Law Enforcement

NYC Police Union Wants Mayor Banned From Funerals
New York City's rank-and-file police union is urging its members to ban Mayor Bill de Blasio from their funerals. The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association posted a link on its website telling members not to let de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito "insult their sacrifice" should they be killed in the line of duty. The union posted a waiver officers can sign requesting the two politicians not attend their funerals due to their "consistent refusal to show police officers the support and respect they deserve."
ABC News

Burbank police take Boys & Girls Club kids on holiday shopping spree
Burbank police on Wednesday took about 25 local children on a holiday shopping spree at Target in the Empire Center as part of the department's annual “Heroes & Helpers” program. Each child was given a $100 Target gift card to spend on holiday gifts for family, friends and themselves. The Boys & Girls Club of Burbank & Greater East Valley identified underprivileged children to participate in the program, while the Burbank Noon Rotary Club and Target donated the gift cards. “Sometimes, we have to prod the kids into buying things for themselves,” said Burbank Police Officer Joshua Kendrick, who helped organize the event.
The Burbank Leader

Human Skull Found In LA River Bed; Investigation Underway
Homicide investigators found a human skull in the Los Angeles river bed near Bell on Sunday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. Investigators were called to the scene in the river bed north of Slauson Avenue and east of District Boulevard around 9:30 a.m. According to detectives, East Los Angeles deputies were contacted after a man and woman found the remains as they walked in the river bed around 8 a.m.
ABC7

Protests

LAPD: Professionalism in the Face of Protests
Countrywide protests serve as a reminder of the complexities law enforcement professionals face every day. Tragic events and demonstrations that can sometimes follow highlight the fact that there is a fine line between First Amendment rights to protest and speak out, on the one hand; and crossing the line to inflict damage on property, harm police, or endanger fellow citizens on the other. Public safety requires cooperation and respect between police and citizens alike. For this reason among others, Los Angeles Police Department officers should be commended for their professionalism and dedication to all of our public safety.
LAPPL Blog

Arrests Made as Hundreds March in LA, Hollywood Against Police Killings
Four protesters were arrested Saturday as hundreds of demonstrators marched in Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles, with dozens staging a die-in at police headquarters, in the latest in a series of demonstrations against officer-involved deaths of unarmed black men in Los Angeles, New York and Ferguson. The demonstrators, three females and one male, were facing charges of failing to disperse, police said. They were taken into custody in the area of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, where officers were keeping watch over about 50 protesters.
NBC4

Hundreds protest in Pasadena over police killings, call for solidarity
Hundreds of demonstrators, including family members of Kendrec McDade, took the streets of Pasadena on Sunday to peacefully but passionately decry police killings of unarmed black people throughout the United States. The protest was held to coincide with National Black Solidarity Sunday, which churches and communities throughout the nation observed in the wake of recent controversial police killings and the national dialogue that's emerged around them, organizers said.
Los Angeles Daily News

Protesters block Hollywood intersection, burn flag; four arrested
Protesters blocked a tourist-filled Hollywood intersection Saturday afternoon and burned an American flag as part of nationwide marches protesting recent police killings of unarmed black men. Four activists who were part of the crowd, three female and one male, were arrested for failing to disperse, said Sgt. Chuck Slater of the Los Angeles Police Department. Officers declared the crowd an unlawful assembly about 4:15 p.m. and ordered demonstrators to disperse.
Los Angeles Times

Immigration

Thousands Attend Immigration Forum On Obama's Reform Plan
Thousands of immigrants turned out for a forum in Downtown L.A. Sunday to learn about President Obama's immigration reform plan. The National Immigrant Integration Conference was held at the L.A. Convention Center. The Coalition For Humane Immigrant Rights of L.A. co-hosted the event, which brought together immigration experts and community organizations.
CBS2

Prisons

Inmates Who Work State Prisons Could Get Out Early
Inmates who work as janitors, cooks and groundskeepers in California's overcrowded prisons would be eligible for early release under a proposed legal settlement. The settlement was filed Friday in federal court, where judges would need to approve it before any changes take effect. The Los Angeles Times reports that an estimated 4,300 inmates who form the backbone of the prison system's menial labor force could start earning sharply reduced sentences as early as January.
CBS2