Law Enforcement

Man Steals Guns, Ammunition During 2 Residential Burglaries in Westchester: LAPD
Police asked for the public's help Thursday after a man stole guns and ammunition during two residential burglaries in the Westchester area, according to LAPD officials. Officers first responded to an activated burglary alarm at a residence in the 8500 block of Flight Avenue (map) around 2:55 p.m. Monday, the Los Angeles Police Department stated in a news release.
KTLA 5

Police chase in Century City ends in crash; 4 people injured
A stolen car being sought by police crashed into another car in the Century City area Thursday and left four people hospitalized and a major street blocked, snarling traffic around the bustling shopping and business area. The crash, involving a stolen red Honda Accord and black Mercedes-Benz, occurred shortly after 5 a.m. near the 10100 block of Santa Monica Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
mynewsLA.com

L.A. SWAT officer violated policy in use of Taser, police panel says
Los Angeles police SWAT officer violated department policies last year when he used a Taser on a mentally ill homeless man standing on a downtown rooftop who then fell to his death, the LAPD's civilian overseers recently concluded. The Police Commission voted 3 to 1 in support of Chief Charlie Beck's conclusion that a veteran officer's tactics "substantially and unjustifiably deviated" from his training, according to records obtained by The Times. The officer said he had fired the electric stun gun to prevent Carlos Ocana from climbing a ladder back up a rooftop billboard. And, he told department investigators, he thought the man would fall in a way that would not hurt him. Instead, the 56-year-old fell to his death.
Los Angeles Times

Woodland Hills/Calabasas standoff with gun-toting woman ends after 22 hours
A marathon standoff between sheriff's deputies and an armed woman in her 70s at a Calabasas-area mobile home park ended peacefully early today, authorities said. The standoff ended around 3:30 a.m., 22 hours after it began, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Trina Schrader. She added that the suspect has been hospitalized for unspecified medical treatment.
Los Angeles Daily News

Santa Monica Art Student, 21, Reported Missing
Friends and family are asking for the public's help to a locate a 21-year-old woman who was last seen in Carson on Sunday. Alexis Groomes attends The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles, which is located in Santa Monica, but she didn't show up for classes this week. "For her to be gone this many days without contacting me or anyone in the family is very unusual," said Groomes' mother, Wendy, who flew in from Washington, D.C. "This is not like her."
ABC 7

$10K Reward Offered in Serial Robber Case
A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a serial robber in Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced Thursday. Spanning over the course of a year, 11 stores were robbed in Paramount, Lakewood, Bell Gardens and Norwalk, according to a news release.
NBC Los Angeles

City Government

Los Angeles City Council boosts fire funding, community programs in $8.6 billion budget
The Los Angeles City Council tentatively adopted an $8.6 billion spending plan Thursday that adds $11.35 million in public safety funding to Mayor Eric Garcetti's original budget proposal for the coming year. The council voted unanimously in favor of the revise for 2015-16 fiscal year, beginning July 1, that takes a small step toward restoring the ranks of city firefighters after it was depleted through a five-year hiring freeze.
Daily Breeze

Going bold in Los Angeles: A city-wide, $15 minimum wage by 2020
As is now pretty widely known, the city council of Los Angeles has voted near-unanimously in support of a gradual increase in the city minimum wage, from $9 today to $15 in 2020 (in 2021 for small businesses; thereafter, indexed to inflation; figure above shows phase in). It's a move that's being praised and celebrated in many corners, and predictably, pilloried in others.
The Washington Post