Law Enforcement
Only On 2: Police Officer In Shock That Woman Convicted Of Murdering His Brother Could Go Free
A police officer is stunned and in disbelief after learning that the woman who was convicted of murdering his bother could get out of prison. CBS2's Tom Wait reported from LAPD headquarters about the family's fight. It's a story that is Only On 2. “Breaks my heart for the whole law enforcement profession,” says LAPD Captain Brian Pratt. For Pratt, crime and punishment is deeply personal. His own brother — also an LAPD officer, was gunned down in the line of duty in 1988. Pratt was undercover with another officer when he was shot and killed during a gang-related drive-by. The driver of the car, Raylene Brooks, is being considered for parole.
CBS 2
Family Asks West Covina Officer Shooting Suspect To Turn Himself In
As authorities were continuing the massive manhunt Saturday for a suspect accused of shooting a police officer in the chest, the family of the suspect is asking him to turn himself in. Maria Tijerina said her brother, Jose Luis Chavez, told his 10-year-old daughter he loved her before leaving the family's home around 10:30 p.m. Friday night. Less than an hour later, Chavez was on his bicycle in the area of Badillo Street and Yaleton Avenue when he was stopped by a West Covina police officer. That's when authorities said the 47-year-old shot the man on duty. "I started hearing the gunshots. I mean, it was as loud as -- I thought I was at a movie at first," Tijerina said.
ABC 7
State Trooper Shot During Manhunt Out Of Surgery, Recovering
The Latest on a police officer who was shot and killed in a central Massachusetts town. The State Police trooper injured in the exchange of gunfire with a man suspected of fatally shooting a Massachusetts officer is out of surgery and recovering. A state police spokesman announced Monday that the trooper, whose name was not made public, had surgery late Sunday night for a gunshot wound to the shoulder. He was hurt during the search for 35-year-old Jorge Zambrano, who was found in a second-floor bedroom of a duplex in Oxford. Zambrano had been hiding in a closet, apparently after sneaking into that side of the duplex from the adjoining unit.
Associated Press
Police Face Sticker Shock Over Cost Of Body Cameras
In cities across the United States, there is a fierce debate brewing among police chiefs, mayors and city council members over police body cameras — not so much about whether officers should wear them, but how, exactly, to find the money to pay for them. After all, the cameras aren't cheap. They range in price from $300 to $800 per officer, and can cost hundreds of thousands more in monthly video storage costs spread over time. In fact, the country's priciest police body camera contract, in Los Angeles, is currently under review. In December 2014, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced an ambitious plan to outfit 7,000 Los Angeles police officers with police body cameras. However, as of last week, officers in Los Angeles still don't have body cameras. Why? Largely because of the $57.6 million price tag, spread out over five years, which has given at least once city councilman “sticker shock.”In late April, the Los Angeles City Council delayed the vote on police body cameras (once again) in order to rebid the contract to several body camera manufacturers in the hopes of finding some cost savings. A new vote is expected in the coming weeks.
Newsweek
Deadly Shooting Investigation Underway In Wilmington
Homicide detectives Monday investigated the circumstances surrounding the shooting death of a motorcyclist in Wilmington. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers were sent around 11:30 p.m. Sunday to the area of D Street and Gulf Avenue. Upon their arrival, authorities located an adult man suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Paramedics pronounced the motorcyclist dead at the scene. His identity is being withheld pending family notification. Detectives said the incident is being investigated as a homicide. No suspect information has been provided.
CBS 2
Man Accused Of Setting Homeless People On Fire In South LA Arrested
A transient man who allegedly threw a flammable liquid on two other homeless people and set them on fire in South Los Angeles has been arrested, police said Sunday. Los Angeles police from the 77th Street Station were patrolling in the area of Florence Avenue and Figueroa Street when they saw spotted Phillip Darryl Cole at about 4 p.m. Saturday, according to a press release from the LAPD. Officers noticed Cole matched the suspect description when he was sitting on a bus bench and arrested him without incident.
ABC 7
Cop heroes dive to pool bottom, rescue trapped man in wheelchair
Two Whittier police officers were seen as heroes Saturday after they repeatedly dove into a swimming pool to rescue a trapped man in a wheelchair who had accidentally fallen in. The victim was hospitalized, but his condition wasn't yet disclosed. One of the officers had to use a knife to cut the man from the wheelchair's restraints. The man in his 60s was with a female companion about 12:10 p.m. Friday when he fell into the pool in the 7700 block of Vale Drive, according to Whittier Police Department Lt. Bryan Ellis. The first arriving officer dove in and tried to pull him out of the chair, but the victim was strapped in, Ellis said.
City News Service
Brazen robbery crew hits 24 banks in L.A. region
A trio of robbers have hit at least two dozen banks throughout Los Angeles County in the last six months and are becoming increasingly brazen, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The three have targeted banks from Long Beach to Pasadena and most recently barged into a bank branch in Artesia on April 28, according to detectives with the LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division. The three men sometimes shield their faces with caps as they enter the bank. Initially, they would pass a note to a teller, demand money and threaten violence while claiming to be armed, investigators said. Recently, they have taken to jumping over the teller's counter.
Los Angeles Times
Police: Woman abducts sons during supervised visitation in El Monte
A 32-year-old woman who does not have legal custody of her two boys snatched the children away during a supervised, court-ordered visitation at a McDonald's restaurant in El Monte, a police lieutenant said Sunday. At about noon Saturday, the father of Daniel Velasquez, 10, and James Velasquez, 6, dropped them off at 11650 Valley Blvd. for a court-ordered visitation with their mother, Emily Lynn Moon, according to El Monte police Sgt. Richard Luna. The boys were with Moon when the designated court monitor left momentarily. The monitor returned and found that Moon and the children were no longer in the restaurant, Luna said. The monitor checked the surrounding area and did not locate Moon or the boys.
FOX 11
Opioids, Prescription Drugs Increasingly Easy To Order Online, Experts Warn
With a few mouse clicks, Nathan Mizrahi was able to amass piles of prescription painkillers. He didn't need a prescription - he just went straight to an online supplier. On his credit card bill, it looked like he was purchasing from a toy store in Canada. His Percocet, Vicodin or OxyContin arrived in brown envelopes. "They were coming in baggies from a woman's house with an address in the Philippines," he said. Addiction specialist Dr. Stuart Finkelstein says he's seen drugs sold as Vicodin online laced with the even-more potent opiate Fentanyl, making it a potentially deadly high.
ABC 7
City Government News
LA Council President Herb Wesson Obtains Restraining Order Against Man Accused of Threats
The president of the Los Angeles City Council obtained a temporary restraining order against a frequent City Hall critic who is accused of making racially charged threats. Wayne Spindler, 46, was ordered to remain at least 100 yards away from council president Herb Wesson's home and vehicle. The order includes a provision that allows Spindler to attend Los Angeles City Council meetings, but he must remain 10 feet away from Wesson. He also was ordered to turn over any weapons.
NBC 4
Southern California Gas Co. Ordered to Stop Cleaning Porter Ranch-Area Homes
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health ordered Southern California Gas Co. late Sunday to stop cleaning the homes of Porter Ranch-area residents affected by the gas leak at the company's Aliso Canyon facility, concluding that the utility's contractor was not properly trained or equipped to carry out the cleanup. The cleaning program was ordered Friday by L.A. County Superior Court Judge John Wiley, who ruled that the firm must perform remedial cleaning for up to 2,500 homeowners. The health department said it sent environmental health specialists to monitor the cleaning performed by the utility's contractor over the weekend and determined that the contractor and the gas company were not abiding by protocols set forth by the health department.
KTLA 5
California News
Voter registration spike linked to Facebook
A hefty chunk of the new voter registrations for California's June 7 presidential primary election occurred during a 48-hour period this week, stemming from a Facebook effort urging people to sign up, according to the state's elections officer. About 200,000 online voter registrations were completed on the secretary of state's website on Monday and Tuesday, said Secretary of State Alex Padilla. “The spike coincided with a new Facebook effort to facilitate voter registration in California,” he said Thursday in a written statement. “Monday's registration activity was the second highest in the nearly four-year history of California's online voter registration site,” Padilla said. “We appreciate Facebook's commitment to increasing voter registration in our state.”
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