Law Enforcement

Real Gun? Toy Gun? What happens When Lawyers without Law Enforcement Experience Write Gun Laws
Craig Lally, President of the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) adamantly disagrees with De Leon's logic, and said, “The LAPPL continues to oppose the implementation of a law forcing all imitation firearms to be painted bright colors. Our officers already regularly encounter fully operational firearms that have been painted these same bright colors. In order to maintain the safety of the public, our officers have to assume that any weapon, regardless of the color, is fully loaded and capable of shooting live rounds.” While it is certainly a real tragedy when any child is injured or killed because a police officer mistook a toy gun for a real gun, the burden of responsibility should not remain, solely, on officers and/or individuals who seek to defend themselves against imminent danger or death.
City Watch LA

Judge declares mistrial in case of LAPD officer charged with assault
A judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the case of an LAPD officer accused of kicking a woman in the groin during an arrest in 2012 that ended in the woman's death. Mary O'Callaghan's trial took an unexpected twist Thursday after an official in the Los Angeles Police Department's internal affairs division gave a prosecutor new information about a sergeant who witnessed the 2012 incident, said Robert Rico, O'Callaghan's attorney.
Los Angeles Times

Driver Suspected of Street Racing in Fatal Hit-and-Run Crash in Chatsworth ID'd by LAPD
Police identified a 21-year-old man as the suspected driver who lost control of a modified Ford Mustang during an illegal street race and plowed into a crowd of spectators, leaving two dead and one injured in Chatsworth early Thursday. Henry Michael Gevorgyan was being sought by Los Angeles police in connection with the crash that occurred just after 2 a.m. in the 21400 block of Plummer Street.
KTLA 5 , Los Angeles Times

Last words of transgender woman killed in South L.A. key to probe, police say
Deshawnda “Ta-Ta” Sanchez's last words were captured in a 911 call. On Dec. 3, 2014, about 4 a.m., Sanchez, a 21-year-old transgender woman, was trying to escape an attacker in the 6100 block of South Wilton Place in Chesterfield Square.
Los Angeles Times

85-Year-Old Woman Reported Missing In Koreatown
Relatives are asking for the public's help finding an 85-year-old woman suffering from dementia. Yong Han Kim was last seen around 4 p.m. Wednesday in the 3900 block of Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown, according to the LAPD
CBS Los Angeles

Victim's 911 Robbery Call Helped Catch "Vicious Killer": Police
The final phone call of a woman killed after a robbery attempt last year helped investigators piece together what happened on the night she was shot by a man police described as a "vicious killer." Robert James Spells, 30, is suspected of gunning down Deshawnda Sanchez outside a South Los Angeles residence on Dec. 3. The Inglewood resident was taken into custody at a relative's home in Los Angeles at around 4 p.m. Wednesday, Los Angeles police said.
NBC Los Angeles

Armed With Video, Man Wins $70K After Santa Monica Arrest
Sennett Devermont said the moment he saw flashing lights behind him after making an illegal right-on-red turn in Santa Monica, he started recording audio on his cellphone. "In court, it's my word against the officer's and I believe I would lose every time," he said. "So with that audio, I was able to say to the court this is really what I sounded like, this is what I said, this is what he said."
NBC Los Angeles

USC Student in Critical Condition After Driver Hits 4 Pedestrians Near Campus
A USC student was in critical condition Thursday after a car plowed into a group of four pedestrians walking near the University of Southern California campus, police said.
KTLA 5

Labor Disputes

Port Of Los Angeles Cargo Volume Down 22.7 Percent During Labor Talks
Cargo volumes at the Port of Los Angeles were down 22.7 percent in January compared with the same month last year, amid congestion at the harbor and a drawn out labor dispute between port management and dockworkers. The port moved 529,427 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units, or TEUs, of cargo last month, compared to 685,549 TEUs in January 2014. Imports alone fell 28 percent, from 360,036 TEUs to 259,206 TEUs, between last month and the same period the previous year. Exports were down 23 percent, going from 161,938 TEUs in January 2014 to 124,365 TEUs this year.
CBS Los Angeles

At L.A. oil refinery, striking workers vent about long hours and stress
Hanz Zalamea got used to leaving work grumpy and dazed, like a college student after an all-nighter. Before going on strike from the Carson portion of Tesoro Corp.'s Los Angeles oil refinery — one of 15 striking plants nationwide — he often worked several straight 12-hour graveyard shifts in the hydrocracker unit. Two months ago, amid a searing rift with City Hall, the president of the New York Police Department's sergeants union turned his back to Mayor Bill de Blasio and later called him "a total nincompoop." On Thursday, that union head, Edward Mullins, fixed a wry smile to his face and allowed a jubilant de Blasio to wrap his arm around his shoulders in celebration of the union signing a new labor contract with the administration.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Elections 2015: Candidates avoid talking about LA's real problem, its structural deficit
One thing you likely didn't hear much from candidates running for office in Los Angeles: the city's structural deficit, the shortfall between revenue and expenditures. "For the last decade, the city's structural deficit has been an albatross around the neck of the city; impeding critical investments in services, infrastructure and technology," City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana said in a report. He projects Los Angeles will be in the red through 2017-'18 — and that's provided lawmakers keep spending in check and don't cut taxes. If not, it'll take even longer to get in the black, he said.
KPCC