest
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating one of their own after a complaint of use of excessive force during an arrest, officials said Friday. A complaint of excessive force was made during the arrest Oct. 16 of a man suspected of possessing drugs in South LA. The LAPD's Force Investigation Unit and Internal Affairs division launched the investigation after "issues" arose in the arrest at 55th Street and South Avalon Boulevard, said LAPD Lt. Andy Neiman.
CBS LA

The latest rush to judgment
After all of the recent high profile cases where the initial reports of an incident did not tell the entire story, one would expect that politicians would not rush to judgment in a case that they know nothing about except for what they read in the Los Angeles Times. However, that was not the case for Councilmember Curren Price, who has apparently already passed judgment in the Clinton Alford case.
LAPPL Blog

L.A. offers $50,000 reward in fatal Highland Park hit-and-run
Karina Valenzuela's mother used to tell her: "Hija, always forgive. Don't hold hatred in your heart." At 57, Gloria Ortiz tried to do just that. When a bus driver left her panting on the curb, she patiently waited for the next bus. When a relative gossiped, she changed the subject. When her husband ran off with his mistress two decades ago, over time she became best friends with the woman.
Los Angeles Times

Man arrested after woman dies In Shadow Hills crash
A man was arrested Friday for second degree murder following a fatal traffic accident in the San Fernando Valley. Luis Tapia, 28, of Sunland, was being held on $1 million bail, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The accident happened just after midnight in the 10100 block of Sunland Boulevard in Shadow Hills, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
CBS LA

16-year-old Sylmar girl missing since Wednesday
Los Angeles police are trying to help a family locate a 16-year-old Sylmar girl who was last seen at her home on Glenoaks Boulevard near Astoria Street on Wednesday morning, officials said. Kristie Hernandez, who suffers from depression and attends a school for children with special needs, got into trouble at school Tuesday and may have run away, her mother, Graciela Hernandez, said Sunday. Kristie, who has never run away before, had recently returned from Utah, where she had been attending school for 10 months, she said.
Los Angeles Daily News

Public's help sought to ID attacker of 88-year-old man in Hollywood
Detectives on Friday sought the public's help to identify the man who attacked an 88-year-old man in an armed robbery in Hollywood in an incident that was
aught on surveillance camera. Video from Aug. 19 shows an armed robber following 88-year-old John Fu into an apartment complex and hurling him against the wall and floor, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department.
NBC4

40-year-old pedestrian injured by LA driver
Detectives sought the public's help Sunday in providing information leading to the arrest of those accused in a pedestrian hit-and-run accident. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers were sent to the area of Vermont Avenue and Venice Avenue around 2:45 a.m. for reports of a hit-and-run traffic collision.
CBS LA

Suspect in killing of 2 deputies was in U.S. illegally
The suspect in the slaying of two lawmen Friday in Northern California had twice been deported, but authorities said a motive is still unclear in the shooting rampage. Authorities said 34-year-old Luis Enrique Monroy Bracamonte was the shooter. He was booked on charges of murder, attempted murder and carjacking. Authorities said that his weapons included an AR-
5-type assault rifle.
Los Angeles Times

November 4 Election

Jim McDonnell's career as police chief could show how he'd lead as sheriff
Jim McDonnell's tenure in Long Beach may provide an indication of how he would run a much larger agency - the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. He is widely considered the front-runner in the Nov. 4 runoff election for sheriff against retired Undersheriff Paul Tanaka. He would be the first sheriff in a century elected from outside the department's ranks.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

L.A. wage hikes spark fierce debate
Los Angeles has thrust itself into the center of one of the most contentious debates in modern economics -- what happens when you raise the minimum wage? -- as city leaders consider mandating $13.25 an hour. Since their inception in the Great Depression, minimum wage laws have prompted a fierce debate about unintended consequences: Do wage hikes force businesses to lay off workers?
Los Angeles Times

With L.A. council, ceremonial nonsense gets in the way of real action
This has been such a busy year for members of the Los Angeles City Council, you have to wonder if their coffee is spiked with Red Bull. OK, they may have dropped the ball on a few small things, including broken streets, mansionization and slow emergency response times. But consider all the things they've accomplished.
Los Angeles Times

Eric Garcetti kicks off his Mayor's Volunteer Corps in Los Angeles
Donating three days of volunteer work a year to help fellow Angelenos will make L.A. a much-better place, the mayor said Saturday. Eric Garcetti kicked off his Mayor's Volunteer Corps in front of a crowd of 200 volunteers, who then fanned out along Cesar Chavez Avenue on the Eastside to spruce it up, the mayor's office announced.
City News Service