Law Enforcement

LAPD's Ferguson demonstration response deserves praise: Editorial
Along with criticism when they screw up — sometimes with fatal, tragic consequences — police everywhere should get a pat on the back when they do better. The Los Angeles Police Department, which has left a lot of room for improvement over the decades, deserves praise for its handling of the Thanksgiving-week protests stemming from the grand-jury decision not to indict the Missouri officer who shot to death a black teenager.
Los Angeles Daily News

Pentagon gives California police grenade launchers, snowshoes
Southern California is mired in more than three years of drought, but the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is prepared for snowy conditions after it received 1,600 parkas for camouflage, 500 snowshoes and 132 snow trousers in March from the U.S. Department of Defense.
Los Angeles Times

New L.A. County supervisors poised to back sheriff's oversight panel
In a significant shift in policy, a majority on the newly configured Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors now supports creation of a civilian oversight commission for the embattled Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Backers have long argued that the commission is needed to provide greater scrutiny of a department that has been mired in scandals, including federal criminal charges related to obstruction of justice and mistreatment of jail inmates.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck on police killings: ‘This is an important national conversation we need to have'
In Southern California, their names are as familiar as Michael Brown or Eric Garner or Tamir Rice. And now activists here distraught by the police killings of Kendrec McDade, Ezell Ford, Kelly Thomas and others have joined a nationwide movement seeking justice in their names.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD police captain named San Marino's new police chief
John N. Incontro, a captain for the Los Angeles Police Department, has been hired to replace San Marino's retiring police chief, officials announced Thursday. Incontro has worked for the LAPD for 35 years and is now the commanding officer for its Metropolitan Division. He is excited to serve San Marino residents, he said. “This is an excellent opportunity to work with people who are committed to outstanding police service and who are enthusiastic about making this organization one of the premier police service providers in the San Gabriel Valley,” Incontro said in a statement.
Pasadena Star News

Supervision, Training Issues Cited In LAPD Shooting Of Corvette Driver
There were “issues with supervision at the scene” where three police officers fatally shot an unarmed man following a high-speed chase last year and they should not have fired their weapons, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said Thursday. It marked the first time Beck has spoken out about the incident.
CBS2

Transgender Woman Shot, Killed While Pounding on Door of Compton Home for Help
Police were investigating the death of a 21-year-old transgender woman who was gunned down while pounding on the front door of a Compton home seeking help. Deshawnda Sanchez, known as “Tata,” was shot around 4 a.m. Wednesday on the front porch of a home near Wilton Place and 62nd Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. “She was definitely at that door, pounding on that door seeking help,” LAPD Detective Christopher Barling said.
KTLA5

LAPD Chief Vows To Investigate Any Sexual Assault Allegations Against Cosby
Statutes of limitations will not deter the Los Angeles Police Department from investigating any sexual assault allegations against comedian Bill Cosby, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said Thursday. Beck told reporters the LAPD has not yet received any allegations against the 77-year-old entertainer, but stressed that authorities wouldn't “turn people away because things are out of statute.”
CBS2

Immigration

Number of immigrants deported from U.S. dropped sharply in last year
The number of immigrants deported from the U.S. fell sharply in the last year, a decline driven by the Obama administration's struggle to handle the surge of Central American migrants and its continuing shift in deciding whom to deport. The decrease was recorded even as the number of people caught crossing the border rose. It is likely to give new ammunition to Republicans who accuse the administration of lax enforcement, although it could also boost the president's standing in Latino communities.
Los Angeles Times