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Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch
LA Police Protective League
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Los Angeles
Police Protective League
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the union that represents the
rank and file LAPD officers
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Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch
Daily News Digest
from LA Police Protective League
April 19, 2016 |
Man guilty of fatal beating of Army officer sentenced
A man who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the fatal beating of a U.S. Army officer at a downtown nightclub was sentenced Monday to time served. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Douglas Sortino sentenced 30-year-old Steve Hong to three years. However, Hong, who was arrested July 2, 2013 and released from jail on Jan. 28 of this year, had already served more than the equivalent of three years after considering credit for “good time, work time,” according to a court clerk. Hong was originally charged with the murder of 24-year-old Albert Song, a West Point graduate and Honolulu-based first lieutenant recently out of Army Ranger school when he was beaten to death on June 2, 2013. Hong pleaded guilty to the lesser count of voluntary manslaughter more than a year ago.
City News Service
LAPD chief testifies in civil trial, denies he unfairly passed captain over for promotion
Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck denied Monday that he unfairly passed over a captain for promotions, telling jurors he selects officers for high-ranking positions based on who he thinks is "the best person for the job." Whittingham's lawsuit contends that he and other command staff were told that when Beck sent officers to a three-person disciplinary panel -- known as a board of rights hearing -- the chief expected those officers to be fired. In August 2012, the lawsuit said, Whittingham served on one such hearing and voted to suspend an officer instead of fire him. After that, Whittingham alleged, he was warned by Beck's then-chief of staff that Beck considered a captain's panel votes when deciding on promotions.
Los Angeles Times
Union Seeks More Security At Van Nuys Airport In Wake Of Security Breaches
Union representatives Tuesday will request for city leaders to boost patrol-officer staffing at Van Nuys Airport in an effort to prevent additional security breaches from happening. According to the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association (LAAPOA), there have been three security breaches involving vandalism at the airport in recent months. “Perimeter breaches are happening at Van Nuys on an all too frequent basis,” LAAPOA president Marshall McClain said. “Most of these incidents involve someone simply climbing over the fence or cutting their way through it. These breaches could be prevented or mitigated by adequately staffing patrol officer positions at the airport.”
KCAL 9
LAX Police: Passenger Broke No Law When He Spoke Arabic On Phone On Southwest Plane
Los Angeles World AirportsPolice Department said investigators have concluded a passenger broke no laws when he spoke in Arabic on his mobile phone while on a Southwest Airlines plane. Officer Rob Pedregon said Monday that officers from his department and agents from the FBI both interviewed Khairuldeen Makhzoomi after he was kicked off before the flight departed from Los Angeles to Oakland on April 9. Southwest Airlines said another Arabic-speaking passenger heard the UC Berkeley senior mention a terrorist organization during his conversation and became alarmed. The 26-year-old said he made a passing reference to Islamic State while telling his uncle about a speech he had attended by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
CBS 2
Shortage of autopsy doctors is a ‘crisis in near future'
The abrupt resignation last month of Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner Dr. Mark Fajardo revealed flaws in Los Angeles County's system of death investigations, through which some 8,500 autopsies are performed each year. Delayed medical examinations, overdue toxicology tests and slow response times were becoming an unacceptable norm, Fajardo said, noting he'd not been given the resources to alleviate many of the strains on the department. But Fajardo, who left L.A. County to take over as Riverside County's chief forensic pathologist, wasn't the only one to cite issues that threaten the county's ability to track how and why people die.
Los Angeles Daily News
22 People Charged In LA With Defrauding Social Security
Federal grand juries in Los Angeles have indicted 22 people on charges of defrauding the Social Security Administration. The U.S. attorney's office says the defendants are accused of illegally receiving cash benefits and causing a cumulative loss of $2.6 million. The indictments were returned last week and announced Monday after the arrest of one defendant who is an employee of the Social Security Administration. Most of the alleged schemes involved taking Social Security benefits intended for a family member who had passed away.
Associated Press
License plate readers capture loads of data. How long do cops keep it?
The Los Angeles Police Department is among dozens of California's law enforcement agencies that have failed to make their license plate surveillance policies public, despite a new state law requiring disclosure. The law, passed last year by the California Legislature, was an attempt to keep tabs on an increasingly common surveillance tool: automated license plate readers. And last week, San Francisco's Electronic Frontier Foundation checked on which agencies have complied with the law and what their policies state. They found about 80 law enforcement agencies that have posted their policies and that nearly as many believed to use the devices didn't. Many agencies in Southern California did not post their policies, including LAPD and Manhattan Beach, which just made plans to spend $400,000 to gather vehicle license plates in the beach town.
89.3 KPCC
Second Tunnel in 3 Weeks Discovered Under U.S.-Mexico Border Near Calexico
A cross border tunnel was discovered near Calexico Friday, marking the second such discovery in three weeks, according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. An El Centro Sector Border Patrol agent first found the hidden tunnel around 11:30 a.m. while conducting routine patrol duties along the border, the release stated. The agent noticing a depression in the soil along the banks of the All-American Canal and approached it. As the agent did so, the soil gave way, exposing an 18-inch hole with lumber and electrical wiring inside, according to the release. The tunnel — approximately three feet wide and 142 feet in length — was quickly secured, authorities said. It began about 60 feet south of the border in Mexico.
KTLA 5
How criminals are targeting you at the ATM
Your bank account could be at risk of a fraudulent crime growing in popularity, called ATM skimming. New data show incidents of the crime have increased by more than 500 percent. Criminals steal debit card numbers by putting an illegal card-reading device on an ATM. Then, hidden cameras record your PIN number when you enter it on the keypad. Your bank card can be duplicated and used, without your knowledge, reports Josh Elliott of CBS News' digital network CBSN. Matt Bretzius said he swiped his bank card at an ATM inside Harrah's Resort Casino during a night out in Atlantic City. The next morning, just hours later, he found more than a dozen fraudulent charges on his bank account.
CBS News
Gun industry surge adds tens of thousands of jobs
An unprecedented surge in gun sales created tens of thousands of jobs last year. The gun industry added 24,763 jobs in 2015 for a nationwide total of 287,986, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. That's an increase of nearly 10% from the year before in manufacturing and retail jobs for guns, ammunition and related supplies, like hunting gear. Job growth in the last few years has been "nothing short of remarkable," said the NSSF, which reported a job increase of 73% since 2008. The NSSF, the gun industry group based in Newtown, Connecticut, said the jobs average $50,180 in annual wages and benefits. Many of these jobs are located in rural areas and small towns where cost of living is relatively low.
CNN Money |
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City Government News
Judge rules L.A.'s 'bank to the stars' overcharged its own employees' retirement plan
A federal judge has ruled that L.A.'s City National Bank overcharged its own employees to manage their retirement savings, a rare smudge on the bank's reputation and one that could cost it millions. The ruling, handed down April 5 and announced Monday, stems from a lawsuit filed against the bank by the federal Department of Labor last year. Federal officials alleged City National, which manages its own 401(k) retirement account for employees, had charged high and improper fees to the plan. Labor Department officials, in a statement released Monday, estimated the retirement plan's losses due to the fees could total more than $6 million. Judge Terry Hatter has ordered the bank, along with an outside expert, to account for all fees paid by the retirement plan to the bank between 2006 and 2012, a prelude to a possible order for the bank to repay those funds.
Los Angeles Times
LA City Council to Vote on Sick Leave Expansion
The Los Angeles City Council is expected to vote Tuesday on a proposal to require employers in Los Angeles to offer at least six days of paid sick leave to workers, twice the amount mandated by the state. The policy -- advanced last week by the Economic Development Committee --would raise the mandated paid sick leave time from the 24 hours to 48 hours per calendar year starting July 1. The six days would be offered to workers who have worked at least 30 days within a year, with employers required to provide the leave upfront or through an accrual process of one hour for every 30 hours worked. The accrued paid sick leave can be carried over to the next year under the plan. Employers would be able to cap the accrued hours at 72 hours, but they could also have a higher cap or set no cap at all.
NBC 4 |
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Homelessness
L.A. considers providing homeless in Venice with housing, bathrooms and storage
Los Angeles is considering a new effort to deal with the burgeoning homeless population in Venice that includes 24-hour access to bathrooms, free storage facilities and development of supportive housing on city land. The measures, contained in four motions outlined by L.A. Councilman Mike Bonin, are among the first concrete proposals in what city leaders say will be a $2-billion plan to ease, if not end, homelessness. It also marks one of the first times a city leader has proposed specific sites to provide local homeless services as the city continues to craft plans to deal with the larger shortage of housing for those in need.
Los Angeles Times |
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About the LAPPL Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents the more than 9,900 dedicated and professional sworn members of the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPPL serves to advance the interests of LAPD officers through legislative and legal advocacy, political action and education. The LAPPL can be found on the Web at:
www.LAPD.com |
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