Law Enforcement

LAPD Requests Assistance To Replace Boy's Orthopedic Leg Braces Stolen In Car Burglary
Los Angeles Police Department personnel are mobilizing to replace a 9-year-old boy's leg braces, which were stolen from his mother's vehicle in the South Los Angeles area. Police say Analilia Ramirez discovered several items missing from her car, including the battery and miscellaneous tools worth more than $250, missing from her car, LAPD Officer Jack Richter. The most important item, however, that had been stolen were her 9-year-old son's expensive orthopedic leg braces. Geovanni was born with cerebral palsy, and without his leg braces, he is confined to a wheelchair.
CBS Los Angeles

Police need more leeway to explain disciplinary decisions, LAPD chief says
Police departments should have "greater leeway" for disclosing the disciplinary measures meted out against officers, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said Wednesday. The chief was responding to questions related to the confidentiality rules that have left the public in the dark about what discipline will be meted out to the officers involved in the fatal shooting of Ezell Ford, the unarmed black man whose story has echoed many others in recent years amid a growing movement nationwide to highlight and combat excessive use of force by police.
KPCC

L.A. Mayor Garcetti must find his voice on police shooting
Eric Garcetti had a heart-to-heart talk with Ezell Ford's mother about the South Los Angeles man's death in a police shooting. Now the mayor needs a heart-to-heart with the rest of L.A.'s 3.8 million residents. Garcetti has been fairly criticized by protesters for saying too little publicly about the shooting and L.A. Police Department leaders' responses, which found the civilian police commission and Chief Charlie Beck at odds over whether the two officers acted wrongly in the Aug. 11, 2014 encounter on a street in the Florence area.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD Arrests Wanted Gang Member After Brief Chase Around Atwater Village
A driver wanted in a gang-related killing who drove himself to an LAPD station in a red Ford Mustang convertible where he surrendered after a short pursuit has been identified. Fernando Duarte, 36, was booked into the Los Angeles County Jail on Sunday after driving a red Ford Mustang to the Los Angeles Police Department's Harbor Division in San Pedro. His bail was set at $1 million.
CBS Los Angeles , ABC 7

Police warn of catalytic converter thefts south of Sunset Boulevard
The LAPD Rampart Division is advising vehicle owners across the southern section of Silver Lake and East Hollywood to watch out for catalytic converter thieves. Catalytic converters contain platinum and other precious metals, making them an attractive target for thieves. Many of the converters have been stolen from Honda Elements, which sit high, making it easier to get underneath and saw off the converter, police have said. Some vehicle owners have turned to installing converter protectors – or “cat clamps” – that act like a metal cage around the catalytic converters to discourage thieves. But some owners have been told that thieves just cut right through the clamps with bolt cutters.
The Eastsider

Police Search For Violent Serial Robber, Release Images Of Suspect And Vehicle
Police detained a man as they search for a violent serial robber responsible for several crimes, including a shooting at a Big Lots store on Tuesday. Police had earlier released images of the suspect and his vehicle, hoping the public might be able to turn in a helpful tip. The suspect is responsible for several violent robberies over the past three days, including two shootings. The most recent shooting and robbery occurred on Wednesday at an Arco gas station, where the suspect robbed and shot the store clerk.
CBS Los Angeles

Man, 31, charged with trying to kill 2 Long Beach police officers
Prosecutors Wednesday charged a 31-year-old man with trying to kill two Long Beach police officers in a shootout at an apartment complex. Eric Arroyo faces two felony counts of attempting to murder a police officer and two felony counts of assaulting a police officer with a firearm in connection with Sunday's shootout in the 300 block of East Artesia Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. The charges come one day after investigators said that the bullet that wounded one of the officers originated from the weapon of another officer who was aiming for Arroyo, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
Los Angeles Times

Ex-deputy: L.A. County sheriff's deputies beat jail visitor, then lied
Pantamitr Zunggeemoge said he stuck to the script. After he and other Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies beat a handcuffed man in a jail visitors' center, he said, they huddled with their sergeant, who came up with a plan. Each of them would claim the man had attacked when one of his hands was uncuffed for fingerprinting. On Wednesday, Zunggeemoge told a downtown federal jury that he and the other deputies had used excessive force on the jail visitor and then fabricated reports and testimony to justify the beating.
Los Angeles Times

$20K Reward Offered to Catch Killer of Rising Soccer Star
A $20,000 reward was announced Wednesday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the gunman who fatally shot a 19-year-old rising soccer star in Compton last year. City officials made the announcement during a press conference attended by family members of the victim. "My brother was a good person, he didn't deserve to do this... he had a good mind, good personality, no bad habits, you know he was a soccer player," Wilmer Medina said. "He had good achievements to complete; unfortunately, thanks to one person he never made it.
NBC Los Angeles

State Government

California budget bill proposes body cameras for CHP
The California Highway Patrol would be required to plan for implementing a body camera pilot program by Jan. 1 under legislation moving through the budget process at the Capitol. The measure, contained in a budget-related trailer bill, would require the CHP to consider minimum specifications for cameras and rules for sharing data recorded on cameras. The Brown administration estimates the cost at $1 million. The measure is part of a package of bills lawmakers are expected to approve before the July 1 start of the next budget year. Body cameras have gained increasing attention and have been adopted by many agencies around the country following deaths resulting from confrontations between police and unarmed black men.
The Sacramento Bee