Law Enforcement

Emotional Memorial Held In Downtown LA To Honor Fallen LAPD Officers
Hundreds of people gathered at a memorial ceremony on Thursday to pay tribute to LAPD officers killed in the line of duty. The annual memorial currently in its 25th year was held in downtown Los Angeles and was attended by city officials, community members, and loved ones who wore a photograph of the fallen on their chest.
CBS Los Angeles, Los Angeles Times

LAPD chief concerned if officer's fatal shooting unarmed man was 'justified'
The fatal shooting of an unarmed man this week by Los Angeles police is drawing controversy after the police chief quickly questioned whether the killing was justified. "Any time an unarmed person is shot by a Los Angeles police officer, it takes extraordinary circumstances to justify that, and I have not seen those extraordinary circumstances at this point," Police Chief Charlie Beck said Wednesday.
CNN, KTLA 5

LAPD looking for missing elderly man
Authorities have issued a silver alert for a missing person. Gilbert Lee Durham was last seen on May 2 at 11 a.m. at his home in Los Angeles. He drove away in a light blue Nissan Frontier and has a license plate number 7V53025, according to CHP. They say he suffers from a medical condition and may become disoriented.
KernGoldenEmpire.com

2 Encino Homes Burglarized Just Weeks Apart
Authorities are trying to stop a crime spree after they say two homes in an Encino neighborhood were burglarized while the residents were inside. “I'm frightened. I can't believe it's in this neighborhood,” said CeCe Stein, a neighbor, of the latest burglary.
CBS Los Angeles

LA cops need not disclose license plate reader data, says appeals court
Two legal activist groups have lost their appeal in a public records lawsuit filed against the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department regarding license plate reader (LPR) data. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) had sued those law enforcement agencies to gain access to one week's worth of LPR data as a way to better understand this surveillance technology.
Ars Technica

Be On Lookout: Wanted for Murder In Canyon Country
Deputies are searching for Michael Joe McGlothan, a 51-year-old African American man, who is considered to be armed and dangerous. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide detectives are continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting death of a man in the 27500 block of Sierra Highway, Santa Clarita.
SCVNews.com

Sheriffs join national drive to divert mentally ill offenders from local jails
Officials from around California announced Thursday that they will join in a national initiative seeking to reduce the number of mentally ill inmates in local jails. "You will not find a sheriff in this state or this nation who is not struggling with the growing number of people who are mentally ill in our jails," Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said at a kickoff event for the initiative in Sacramento.
Los Angeles Times

3,000 cases possibly affected by S.F. police texting, D.A. says
Prosecutors here are expanding an investigation into criminal cases that might have been compromised by revelations of police officers' racist, sexist and homophobic texts, Dist. Atty. George Gascon announced Thursday. Gascon's probe has so far identified 3,000 criminal cases that could have been affected by perceived bias by 14 officers. Investigators in a task force he created are combing through each case to determine whether some convictions must be overturned or pending cases dismissed.
Los Angeles Times , New York Times

State Government

State Senate OKs bill barring grand juries in police deadly force cases
The state Senate on Thursday approved a measure that would prohibit grand juries from weighing in on cases of deadly shootings or excessive force by police. Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) said her bill aims to "increase confidence of Californians in the judicial process," adding the current process is "a non-transparent process that is really antiquated and it calls into question whether the grand jury system is relevant anymore."
Los Angeles Times

Public Safety

Pasadena firefighters return from Nepal after earthquake relief trip
In the wake of last month's devastating 7.8 earthquake in Nepal, three Pasadena firefighters traveled to the region to aid in rescue and recovery efforts in villages farther away from the nation's capital. It was Fire Engineer Dave Marquez's fifth deployment with Reach Out Worldwide, a nonprofit relief organization founded by the late Paul Walker, and the most effective one he's been on thus far, he said Thursday.
Los Angeles Daily News