Law Enforcement

LAPD Pursue Stolen Vehicle on Surface Streets in South Los Angeles Area
Police chased a stolen vehicle through surface streets in South Los Angeles early Wednesday afternoon, quickly arresting a driver. The vehicle was stolen and 77th Division units were in pursuit, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Jack Richter said about 12:30 p.m. He was not certain when the chase began.
KTLA

LAPD cop says he thought unarmed suspect reached for a gun in 2010 fatal shooting
A Los Angeles police officer who alleges he was wrongly disciplined after he fatally shot an unarmed man testified Wednesday he thought the man was reaching for a gun in his waistband. “It looked like he was arming himself,” Officer Allan Corrales told a Los Angeles Superior Court jury while recounting the shooting of 27-year-old Steven Eugene Washington. “It kind of made the back of my hair stand.”
mynewsLA.com

Stolen car hits LAFD truck, 1 dead, 1 injured, firefighters hurt
One suspect was killed and another was critically injured when their stolen vehicle struck a Los Angeles Fire Department truck in Florence during a high-speed chase, police said. Two firefighters also suffered minor injuries, Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department said. Engine 233, attached to Station 33 in South Los Angeles, was arriving on a medical call when its front end was struck in the 100 block of East 84th Street at 9:17 p.m. Wednesday, Humphrey said. The chase began with gang officers from the LAPD's Southeast Division responding to a call of shots fired in the 500 block of Colden Avenue, said LAPD Officer Jack Richter. Someone was wounded in that shooting. The officers saw a black van that had been reported as stolen leaving the scene at high speed and gave chase, Richter said.
MynewsLA.com

Ferguson police chief resigns, says it's 'hard pill to swallow'
Embattled Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson resigned Wednesday, a week after a scathing Justice Department report slammed his department. Jackson and the city "have agreed to a mutual separation," Ferguson officials announced. "It's a really hard pill to swallow," Jackson said in a text message responding to CNN's request for comment.
CNN

Sketch released of suspect in Cal State San Bernardino attacks on women
After a string of violent attacks at Cal State San Bernardino and the mysterious disappearance of a woman just off campus, freshman Stephanie Garibo decided pepper spray just wasn't enough. Standing with a group of female students outside the student union Wednesday, Garibo displayed the new combination flashlight-Taser she starting carrying the day after 22-year-old Sahray Astina Barber went missing.
Los Angeles Times

Police search for female carjacker after four O.C. attacks
Police are searching for a woman who wielded a knife in at least two carjackings in Orange County on Monday night.The woman may be responsible for two carjackings and the attempted thefts of two other vehicles in Costa Mesa, Irvine and Tustin, police said Tuesday. The crimes all occurred within the space of about an hour. Of the motorists in the four incidents, one was hurt and suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
Los Angeles Times

Samurai sword-wielding man dies in 'suicide by cop' in Ontario
A man who was shot to death by police in Ontario after approaching them with a samurai-style sword died in a case of “suicide by cop,” officials said Wednesday. The man, whose identity was not being released until his next of kin were notified, had called Ontario police before the confrontation Tuesday night and said that “he wanted to die, he had a gun, he was going to shoot,” said Ontario police Sgt. Jeff Higbee.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

LAUSD Approves Sending Layoff Recommendations
The Los Angeles Unified School District board approved a recommendation Tuesday that will authorize sending layoff warning notices to 609 employees by March 15. The decision comes in the wake of a report indicating the school district is facing a nearly $160 million deficit.
NBC Los Angeles

State Government

Exclusive: California pension reform measure to target Calpers
A ballot measure campaign to cut California's public pensions will be launched in May by a coalition of politicians and business people led by former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, with the state's largest retirement system a prime target.The measure would take aim at California's $300 billion giant Calpers, which has a near-iron grip on the state's pensions. Calpers, America's largest public pension fund and administrator of pensions for more than 3,000 state and local agencies, has long argued that pensions cannot be touched or renegotiated, even in bankruptcy.
Reuters