Law Enforcement

Father of Fugitive Ex-LAPD Officer Charged After Allegedly Walking His Son Into Mexico
An FBI agent's affidavit filed last week said Victor Manuel Solis drove his 27-year-old son Henry Solis, who is wanted in the March 13 fatal shooting of an Ontario man, to El Paso. New court documents charging the elder Solis allege the father actually took his son from El Paso into Mexico on foot, and then lied to federal agents about it. The younger Solis is suspected of killing 23-year-old Salome Rodriguez Jr. after a fight near a downtown Pomona nightclub. An arrest warrant was issued for Solis on suspicion of murder, and the FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
KTLA 5

A shift in gang tactics means drive-bys are giving way to walk-ups, observers say
Ricardo Nunez was trimming a tree outside his Echo Park home on a Sunday morning last month when a white truck pulled up and a person inside opened fire, killing the 35-year-old father. Ray Martinez, the LAPD detective investigating the case, is seeing fewer such fatal drive-by shootings. When Martinez goes behind the yellow tape, he's more commonly working on cases where a gunman has walked straight up to the victim — a walk-up shooting. As gang culture has become less overt, the killings have become more targeted — and at the same time more chilling. "They get to see the whole reaction," Martinez said. "It seems more daring."
Los Angeles Times

Man Armed With Knife Dies After Police Open Fire in Wilmington, LAPD Says
A man armed with a knife died Thursday morning after Los Angeles police opened fire during a confrontation in Wilmington, officials said. Officers responded about 9:20 a.m. to a call about a disorderly man in the 1500 block of Bay View Avenue (map), said Jane Kim, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department.
KTLA 5

Workers' comp audit: City calls for changes to LAPD, LAFD exercise programs, protocol
The City of Los Angeles is calling for a review of LAPD and LAFD protocol and exercise programs after a pair of audits of the city's police and fire departments' workers' comp claims found the costs have jumped 35 percent in five years.
KPCC

$50,000 Reward Offered in University Park Hit-and-Run That Left 87-Year-Old Woman Critically Injured
Relatives of the victim, identified as Barbara Summerfield, joined City Councilman Curren Price and LAPD officials at a news conference near the crash site. The victim remains unable to breathe on her own — in critical condition and on a respirator. She has a head injury and several broken bones and ribs, family members said.
KTLA 5

San Fernando Valley shooting spree suspect now charged in 5 slayings
A man who allegedly went on a shooting spree that left four people dead in the San Fernando Valley last summer was charged today with other crimes, including the shooting death of a man on the Foothill (210) Freeway in Sylmar a year ago. Alexander Hernandez, 34, of Sylmar, pleaded not guilty to a murder charge stemming from the killing of Sergio Sanchez, who was driving home from work when he was shot about 1 a.m. March 14, 2014, near the Roxford Street off-ramp.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAX police union says officers should be close to TSA checkpoints after Minnesota incident with Sarah Jane Olson
Reacting to reports that Transportation Safety Administration agents allowed a former Symbionese Liberation Army member to move quickly through a precheck area at a Minnesota airport, the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers' Association said Thursday that sworn police officers should stand within 300 feet of every checkpoint and TSA agents should remain unarmed. The association said the incident raises “significant concerns regarding security at screening checkpoints throughout the country."
Daily Breeze

1 in 3 L.A. County youth offenders is re-arrested within year, study finds
It took $400,000 and nearly four years of work to uncover, but experts now know a basic fact about Los Angeles County's juvenile delinquency system: One-third of probationers are re-arrested within a year of their release. “The county has the biggest child prisons in the country and they couldn't tell you if the kids got fixed,” said Connie Rice, the civil rights attorney who leads the Advancement Project, the nonprofit that funded the study.
Los Angeles Times

Body cameras keep San Diego police from using as much ‘personal body' force
Preliminary data gathered by officials in San Diego shows that the use of body cameras by officers is having a positive effect on community relations after the police department implemented its program last year. Since the body camera program's inception in January 2014, complaints against officers fell 40.5 percent, officer “personal body” use of force fell 46.5 percent and incidents of pepper spray use dropped 30.5 percent, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Guns.com

State Government

Federal Appeals Court To Reconsider California Gun Ruling
A federal appeals court agreed Thursday to reconsider its decision to strike down a California law that requires applicants for a concealed-weapons permit to show “good cause” beyond self-defense. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said an expanded 11-judge panel of the court will reconsider the February 2014 decision.
CBS Los Angeles

California loosens Jessica's Law rules on where sex offenders can live
California officials announced Thursday that the state would stop enforcing a key provision of a voter-approved law that prohibits all registered sex offenders from living near schools.The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said it would no longer impose the blanket restrictions outlined in Jessica's Law that forbids all sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park, regardless of whether their crimes involved children.
Los Angeles Times