Law Enforcement

Mayor, Police Commissioner Join Mourners at Wake of Slain NYPD Officer
Thousands of mourners including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo came to a small Brooklyn funeral home under raw gray skies on Saturday to pay their respects to Officer Wenjian Liu, who was fatally shot last month along with a fellow officer.
Wall Street Journal, CBS New York

From 'Problem Officer' to President, New Police Union Leader Takes Over
Craig Lally, the incoming president of the union that represents Los Angeles police officers, has a framed newspaper article from 1992 hanging on his office wall. Far from a puff piece, the article named Lally as one of the Christopher Commissions' infamous 44 "problem officers." The commission, a blue-ribbon panel that proposed reforms following the police beating of Rodney G. King in 1991, had flagged the officers for having several allegations of misconduct against them. The list, according to the commission, was meant to illustrate "the problem of excessive force in the LAPD."
Los Angeles Times

Violent Crime in City Going up, LAPD Admits
For the first time in 12 years, crime reports taken by the Los Angeles Police Department show an increase in the statistical category labeled as violent crimes. Each of the crimes that goes into the category were up in 2014: homicide and robbery just a little, rape 12 percent higher, and aggravated assault up 24 percent, per an LA Times data analysis.
LA Observed

San Fernando Valley Sees Rise in Violent Crime and Gang Crime
Violent crime and gang-related crime both increased in the San Fernando Valley in 2014, compared to the previous year. Violent crime rose 11.3 percent and gang crime grew 8 percent in 2014 in the Valley, said LAPD Commander Jon Peters, assistant commanding officer for Valley Bureau Operations. All seven Valley police divisions reported a rise in violent crime, largely attributable to an increase in aggregated assaults, officials said. “We don't like the fact that we have an uptick and we are addressing it,” Peters said. “But we have to say, the San Fernando Valley is still a safe place to live and work.”
Los Angeles Daily News

Ezell Ford Shooting: LAPD Inspector General Frustrated by Lack of Witnesses
The LAPD's inspector general expressed frustration Friday about the dearth of witnesses coming forward in the fatal police shooting of an unarmed, mentally ill African American man Aug. 11 in South Los Angeles - an incident that's sparked angry protests and drawn comparisons to the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. “Unfortunately, we have not been able to talk or meet with any eyewitnesses that actually saw the incident occur,” LAPD Inspector General Alexander Bustamante told KPCC's Take Two show. Investigators from his office and LAPD detectives have canvassed the neighborhood numerous times and handed out fliers, he said. They've encountered nobody willing to talk about seeing the shooting of Ezell Ford, 25.
89.3 KPCC

'Gadget Guy' Helps LAPD with Silent Witnesses: Surveillance Cameras
Arnie Corlin is driving the streets of Watts, police radio blaring. Just days before, a man had been shot to death nearby in his white Pontiac. Corlin navigates narrow roads with one-story homes and drives past churches and boarded-up markets, on the hunt for the next best thing to a witness to the killing: surveillance cameras.
Los Angeles Times

Second Man Charged with Shooting at Two LAPD Officers
Prosecutors have charged a second suspect in connection with the shooting at a Los Angeles police patrol car Sunday night during an attack on a rival gang. James Brooks, 19, was arrested Wednesday in Las Vegas after an investigation led by the FBI/LAPD Fugitive Task Force, FBI spokeswoman Ari DeKofsky said. Details about his arrest were limited. LAPD spokesman Jack Richter said police had received little information about Brooks' arrest.

Los Angeles Times

Is the Gang Era in Los Angeles Ending?
Street gangs have been retreating all over Southern California, journalist Sam Quinones says in a piece for Pacific Standard posted just before the new year. Quinones used to cover the gang beat for the Los Angeles Times and is the author of two books based on his decade reporting in Mexico, "True Tales From Another Mexico" and "Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration." He calls the piece The End of Gangs and opens on Drew Street, the once notorious Glassell Park gang turf that Quinones says is remarkably cleaned up since the city cracked down there.
LA Observed

LASD Searching For Missing Bean Bag Shotgun
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies were searching for a missing bean bag shotgun that was stored in the trunk of a patrol car. Two Lost Hills sheriff's deputies originally placed the gun in a black canvas bag in the trunk of their car parked at the station in Agoura Hills at about 7:30 a.m. Saturday. They then drove to Hollywood to respond to a child abuse incident.
ABC7

In Major Cities, Murder Rates Drop Precipitously
In 1990, at the height of a decade-long crime wave that swept the nation, 2,245 people were murdered in New York City. In 2014, police investigated just 328 homicides in the five boroughs — a precipitous drop of 85 percent that's being duplicated in major cities across the country. Preliminary figures suggest 2014 will continue a decade-long trend of falling crime rates, especially in major cities once plagued by violent crime.
Washington Post

CHP: 219 DUI Arrests in Los Angeles County Since New Year's Eve
California Highway Patrol officers arrested 219 impaired drivers in Los Angeles County between New Year's Eve and this morning, up from 104 in the year-ago holiday period. Statewide, a total of 1,072 CHP drunken driving arrests were made on freeways and in unincorporated areas between 6 p.m. Wednesday and 6 this morning, compared to 457 in the comparable year-ago holiday period, according to the CHP.
Los Angeles Daily News

Woman, 39, Killed in Hit-and-Run in South Los Angeles
Police are looking for a motorist who fatally struck a 39-year-old woman early Sunday in South Los Angeles and fled the scene, authorities said. Treva Arnold was standing on Slauson Avenue near the intersection of Denker Avenue about 2:30 a.m. when an eastbound car struck her, said the watch commander at the Los Angeles Police Department's South Traffic Division. The motorist didn't stop to assist Arnold or identify himself, police said.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Report: Made in America Festival Boosted City Coffers, Economic Activity
A two-day music festival held in downtown L.A.'s Grand Park last year netted an estimated $31,000 for city coffers, according to an economic analysis of the event released this week.The Budweiser Made in America Festival produced an estimated $792,000 in revenue for the city, said the report prepared for city policy makers. It also racked up around $761,000 in city costs, much of it from police patrols, street closures and trash pickup.
Los Angeles Times

Behind-the-Scenes with L.A. County's New Sheriff
It was a small thing, but not an unnoticed one. A week before the Nov. 4 election and his chance at securing victory as the next Los Angeles County sheriff against an opponent that had virtually given up, Jim McDonnell showed up to work with campaign volunteers at a phone bank at the El Gallo Plaza in East Los Angeles.
Pasadena Star News

State Government

State Attorney General Kamala Harris Targets Crimes Against Kids
Attorney General Kamala Harris is starting her final four years as California's top law enforcement officer this week with a major initiative aimed at protecting children. She plans to announce during her swearing-in Monday that she is creating a bureau within the state Department of Justice that will focus on crimes against children. Some of its work will expand on priorities during Harris' first four years, including deterring school truancy and the trafficking of young women for sex, domestic labor or sweat shops. The bureau also will tackle what Harris says are “tragically flawed” foster care and adoption systems and fight discrimination in schools, such as bullying.
Los Angeles Daily News