Law Enforcement

Chief Beck Discusses Ezell Ford Decision on ABC 7
Well, the Police Commission has their role, and the Chief of Police -- in this case, me -- has his role. You know, they're very different. The Commission determines what's in or out of policy.
ABC 7

Person Caught On Video Driving Backward Through Heavy Traffic Sought By LAPD
Los Angeles police detectives are searching for the driver of an Audi who was caught on video driving backward through heavy traffic in Laurel Canyon. The driver has not been identified, but detectives with the LAPD West Traffic Bureau are investigating the incident as reckless driving. Cellphone video shows an Audi driving backward from Mulholland Drive down Laurel Canyon Boulevard toward Sunset Boulevard.
ABC 7

You May Have Hired These Burglars While Your Residence Was Under Construction
Police today sought possible additional victims of four people arrested on suspicion of burglarizing a Bel Air Estates home, where two of the suspects were hired as painters. Officers responded about 7:30 p.m. on July 2 to a report of possible trespassers at a house in the 1100 block of Maybrook Drive, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Westsidetoday.com

Only On 2: Uber Drivers Nabbed In LAPD Sting Call Their Arrests Entrapment
Three drivers with Uber are speaking out after they were arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department in an undercover sting operation. In an exclusive interview with CBS2's Erica Nochlin, Roy Freeman, Michael Chadwick and Sid Lomeli say the way they were targeted was nothing short of entrapment. And they say it might scare new Uber drivers away.
CBS Los Angeles

Deputy Hurt Trying to rescue Two People in House Fire
Two people were burned, and a sheriff's deputy was overcome by smoke trying to rescue them, in an overnight apartment fire in La Puente Sunday. One person was critically injured, and another also hurt, as they were trapped inside a burning unit. It was totally consumed by flames, and an adjoining apartment unit was damaged, a fire dispatcher said. The fire at 1:22 a.m. in the 15400 block of West Francisquito Avenue, a dispatcher said. A passing Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy tried to rescue the two people, but was overcome by smoke and forced back.
NBC Los Angeles

Ten L.A. jail workers relieved of duty
Ten people described as jail personnel with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department have been relieved of duty and a number of others have been reassigned amid an investigation into abusive treatment of an inmate, Sheriff Jim McDonnell announced. The personnel relieved on Friday are two lieutenants, a sergeant, a senior deputy, four deputies and two custody assistants, according to the sheriff's department. The inmate was booked into the Inmate Reception Center in downtown Los Angeles on June 19. Officials did not reveal why he was jailed.
mynewsLA.com

Walking in L.A.: Times analysis finds the county's 817 most dangerous intersections
It's evening rush hour near MacArthur Park, and the streets teem with activity. Crowds pack the crosswalks, weaving around cars that nose through to make right turns. Men pull food carts and women push strollers toward the Metro Rail station, accompanied by the strains of pop music from cars and businesses. This is the kind of dense, transit-oriented neighborhood that Los Angeles officials say the car-clogged city needs to replicate.
Los Angeles Times

Police: Officer Dies After Fall During Robbery Arrest
A police officer who suffered a head injury in a fall while chasing three teenage robbery suspects died from his injuries Sunday, police said. Scranton Patrolman John Wilding died a day after falling some 15 feet after jumping a fence in pursuit of a trio of 17-year-olds now in custody, police chief Carl Graziano said. Graziano asked the public to "keep Officer Wilding and his family in your prayers during this time of sorrow."
ABC News

Homelessness

As L.A. moves toward more homeless sweeps, long-term solution elusive
In May, the city launched a cleanup that took six days and cost $66,000 by the time it ended in late June, records show. But while the encampments along the concrete riverbed were cleared, none of the displaced people were given housing, advocates say. They simply scattered into the nearby streets of Lincoln Heights and Highland Park, or took to the hills of Elysian Park. "They just moved them around," said Monica Alcaraz, president of the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council.
Los Angeles Times

Pensions

Watchdog: Will pension initiative gut public retirements?
Last time around, Chuck Reed seized the third rail of California politics – launching the Hugest! Pension! Battle! Ever! – and suffered the inevitable burn. This time around, he's more circumspect, but perhaps no less menacing to the status quo. Reed, a low-key Democrat and former mayor of San Jose, has joined forces with Republican firebrand Carl DeMaio of San Diego, Republican Mayor Tom Tait of Anaheim and several other local politicians to take another stab at ballot-box pension reform in the Golden State.
The Orange County Register