Law Enforcement

Los Angeles Police Department Fights Violent Crime
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department are faced every day with situations that can become violent. In the past few days, officers faced four violent incidents here is a brief synopsis of those incidents. On March 3, 2015 around, 5:50 a.m., 77th Area officers observed a group of males, one of which was covering his face in the area of 71st Street and Denker Avenue. The officers attempted to make contact with the individuals, at which time at least one of the males in the group fired at the officers. The officers were unable to return fire and called other units for back up. Officers set up a perimeter and all suspects were detained without incident. This is an ongoing investigation.
The Public Slate

Coroner officially releases identity of homeless man killed by LAPD
Croner's officials on Thursday released the identity of a homeless man who was shot and killed by Los Angeles police officers Sunday on skid row. Charley Leundeu Keunang, 43, had been living under a stolen identity belonging to a French man, said Ed Winter, spokesman of the Los Angeles County coroner's office. Authorities believed he was a Cameroonian. But Coroner's investigators finally obtained his true identity from federal investigators and were able to track down his family, who are living on the East Coast, he said. They positively identified him.
Los Angeles Times

Help Needed To Identify Suspects In Venice Strong-Arm Robbery
The public's help is needed to identify two men suspected in an attempted strong-arm robbery at a Venice gas station. The attempted robbery happened on Feb. 28 at about 7:55 p.m., when the two men approached the victims, who were standing at an ATM near a Chevron gas station in the 200 block of Lincoln Boulevard.
CBS Los Angeles

Another woman found murdered in upscale L.A. neighborhood
The body of 41-year-old Najat Pennell was discovered on a bus bench on the northeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Norton Avenue, police said. That means the find happened just inside the southeast boundaries of Windsor Square. That's only two blocks from the mayor's house, which is often manned by cops. Coroner's investigators determined Pennell had been fatally stabbed. According to cops, paramedics who responded to the death investigation believe Pennell had been dead for "hours" before she was discovered along one of America's busiest boulevards, which leads into a Koreatown that bustles almost 24 hours a day.
Los Angeles Weekly

Woman found shot to death in San Gabriel; 13-year-old son injured
Investigators Thursday were searching for the brother of a woman in her 30s who was found shot to death in a San Gabriel area home where a 13-year-old boy believed to be the woman's son was found suffering from minor injuries. Deputies responded about 6:40 a.m. to a shots fired call in the 5100 block of Rosemead Boulevard and found the woman suffering from a single gunshot wound, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
mynewsLA.com

Police: Man Uses Fake $100 To Buy Girl Scout Cookies
Police Friday were looking for a man accused of using a phony $100 bill to buy Girl Scout cookies. The suspect initially tried to buy detergent with the funny money at a Vons, located in the 1100 block of Fair Oaks Avenue in South Pasadena, on Feb. 27, police said. An employee recognized the bill as counterfeit and the man left. On his way out of the store, the suspect bought three boxes of cookies from Girl Scouts outside the market with the same bill and received more than $80 in change. A “Girl Scout leader later discovered that the bill was counterfeit,” said authorities. The suspect is described as an 18-year-old man, about 5 feet 6 inches tall and 130 pounds. He was wearing jeans, dark shoes and a white hooded sweatshirt. Anyone with information should contact South Pasadena police at (626)403-7280.
CBS Los Angeles

Police cameras no substitute for good relations
Police badge cams, those small, portable video recorders, are the latest tool being deployed by police departments around the U.S. to improve crime-fighting and community trust. They are valuable, but limited, tools for building safer neighborhoods, and more is needed to foster a positive relationship between police and the public.
Star-Telegram

How to Rebuild the Ferguson Police Department
At the end of the U.S. Department of Justice's report into widespread police misconduct in Ferguson, Mo.,are a series of recommended reforms so extensive that it's as if the law enforcement agency would be best served by tearing the whole thing down and starting from scratch.
Time

Philadelphia police officer shot and killed during attempted robbery
A Philadelphia police officer was shot and killed Thursday during a gun battle with two assailants during a robbery attempt, officials said. Officer Robert Wilson was in uniform inside a video game store around 4:30 p.m. when two men entered and "announced a robbery," according to Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.
Los Angeles Times

Sheriff's Deputies To Undergo Training To Handle Photographers In Public Places
Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies will undergo training for interacting with photographers or members of the public who are taking photos in public places as part of a court settlement. The settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California (ACLU) was approved Wednesday by the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors in a case involving three photographers who were detained by L.A. County Sheriff's deputies while shooting photos in public places.
CBS Los Angeles

State Government

CA drones bill would give police broad power
Eager to fight more crime from the sky, a law enforcement group has sponsored a bipartisan bill that would give police broad freedom to use drones in California, but privacy advocates say the legislation could open the door to mass government surveillance.
UTSanDiego.com