Law Enforcement

Skid Row man killed by LAPD was wanted, U.S. marshals say
A homeless ex-convict who was killed by Los Angeles police was wanted for violating probation in a bank robbery case, a U.S. marshal said Tuesday. The federal warrant was issued Jan. 9 for Charley Saturmin Robinet after he didn't provide monthly reports to a probation officer in November, December and January, Deputy U.S. Marshal Matthew Cordova said.
Daily News , Los Angeles Times

Skid Row Shooting Protesters March on LAPD Headquarters
Protesters gathered Tuesday morning at the site where officers shot and killed a homeless man on Skid Row, then marched to the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters for a police commission meeting attended by Chief Charlie Beck. The protests are part of the backlash after Sunday's fatal shooting of a man who had been staying in a tent in the downtown Los Angeles neighborhood. The man, who was the subject of a 911 call robbery report, tried to reach for an officer's holstered weapon during a struggle that began after he refused to comply with police commands, Chief Beck said.
NBC Los Angeles , Reuters

LAPD Shooting Update: Two Body Cameras And A Gun Malfunction
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Police Chief Charlie Beck are calling for calm and patience as three investigations are underway into the police killing of a homeless man Sunday. Police say the man "forcibly grabbed" an officer's gun before he was shot to death. Beck called the incident a tragedy that followed a "brutal, brutal fight." The police confrontation with a man known as Afrika was filmed by at least two eyewitnesses. A dramatic video sparked criticism of the police, as it showed several officers attempting to hold him down before shots rang out.
NPR

Deadly Skid Row Shooting: Here's Why The LAPD Did Nothing Wrong
The LAPD police shooting of a homeless man on Los Angeles' Skid Row has reignited the national debate over police excessive force. But Tom is asking … why? From Eric Garner in New York to Michael Brown in Ferguson, there have been a lot of high profile shootings in the past year. And Tom, who is a former cop, found SOME of the cases troubling and understood why the issue of police excessive force became such a big concern in some communities. However, Tom explains the cade of Charley Saturmin Robinet in Los Angeles is NOT one of those disturbing or even gray examples of police brutality. Tom says this is clear: the police acted appropriately when they shot and killed Robinet.
Fox News

Use Of Force Expert Explains LAPD Shooting of Gun-Grabbing Homeless Man
We're finding out more and more information about the shooting of a homeless man by LAPD officers that we covered earlier this week. It turns out that the man that rabidly anti-police “social justice” activists have attempted to portray as victim of police brutality was in fact an illegal alien and violent felon who had only gotten out of prison within the past year after having spent 14 years in prison for bank robbery.
Bearing Arms

Sheriff's motorcycle deputy injured in Norwalk crash
A Los Angeles County sheriff's motorcycle deputy was transported to a local hospital by ambulance following a crash in Norwalk Tuesday. The crash occurred near Pioneer Boulevard and Rosecrans Avenue. The deputy's condition remains unknown. He was transported to UCI Medical Center in Orange.
ABC 7

Murder Charge Filed in Cold-Case Killing of Brenda Sierra, Kidnapped in East L.A. in 2002
Investigators announced an arrest Tuesday in the cold-case killing of 15-year-old Brenda Sierra, more than 12 years after her body was found in the San Bernardino Mountains. Sierra disappeared in October 2002, when she was walking to a friend's house on the way to school in East Los Angeles. She was taken to a home several blocks away, where she was sexually assaulted, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. She was then bludgeoned to death at another home several miles away.
KTLA 5

L.A. County acts to curb child sex trafficking in some motels
Looking for an additional weapon in their continuing battle against the peddling of teens and children for sex, Los Angeles County supervisors moved Tuesday to more tightly regulate emergency shelter motels to ensure they aren't sites for child prostitution. On a motion by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, the board directed county officials to develop agreements with motels that get money from the county to provide short-term housing for the destitute.
Los Angeles Times

Woman Shot While Parking in East Hollywood: LAPD
A female driver was shot while trying to park her car early Tuesday morning in East Hollywood, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The woman and two passengers were in the car in the area of North Vermont Avenue and Melrose Avenue, near Los Angeles City College, when the shooter walked up to the car and fired an unknown amount of shots into the vehicle, according to LAPD Sgt. Herb Chang.
KTLA 5

Man charged in deaths of two spectators at illegal race in Chatsworth
21-year-old man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to killing two people and injuring a third person with his car during an illegal street race in Chatsworth last week. Henry Michael Gevorgyan was charged with two counts of murder and one count of engaging in a vehicle speed contest on a highway -- an action that also caused a concussion, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. His next hearing is set for March 11.
Los Angeles Times

2 Suspected Gunmen in custody after search for gunman near USC campus
Two men were taken into custody after Los Angeles police set up a search perimeter north of the USC campus in search of a gunman. Around 6:30 p.m., authorities responded to a call regarding an armed man near a Ralph's supermarket in the 2600 block of Vermont Avenue.
ABC 7

Elections

Voter turnout low for LA elections
Tuesday was Election Day in Los Angeles, and most voters were expected to stay away from the polls. Voter turnout is traditionally low in odd-numbered years because there are no national or statewide races.
ABC 7

Early returns put L.A. council incumbents ahead, voting measures lead
The only mystery remaining late Tuesday in Los Angeles' City Council election was which two of several tightly bunched contenders would land in the May 19 runoff to succeed termed-out Councilman Tom LaBonge. Narrowly leading the 14-candidate field was LaBonge aide Carolyn Ramsay, followed closely by community health director David Ryu, with slightly more than 80% of the votes counted in unofficial returns.
Los Angeles Times , Los Angeles Times