Man found dead in Westlake District in suspected gang-related shooting
A man was shot and killed this morning in the Westlake District, police said. The shooting was reported shortly after 1 a.m. in the 400 block of Burlington Avenue. The initial call reported a burglary in progress and responding officers found a man with a gunshot wound to his abdomen, Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Ryan Rabbett told reporters at the scene.
Fox 11

Partnership Targets Human Trafficking in Los Angeles
In the campaign against human trafficking, the city of Los Angeles will collaborate with the federal Department of Homeland Security under an agreement signed Thursday. As part of the agreement, a range of city departments, from police and fire to ports, housing and building and safety, will join what DHS calls the "Blue Campaign." City personnel will receive federal training in areas including detection, investigation, and victim protection.
NBC 4

Kidnap Suspect Described As Stalker, Planned To Bury Victim Alive
Accused kidnapper Jose Caro is behind bars after allegedly kidnapping a clerk from an Exposition Park convenience store and driving her to a North Hollywood cemetery. In surveillance video, Caro, 28, is seen dragging the resisting woman, pulling her by her hands out of Mia's Mini Market as a mailman sidesteps them and continues walking in to the store without intervening.
ABC 7

Accused killer of USC Chinese grad student faces justice
Opening statements are scheduled Friday in the murder trial of an 18-year-old woman who is among four young people charged in the beating death of a USC graduate student from China who was attacked near the campus on his way home from a study session. The Los Angeles Superior Court panel will hear the case against Alejandra Guerrero, who is charged along with three other people with murder in connection with the July 24, 2014, attack on Xinran Ji. 
My News L.A.

Wild Chase Ends With Suspect Nearly Striking Woman With Stroller In Panorama City
A violent and brief chase in the San Fernando Valley ended in a crash that nearly struck a woman with a stroller in Panorama City Thursday morning. Authorities were chasing a man, believed to have stolen the Toyota Prius, on the 118 Freeway and 5 Freeway at about 7:30 a.m. before the suspect got onto surface streets in Panorama City.
ABC 7

Pit Bull attack in Van Nuys leaves man hospitalized
Two people, both of them possible transients, got into a fight and a pit bull owned by one of them bit the other, sending the bitten victim to a hospital and prompting authorities to take the dog to an animal control facility. The fight occurred about 5:10 p.m. in the 13700 block of Sherman Way, near Woodman Avenue, in Van Nuys, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Fox 11

‘Panty Bandit' Arrested After Allegedly Trying to Burglarize Woodland Hills Lingerie Store
A man nicknamed the “panty bandit” was arrested early Thursday while trying to burglarizing a lingerie store in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles Police officials said. The incident was reported at a store named Excitement, at 19841 Ventura Blvd. Wade Kubat, who works at Excitement said the incident was caught on surveillance video as the suspect tried to pry the door open. The activity triggered an alarm and the manager called police to report the burglary in progress. 
KTLA 5

Man suspected of fleecing Hollister store at Westfield Topanga mall
A burglar alarm alerted officers Wednesday to a break-in at the Hollister store in the Westfield Topanga mall and led to the arrest of a 21-year-old on suspicion of fleecing the store and fencing the merchandise soon thereafter. “They were able to verify a burglary had occurred and got a description of a repeat suspect from the store manager,” said Los Angeles police Detective Merrill Dunn of the Topanga Station.
Los Angeles Daily News

Man driving stolen police cruiser dies in crash on the 110 Freeway in downtown L.A.
A man driving a stolen South Pasadena police cruiser died in a crash Thursday on the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles, police said. An officer stopped his patrol car on the 110 at 3:30 a.m. after noticing an apparently disabled school bus in the center median, but the bus driver told the officer he had stopped because he had seen a downed motorcycle in lanes, according to the South Pasadena Police Department.
Los Angeles Times

Man Charged in 2000 Los Angeles Slaying Arrested in Bridgeport
Police arrested a suspect in a 16-year-old Los Angeles homicide in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on Thursday, authorities said. Samuel Calvario was wanted in connection with the 2000 shooting death of 31-year-old Daniel Felix after he intervened in an argument between Calvario and his then-girlfriend in California, investigators said. 
Associated Press

LAX Police Officer Says He Was Fired Based On False Information
Airport police officer Rodney Rouzan says he knows he's taking a big risk in talking about his employer, the Los Angeles International Airport Police Department. “Officers are scared to step forward. I'm coming out on camera right now and putting my face out there because this has to stop,” Rouzan said. Rouzan contacted CBS2 News after our investigation revealed allegations by fellow officers of cronyism and retaliation within the department.
KCAL 9

Hate crimes against blacks, Latinos, transgender women surge in LA County
Hate crimes against African-Americans, Latinos, Jews and transgender women rose sharply across Los Angeles County in 2015, especially around downtown and Los Angeles' Westside, according to a report released today. Compiled annually by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, the new report found that hate crimes such as vandalism, aggravated assault and intimidation grew by 24 percent in 2015 compared with the year before.
Los Angeles Daily News

State agency admonishes 'condescending' L.A. County judge for mistreating potential jurors
A California agency overseeing judges' discipline publicly admonished a Los Angeles County judge Thursday, concluding that he mistreated several prospective jurors who were being vetted for a murder trial. The Commission on Judicial Performance issued a 34-page admonishment of Superior Court Judge Edmund W. Clarke Jr., who has been on the bench for seven years and works at the downtown criminal courthouse.
Los Angeles Times

How to avoid the 'bystander effect': Point to a specific person, demand help
A woman is dragged out of a store in broad daylight by a hammer-wielding man and the whole thing is caught on camera. But despite there being witnesses to the incident, no one steps in to help. This is just one example of what psychologists refer to as the “bystander effect,” a phenomenon made famous by the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese in New York. In that case, 38 people allegedly witnessed the attack but didn't call police. 
KPCC 89.3

California will restrict asset seizures by police
Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed legislation limiting the civil asset forfeiture process that allows police to seize property from suspected criminals. Senate Bill 443 will require California law enforcement agencies to obtain convictions in order to keep property taken during criminal investigations even when working jointly with federal authorities that do not share that obligation.
Sacramento Bee

Why is Chicago a murder capital? Clues from a bloody month 
An analysis of the August toll shows more clearly than ever who's dying in the Chicago slaughter and what's behind it: surging violence in a handful of the city's most impoverished neighborhoods, which are riven by loosely organized street gangs. Young African-American men are the chief victims. In a city that's one-third black, the overwhelming majority of those murdered in August — 71 — were, like Malik, African American. Another 11 had Hispanic surnames. Almost half were in their teens or early 20s.
Associated Press