Law Enforcement

Former LAPD Officer Who Killed Shares Lessons On Deadly Force
Deadly force by police has made headlines from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore. Just this month, a Los Angeles police officer was found “unjustified” in shooting and killing a 25-year-old mentally ill man. Across the country, most officers are exonerated. But more and more people are calling for strategies to make such incidents less common, notably through improved police training. For Klinger, it has long been a very personal issue — one that led a young cop who entered the “kill zone,” as officers call it, to become a researcher seeking to understand the dynamics of confrontation. In doing so, he hopes to be a voice of reason in an emotional national debate, and an advocate for change.
CBS Los Angeles

Family of slain LAPD officer in limbo as killer languishes on death row 30 years
Raynard Cummings and Kenneth Gay were convicted of first-degree murder for fatally shooting Los Angeles police motorcycle Officer Paul Verna six times during a traffic stop in Lake View Terrace in June 1983. The parolees, who authorities said were trying to avoid arrest for a series of violent robberies in the San Fernando Valley, were sentenced to death in 1985. Gay's death verdict was overturned for a second time in 2008.Verna's parents — now in their 90s — will probably never see resolution of his killers' cases, Jackson notes.
Los Angeles Daily News

L.A. council members look to tighten gun safety measures
Los Angeles lawmakers have been mulling new rules that would require residents to lock up their handguns or disable them with a trigger lock when they are not being used. But the plan, championed by Councilman Paul Krekorian as a way to spare children from deadly accidents, has spurred unexpected opposition from the city police officers' union, which argues that retired officers shouldn't be held to those rules. The proposed rules would exempt active-duty and reserve officers, but the Los Angeles Police Protective League says retired officers should be excluded as well, warning of possible dangers to former officers and their families.
Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions selling controversial gun holding
One of Los Angeles' pension funds is dropping its holding in Remington Outdoor, the gun manufacturer whose rifle was used in the 2012 Newtown, Conn., elementary school massacre. Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions is selling the high-profile holding for financial, not ethical, reasons, LAFPP general manager Ray Ciranna said, noting the investment is worth about $50,000, and the company isn't performing to the fund's liking.
Long Beach Press Telegram

Small Dent Made in L.A.'s Hit-and-Run ‘Epidemic'
Thanks to a witness' tip, the LAPD apprehended a driver who slammed into a 33-year-old cyclist early Friday, dragged him 400 feet, and then drove off and left him to die. The driver, a 21-year-old man who was drunk when he was arrested, was traveling more than 80 m.p.h. on Figueroa Street. The L.A. Times looked into accident data for this stretch of Figueroa and the numbers are staggering: between 2002 and 2012, there were 68 collisions between cars and bikes, just between York Boulevard and Avenue 26; 153 accidents occurred between cars and pedestrians, with nine people dying.
Los Angeles Magazine

Public's Help Sought In Search For Fairfax District Burglary Suspects
Police are seeking the public's help in their search for two burglary suspects caught targeting an apartment building in the Fairfax District last month. LAPD officers say surveillance video shows a male and female suspect breaking into an apartment building on Wetherly Drive near Doheny Drive and going through the mailboxes around 3 a.m. May 11. The suspects are then seen going into the building's garage and breaking into unlocked vehicles, investigators say.
CBS Los Angeles

Gang Used Homeboy Industries As A Cover, Feds Say
Homeboy Industries, a nonprofit that works to help former gang members move on with their lives, was allegedly used by some of their clients to hide illegal activity associated with the Mexican mafia. An indictment released last Thursday said that the Mexican Mafia had united three rival Northeast Los Angeles gangs, the L.A. Times reports. The three gangs are known as Frogtown, the Rascals and Toonerville, and they control areas in Atwater Village, Glendale and Northeast L.A. Authorities say members of the new gang conglomerate likened itself to a "New World Order" or the United Nations, and that the gang worked to control the local drug trade and sometimes arranged for enemies to be killed or punished.
LAist

CHP Opposes Gatto's Yellow Alert for Hit-and-Run Legislation
Earlier this week, news slowly leaked out that the California Highway Patrol (CHP) was opposing Assembly Bill 8, legislation by Asm. Mike Gatto that would create a “yellow alert” system after deadly hit-and-run crashes. The system would use electronic road signs and the emergency alert system to notify people when a deadly hit-and-run crash occurred to help apprehend suspects. A similar system has proven effective in Colorado. The California Highway Patrol gives three reasons for its opposition.
Streets Blog California

Bakersfield police officer dies after crash during pursuit
A Bakersfield police officer died early Friday after he crashed into a wall during a vehicle pursuit, officials said. Two other officers reached Officer David Nelson, 26, in his burning police cruiser about 2:40 a.m. and pulled him from the wreckage just before flames spread to the passenger compartment, according to Bakersfield police Sgt. Joe Grubbs. He was taken to Kern Medical Center, where he died.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

David Ryu Becomes 1st Korean-American To Be Sworn In As LA City Councilmember
The Los Angeles City Council made history Sunday with the swearing-in of David Ryu, the council's first ever Korean-American member. Ryu (who pronounces his name Roo) was joined by his parents as he was sworn-in on the steps of LA City Hall. Hundreds attended the ceremony including a large contingent of Ryu's family from Korea. After it was over, CBS2's Jennifer Kastner reported “the party began.” The swearing in ceremony got started with a traditional Korean music performance. Ryu is the first Korean-American — and only the second Asian — to serve on the LA City Council, making the occasion both memorable and historic.
CBS Los Angeles