Montana Trooper In Critical Condition After Shooting, Suspect In Custody

A Montana Highway Patrol trooper and three other people were shot and wounded in two separate, but related shootings. According to local news station KTVH, Trooper Wade Palmer was shot at a bar and casino after locating the vehicle of suspect Johnathan Bertsch, 29, who was wanted for a shooting earlier Thursday evening, where he wounded three people. A second responding trooper found Palmer in his patrol car with his seatbelt still fastened. Palmer, who has been with the Highway Patrol since 2012, is in critical condition. The Department of Justice and Missoula Sheriff's Office are investigating.
PoliceOne

Video: Tennessee Police Searching For ATV Driver Who Dragged Officer

Police are searching for the motorist who dragged an officer on Saturday. According to CNN, about 100 ATVs, four wheelers, motorcycles and dirt bikes illegally took over a Nashville street Saturday afternoon. This was the second day in a row that off-road vehicles drove on major roads throughout the city. During the incident, Sgt. John Bourque attempted to stop one of the vehicles, but was struck by the ATV driver and dragged before being let go into a metal barrier along the road. Bourque, a 22-year LE veteran, was treated and released from a local hospital. Police are searching for the suspect.
PoliceOne

Woman's Body Found Burned Beyond Recognition In Bathtub Of Del Rey Home; Note Found At Scene: LAPD

An investigation is underway on Monday after a woman was found burned to death inside a home in Del Rey, authorities said. Firefighters responded to a report of a blaze at a structure in the 11900 block of Weir Street just before 9:45 a.m., according to a Los Angeles Fire Department alert. When crews arrived, they entered the home and found a deceased woman in a bathtub, a Los Angeles Police Department official said at a news conference. She was burned beyond recognition. Authorities have not determined the victim's name or age. A note was found at the scene, but the police official said he could not confirm if the incident was a suicide. LAFD arson investigators and LAPD homicide detectives are investigating. It was not immediately known what sparked the blaze.
KTLA 5

Panorama City Man Arrested In Alcohol-Fueled Fatal Stabbing Of Roommate

A man accused of stabbing his roommate to death in Panorama City is now in custody. Police say the two men got into an alcohol-fueled argument over the weekend. That led to the stabbing. It happened near Willis Avenue and Roscoe Boulevard. The victim was stabbed several times and died at the scene. The suspect took off in his car. Police got a call from a woman saying he was at her home. Officers responded and the man was taken into custody.
ABC 7

After More Than Three Hours, Man Climbs Down From Crane In Koreatown

A man climbed down from atop a crane in Koreatown after members of the Los Angeles Police Department SWAT team persuaded him to leave his post. The man, thought to be in his early 20s, spent more than three hours on top of the crane in the 3000 block of West 8th Street. Tony Im, an LAPD spokesman, said officers were checking the man's mental status to determine what they would do next. “We're going to get him the help he deserves,” Im said. The call came into the Los Angeles Police Department at 4:39 p.m. The man left the crane, which was about 80 feet high, about 7:45 p.m., Im said. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's toll-free number, (800) 273-8255. Callers are connected with a certified crisis center near where the call is placed.
Los Angeles Times

Man Sentenced To 30 Years To Life For Attacks On Women In South Los Angeles

A former security guard who pleaded no contest to a series of attacks on sex-trade workers in and around South Los Angeles was sentenced Monday to 30 years to life in prison. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joel Wallenstein also ordered Ferdinand Ervin Flowers of Long Beach, 36, to register for the rest of his life as a sex offender. Flowers entered his plea in September to two counts each of forcible oral copulation and assault with intent to commit forcible oral copulation involving attacks between May 2014 and September 2017. Deputy District Attorney Frank Dunnick told City News Service the plea deal negotiated was "fair and represents the seriousness of the offenses committed by Mr. Flowers." The prosecutor noted the bravery of the victims and the violent nature of their assaults.
NBC 4

Woodland Hills Teen Sentenced To Probation, Community Service Following Deadly Tarzana Crash

In a Sylmar courtroom Monday, Pedram Shayesteh stood before a judge as well as a daughter still grieving from a terrible night two years ago. Dabbing his eyes and nose with a tissue, the 18-year-old Woodland Hills man stood up, ready to face his sentence. But first, he would voice his remorse “from the deepest part of my soul” for actions that caused the death of an Encino father. Shayesteh was 16 years old when he was involved in the high-speed crash on Ventura Boulevard in Tarzana that left another motorist, Habib “Harry” Sabzerou, 68, dead. Los Angeles County prosecutors argued that Shayesteh had been engaged in an illegal street race with a friend when he struck Sabzerou's car on the night of the Jan. 2, 2017 crash. Ultimately, in February, Shayesteh was convicted of felony vehicular manslaughter.
Los Angeles Daily News

A San Fernando Valley-Based Scam Targeted Buyers Of High-End Autos, DA Says

Two Los Angeles men have been charged with 40 felony grand theft auto charges stemming from an alleged San Fernando Valley-centered scam targeting buyers of high-end cars like Bentleys and Maseratis that robbed victims of nearly $4 million, L.A. County prosecutors said Monday. Arman Mave Hazarian, also known as Dean Hazarian, of Tarzana, and Afshin Hashemi, also known as Al Hashemi, of Hollywood, also face six additional felony counts of grand theft. The charges include allegations of taking more than $500,000 through fraud and embezzlement and property valued at more than $3.2 million. Hazarian and Hashemi, both 47, allegedly used online ads to persuade investors to lease or buy expensive cars and turn them over to the defendants to be subleased at a profit, according to Deputy District Attorney Alex Karkanen of the Automobile Insurance Fraud Division. 
Los Angeles Daily News

NYPD Says Its New Software Is Helping Analysts Track Crime Patterns More Quickly

When a syringe-wielding drill thief tried sticking up a Home Depot near Yankee Stadium, police figured out quickly that it wasn't a one-off. A man had also used a syringe a few weeks earlier while stealing a drill at another Home Depot 7 miles south in Manhattan. The match, though, wasn't made by an officer looking through files. It was done by pattern-recognition computer software developed by the New York Police Department. The software, dubbed Patternizr, allows crime analysts stationed in each of the department's 77 precincts to compare robberies, larcenies and thefts to hundreds of thousands of crimes logged in the NYPD's database, transforming their hunt for crime patterns with the click of a button.
Los Angeles Times

Public Safety News

LAFD Has Flown Drones During 175 Incident-Related Missions Since 2017

Since becoming one of the first major metropolitan fire departments to have a significant drone program and conducting its first aerial mission during the 2017 Skirball fire, the Los Angeles Fire Department has used the devices during at least 175 incident-related missions, according to a report set to be discussed by the Board of Fire Commissioners Tuesday. The report from LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas outlines the department's drone program from its inception through March 5, including that it started a Pilots Training and Ground School Course last month designed to teach flight skills, concepts and legal aspects that LAFD members will be required to perform unmanned aerial system pilots. Drones operated by municipalities have proven to be controversial due to concerns over privacy and the fact they could be used to conduct surveillance on residents.
NBC 4

Rise In E-Scooter Accidents Nationwide Prompt Large Scale Study

Police in Santa Monica are searching for the driver in a hit-and-run that killed a man riding an electric scooter. With the emergence of e-scooters has come a slew of injuries and even deaths. Santa Monica police said since e-scooters arrived in the city in 2017, this is the first death involving one. They're hoping someone will come forward with information that track down the driver who hit and killed a man Friday night and drove away from the scene. Gary Benson has lived in his Santa Monica neighborhood for 27 years. He got home Friday night shortly after a man on a scooter was hit around 8:30 p.m. in the 2700 block of Third Street, a residential area blocks away from the beach and south of the Third Street Promenade. He saw the commotion where paramedics were treating the 41-year-old victim for significant head and body trauma. "I didn't know really that it was as bad. When I got over to him it was quite obvious he was gone," Benson said.
KTLA 5

Local Government News

City Council Committee Looks To Develop Green New Deal For LA

Efforts to take more aggressive local actions on climate change are set to be discussed by a City Council committee Tuesday, including the development of Green New Deal for Los Angeles and a new Climate Emergency Mobilization Department. Council members Nury Martinez, Paul Koretz, Mike Bonin, Curren Price, Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Monica Rodriguez introduced a motion recently that would direct the Department of Water and Power and other city departments to prepare a report on the development of a local Green New Deal. A national Green New Deal resolution sets a goal for the country to get 100 percent of its power through renewable energy by 2030. 
NBC 4