LAPD Sees 25% Reduction In Officer-Involved Shootings
The Los Angeles Police Department saw a 25% reduction in officer-involved shootings last year, compared to the previous year, according to a report presented to the Board of Police Commissioners Tuesday. The 2018 Use of Force Year-End Review Report found the department had 1.7 million contacts with the public in 2018, which was about 86,000, or 5%, more than 2017. Of those contacts, 33 resulted in officer-involved shootings last year, down from 44 in 2017. The report also found there was a 56% reduction in the number of officers discharging their weapons, from 110 to 48, along with a 49% reduction in the total number of rounds fired, from 491 to 250. LAPD Chief Michel Moore credited newer department policies that call on officers to use more de-escalation techniques as a top reason for the decrease in deadly encounters.
NBC 4

‘My Dad Was Invincible': Family, Law Enforcement Community Mourns CHP Sgt. Steve Licon
Thousands of police officers from across California and Nevada paid their respects Tuesday to California Highway Patrol Sgt. Steve Licon, who was killed earlier this month by a driver who has since been charged with murder. Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside was packed with so many people — as many as 6,000 mourners that included police officers, firefighters and Caltrans workers — that some had to be accommodated with an overflow area outside. The private service was preceded by a procession led by a motorcade and honor guard. Licon was survived by his wife, stepdaughter and daughter, Marissa Licon, who spoke at the emotional service. “To me, my dad was invincible,” she said. “So on April 6, when I got the call that my dad had been in an accident, never did I imagine that my dad would not be here to see me graduate college or walk down the aisle.” The CHP veteran of nearly three decades was not the first untimely death in the Licon family. The family also lost a 12-year-old son in 2012.
CBS 2

Mississippi Deputy Saved By Vest After Being Shot Several Times By Suspect
A deputy who was shot several times Friday was likely saved by his vest. Suspect Randy Vaught led police on a high-speed pursuit after Deputy Daniel Tatum tried to pull him over after seeing him and two others leave a suspected drug house, WREG reports. Vaught fled to his mother's house. When Tatum opened the door to the house, Vaught shot him. Tatum played dead, but Vaught shot him several more times. Marshall County Sheriff Kenny Dickerson says Tatum was shot three to eight times total, suffering wounds in his chest area, arm and leg. Vaught barricaded himself inside the house for hours. When he emerged, he pulled out a handgun and fatally shot himself. Officers were able to get Tatum to a fire station where they airlifted him to a local hospital. Dickerson credits Tatum's ballistic vest with saving his life.
PoliceOne

New Orleans Officer Shot At Gas Station, Suspect In Custody
A New Orleans police officer was shot in the leg Thursday night as he was responding to a suspicious person call at a Mid-City gas station, NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said. The shooter was apprehended and another person also was taken into custody, Ferguson said during a news conference at the scene. “He's speaking and alert,” Ferguson said of the officer, who had a bullet lodged in his right calf. The shooting occurred about 9:15 p.m., as officers responded to a call of a suspicious person at a Shell station in the 3300 block of Tulane Avenue. The caller had reported that the suspicious person could be armed, Ferguson said. Arriving at the Shell station, the NOPD officer spotted someone matching the description of the suspicious person and, while trying to pat the person down, became involved in a struggle.
NOLA Media Group, New Orleans

Armed Man Barricaded In Garage In Pacoima, Along With Teen Son, Gives Up And Is Detained, Police Say
A shotgun-wielding man gave up peacefully after barricading himself Tuesday morning in a Pacoima garage with a teenage son, Los Angeles police officials said. “The suspect walked out and everyone is OK,” Sgt. Gabriel Holguin said. The name of the detained man, who surrendered at 10:30 a.m., was not immediately released. Officers went to the home, on the 13100 block of Hoyt Street, after getting a report of a man with a gun. A SWAT team was also dispatched.
Los Angeles Daily News

Woman Faces Murder Charges In Sun Valley Crash As Police Warn Of Street Racing Dangers
A 25-year old woman is facing murder charges in connection with a deadly crash in Sun Valley that police say involved street racing, one of several recent cases of crashes that investigators say involve cars racing each other on public streets. Los Angeles police says so far this year, four deaths are believed to be the result of street racing. Police are now trying to send a message to young people -- and their parents -- about the heartbreaking consequences. "Parents that are out there, if they can try to educate their kids. If they're allowing their kids to take their vehicles -- a lot these vehicles are high-performance vehicles -- maybe they can relay a message to them about the dangers involved in street racing. Because it's just tragic seeing all of these fatalities occur," said LAPD Sgt. Gregory Fuqua. Police say there are many places where people can race legally and it's not worth putting lives in jeopardy by using public streets. 
ABC 7

Driver Charged In Hit-and-Run Death Of Scooter Rider In Hollywood
A Utah man was charged Tuesday in the hit-and-run death of an electric scooter rider in Hollywood Saturday morning. Jared Walter Anderson, 26, is facing a murder charge in addition to one felony count each for vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, hit-and-run driving resulting in death to another person with allegations of causing great bodily injury and fleeing a pursuing peace officer's motor vehicle causing death, according to the LA County District Attorney's Office. Anderson had a prior conviction of driving under the influence in Utah which was taken into consideration when the charges were filed. Anderson is accused of hitting Evan Dyer Faram, 31, of Dallas, who was riding a Lime electric scooter in a marked crosswalk at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street.
CBS 2

Police Bust Crooks Behind Car Break-Ins In Hollywood
Crafty crooks take Hollywood by storm. They pulled off more than 40 car break-ins last weekend alone, and police say they've been in these streets before.
NBC 4 Video

Man Convicted Of Arson In East Hollywood Apartment Building Blaze That Displaced 20
A 22-year-old man was sentenced Tuesday to four years in state prison for setting fire to an apartment building that was under construction in East Hollywood, displacing residents in a neighboring building, officials said. Benicio Garcia pleaded no contest to two counts of arson of a structure in the June 12, 2017, incident on the 400 block of North Heliotrope Drive, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said in a news release. Neighbors said they woke up around 6 a.m. to the smell of smoke. An adjacent complex had to be evacuated, and 20 people were ultimately displaced. A neighboring home also suffered minor damage, and a firefighter was hurt when she was struck by falling debris, officials said. The blaze completely charred the top two floors of the structure under construction, and aerial footage showed that the smoke could be seen for miles. Prosecutors said Garcia was homeless at the time of the blaze.
KTLA 5

More Than 23 Pounds Of Meth Sends California Man To Prison
A California man was sentenced to 75 months in federal prison Monday for smuggling more than 23 pounds of methamphetamine to Kansas, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said. Juan Beltran, 28, Bell Gardens, Calif., pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. In his plea, he admitted that the Kansas Highway Patrol stopped him on I-70 in Russell County, Kan. Troopers found the drugs in the trunk of his car. The Kansas Highway Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. 
KSN.com

‘From Sun Valley To Wilmington,' L.A. Needs Its Own Green New Deal, City Council Says
Efforts to take more aggressive local actions on climate change through the development of a Green New Deal for Los Angeles were approved Tuesday, April 16, by the City Council, while one of its committees signed off on a plan to create an office dedicated to climate emergency mobilization. Council members Nury Martinez, Paul Koretz, Mike Bonin, Curren Price, Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Monica Rodriguez introduced the unanimously approved motion directing the Department of Water and Power and other city departments to prepare a report on the development of a local Green New Deal.
Los Angeles Daily News

L.A. City Council Opposes State Bill That Would Lift Local Zoning Rules
For the second year in a row, the Los Angeles City Council has come out against a plan by a San Francisco-based state senator to lift restrictions on higher-density housing near rail stations, major bus routes and areas with high concentrations of jobs. On a 12 to 0 vote Tuesday, council members authorized the city's lobbyists to oppose Senate Bill 50 — authored by Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener — one of a handful of bills targeting the state's housing crisis. Councilman Paul Koretz, who represents part of the Westside, called the bill a “handout for developers” that would result in the destruction of historic districts and single-family neighborhoods. Councilman Mike Bonin, whose district includes coastal neighborhoods, warned that SB 50 would lead to the displacement of renters in lower-income sections of his district.
Los Angeles Times