Law Enforcement

Police Make Arrest in "Devastating" Da Vinci Fire in Downtown LA
Police have made an arrest in the "devastating" downtown Los Angeles blaze that torched an under-construction apartment complex, officials confirmed on Wednesday. The fire destroyed the seven-story Da Vinci Apartments complex at 900 West Temple Street in December 2014, covering some 180,000 square feet. Flames billowed into the air, making smoke visible for miles and radiating enough heat to shatter the windows of nearby office towers.
NBC Los Angeles

LAPD Investigating Fatal Hit-And-Run In Cahuenga Pass
Police are investigating a deadly hit-and-run accident in the Cahuenga Pass. The two-car collision on Barham and Cahuenga was reported around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. The driver of one vehicle was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
CBS Los Angeles

Suspect Accused Of Raping Woman At Home While Wielding Machete Arrested
Authorities have arrested a man accused of breaking into a woman's Boyle Heights home and raping her while armed with a machete. The suspect allegedly broke in through the woman's living room window around 12:30 a.m. on May 15. He stripped down to his underwear and went into her bedroom. She was woken up by the noise at the foot of her bed, and then he raped her, the victim told LAPD.
LAist , Los Angeles Times

Driver Sought in Chain-Reaction Crash That Left Woman Pinned Against Wall in Downtown L.A.
Police were searching for a female driver involved in a chain-reaction collision that left a woman pinned against the wall and severely injured in a downtown Los Angeles parking lot Wednesday morning, authorities said. At around 5:15 a.m., several people were in a parking lot adjacent to 1501 East Washington Boulevard (map) — the location of a gentleman's club called Sam's After Dark — when a Jeep quickly backed up and hit a Mercedes-Benz, which in turn pinned a female from the group against the wall, according to Sgt. Kevin Custard of the Los Angeles Police Department's Central Traffic Division.
KTLA 5

5 LASD Deputies Praised For Bravery In Topanga Standoff With Mentally Ill Woman
Leaders of Cleveland's police unions and an organization representing black officers were A 22-hour standoff between Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and an armed 74-year-old woman in the middle of a mental health crisis at a Topanga mobile home park ended peacefully due to the bravery of five deputies, her family says. The woman pointed her gun at paramedics, a neighbor, deputies and even opened fire five times during the standoff that began May 21, after she called rescuers for a medical emergency at Woodland Park Mobile Estates.
ABC 7

City Government

$8.6-billion Los Angeles budget adds 270 firefighters, 7,000 LAPD body cameras and more
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Wednesday signed an $8.6-billion budget for 2015-16, calling it the result of an “unprecedented collaboration” between the City Council and the mayor's office. The Los Angeles City Council last week adopted the spending plan, which takes a step toward restoring the ranks of city firefighters depleted through a five-year hiring freeze.
Los Angeles Daily News

L.A. mayor: Minimum wage exemption for unionized firms needs study
The path toward passage of Los Angeles' landmark minimum wage increase took a rocky detour Wednesday, as business and elected officials reacted harshly to a last-minute push by labor leaders to create an exemption for companies with unionized workforces. Union officials have been among the most ardent backers of the plan approved by the L.A. City Council last week to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. But some labor leaders who opposed loopholes for small businesses and restaurants now argue that unionized companies should have leeway to negotiate lower pay rates with their employees.
Los Angeles Times

State Government

Kamala Harris disagrees with statewide police body-camera regulations
Joining fellow law enforcement officials Wednesday, California Attorney General Kamala Harris said she doesn't believe there should be statewide standards regulating the use of body-worn cameras by police officers. “I as a general matter believe that we should invest in the ability of law enforcement leaders in specific regions and with their departments to use ... discretion to figure out what technology they are going to adopt based on needs that they have and resources that they have,” Harris told reporters in Sacramento.
The Sacramento Bee