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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
September 13, 2019 |
Law Enforcement News
Man Guilty Of Killing 2 Police Officers Faces Death Penalty
A Florida man has been convicted of fatally shooting two police officers and could be sentenced to death. The Orlando Sentinel reports that 47-year-old Everett Glenn Miller guilty was convicted of first-degree murder Wednesday. The 12-member jury will return in November to decide whether the Marine veteran should receive life in prison or a death sentence. Prosecutors say Kissimmee police Officer Matthew Baxter was conducting a routine check into three suspicious people in August 2017 when Miller drove up and started asking why the officer was bothering people. Sgt. Richard Howard responded to the scene, and Miller argued with the two officers. Prosecutors say Miller shot Howard and Baxter in their heads and then repositioned both bodies before firing again at their faces. Miller was later arrested at a bar.
Associated Press |
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Newsom signs police use-of-force training bill into law
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Thursday intended to deter shootings by police by requiring officers to be trained in ways to avoid using lethal force. Senate Bill 230 requires policies on use of force be standardized across the state. It also requires officers to be trained to deescalate confrontations and find alternatives to shooting suspects. That includes training officers in how to work with suspects who are homeless, of different cultures, are mentally ill, on drugs or have communication issues that can lead to deadly confrontations.
KCRA |
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South L.A. Shootings: Boy Shot Dead On Street, Man Wounded At Burger Restaurant
Authorities are investigating two shootings in South Los Angeles that killed a teenage boy and left another man injured. Deputies first responded to the 1000 block of West 105th Street near Vermont Avenue at 8:16 p.m. Tuesday and found a 16-year-old boy who had been shot several times, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The teenager, identified by coroner's officials as John Givan Jr., had been walking when a vehicle pulled alongside him and a man got out to fire multiple rounds at the boy. The teen died at a nearby hospital, authorities said. Less than 30 minutes later, another shooting was reported down the street from where the boy had been shot, sheriff's officials said. Three men were in the parking lot of the Monster Burger restaurant at Vermont Avenue and 89th Street when they heard several gunshots. One man hid behind a vehicle before realizing he had been shot in the hand, LAPD Sgt. Jesus Rojas said. The injured man was taken to a hospital and is expected to recover, sheriff's officials said. Rojas said police think the shooting suspects are two men but did not have descriptions. It's unclear whether the two shootings are related, authorities said.
Los Angeles Times |
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Burned Body Of Slain Homeless Man Found In Shopping Cart At Lake Balboa Park
Detectives from the LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division are investigating the apparent murder of a homeless man, whose burned body was found Tuesday morning smoldering in a shopping cart along the bike path at Lake Balboa Park in Van Nuys. Law enforcement sources told NBCLA it appeared the person had been killed and burned elsewhere, then placed in the shopping cart and pushed on to the path that crosses underneath Balboa Boulevard. The victim is likely the 28th homeless person murdered in the city so far this year, according to LAPD crime data. The cause of the man's death has not been determined, according to the LA County Coroner's Office. An autopsy was pending and coroner's investigators have not yet identified the man. The LA City Fire Department said it dispatched firefighters Tuesday to a rubbish fire near Balboa and Burbank Boulevard about an hour before the body was discovered. The firefighters saw burning trash but it's not clear if the fire was related to the remains, an official said.
NBC 4 |
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Man Pleads Not Guilty To Killing 70-Year-Old DWP Worker
A young man accused of attacking a longtime Department of Water and Power employee in downtown Los Angeles after the 70-year-old victim had just finished his work day pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a murder charge. Gerson Carrillo Torres, 23, is accused of punching Julius Rondez on July 2 as he walked down the street in the 400 block of East Temple Street. The victim was knocked to the ground and hit his head on the pavement, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He died at a local hospital the next day. Torres — who police said was recognized from surveillance video — was in the area of Third and Wall streets in downtown Los Angeles when LAPD officers detained him several days later. He was subsequently charged July 15 with murder and could face a potential life prison term if convicted, according to the District Attorney's Office.
MyNewsLA.com |
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Homeless Woman Charged After Allegedly Trying To Kill Man By Lighting Him On Fire At South L.A. Encampment
A homeless woman has been charged after allegedly trying to kill a man by lighting him on fire at a South Los Angeles encampment last week, officials said Wednesday. Shalonda Christine Shaw, 23, faces one count each of attempted murder and assault with caustic chemicals, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. She is expected to be arraigned on Wednesday. Shaw allegedly poured gasoline from a container onto a 36-year-old man and set him on fire along the 1600 block of West Slauson Boulevard in the Harvard Park neighborhood on Sept. 6. The victim suffered burns on 30% of his body, including his hands, feet and legs, authorities said after the attack. He was taken to a hospital in critical but stable condition. A 27-year-old woman was also injured after some of the gasoline landed on her, according to the DA's office.
KTLA 5 |
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Sentencing Due For Former LAX Baggage Handler In Drug Conspiracy
A former baggage handler faces a possible prison sentence Friday for using his security credentials to help smuggle cocaine through LAX as part of a drug ring. Alberto Gutierrez, 29, pleaded guilty last year to participating in the scheme to help drug couriers smuggle cocaine through Los Angeles International Airport aboard commercial flights for delivery to customers on the East Coast. At the time of his arrest three years ago, Gutierrez was a supervisory baggage handler employed by Swissport International at LAX. Authorities seized more than two pounds of cocaine from Gutierrez on Dec. 16, 2015, in a Terminal 3 restroom at LAX, where he was trying to pass the drugs to a man planning to fly to New York on a JetBlue flight, according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court. Co-defendant Adrian Ponce, 31, who was waiting for Gutierrez in a vehicle outside the terminal, was interviewed the next day and admitted that the pair took part in similar transactions on multiple occasions, according to prosecutors. Ponce pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge last year and was sentenced to 18 months behind bars.
MyNewsLA.com |
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California Supreme Court Declines To Take Up L.A. Death Penalty Cases
The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to consider whether Gov. Gavin Newsom's moratorium on executions prejudices capital defendants. Meeting in closed session, the state high court declined to review two Los Angeles County cases in which defendants face the death penalty. The court issued a short order that did not explain the justices' thinking, but the action means that the court is unlikely to weigh in on other cases in which defense attorneys claim that jurors considering a death sentence might be swayed by the moratorium. Prosecutors can now move forward with the two Los Angeles County cases, one of which had been put on hold. Attorneys representing Jade Douglas Harris, who is accused in a shooting rampage that left three people dead and two wounded, and Cleamon Johnson, a gang leader known as “Big Evil” who is charged with five counts of murder, had argued that a fair decision would be impossible given that Newsom granted a reprieve to the more than 700 prisoners on death row and had the state's execution chamber dismantled — with much fanfare in front of cameras. Jurors, they argue, might be more likely to favor the death penalty if they don't believe it would actually be carried out.
Los Angeles Times |
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California Lawmakers May Trim Repeat Offenders' Sentences
California lawmakers are on the verge of approving legislation to trim prison sentences for repeat nonviolent felonies. Current law adds an additional year to offenders' sentences for each previous prison or jail term. The bill approved by the state Assembly on Thursday would remove the mandatory one-year enhancement. The bill returns to the Senate on Friday for a final vote on Assembly amendments that excluded certain sex crimes from the measure, as lawmakers wrap up their work for the year. Supporters said the longer sentences clog prisons and jails, are costly to taxpayers, and do little to deter criminals. Corrections officials say about 10,000 inmates currently have the one-year bumps in their sentences, while legislative analysts estimate that the change could save tens of millions of dollars a year in lower prison and jail costs.
Associated Press |
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Public Safety News
Firefighters Knock Down Flames At A Mid-City Office Building
Firefighters knocked down flames at a Mid-City area office building early Thursday, battling heavy smoke and preventing damage to nearby businesses. Crews responded at 2:39 a.m. to the building at 8563 Venice Boulevard, just west of La Cienega Boulevard. They faced heavy smoke inside the building from a fire at the rear of the structure, according to Nicholas Prange of the Los Angeles Fire Department. A total of 42 firefighters battled the blaze and a knockdown was declared at 3:10 a.m., Prange said. The building was not occupied at the time. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire was under investigation.
NBC 4 |
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Heat Advisory In Effect For Southern California Valleys And Mountains As Temps Hit Triple Digits
A heat advisory signaling “a dangerous situation in which heat illnesses are possible” will be in effect Friday in several parts of L.A. County, including the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys and the San Gabriel and Santa Monica Mountains, where temperatures will hit triple-digit levels. Heat advisories were not declared for the San Gabriel Valley and Orange County, where the mercury is expected to climb into the 90s. For those communities experiencing the heat advisory, it will be in effect from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Friday, the National Weather Service said. “Very high temperatures will create a dangerous situation in which heat illnesses are possible,” the weather service said in a statement, adding that temperatures inside vehicles parked in hot weather “can quickly rise to life-threatening levels” even with windows left open, meaning people and pets must not be left in such vehicles.
Los Angeles Daily News |
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Local Government News
LA City Council Declares Sept. 21 'Earth, Wind & Fire Day'
The Los Angeles City Council is honoring hometown band Earth, Wind & Fire by dedicating a day to the group. "They made Los Angeles their home, and so we decided in the city of L.A., Sept. 21 will be 'Earth, Wind & Fire Day,'" said Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson. The band has been credited with helping to bridge the gap between black and white music fans, pumping out huge hits in the 70s and 80s like "Shining Star," "September" and "Let's Groove." Three members of the band took part in the ceremonies: Ralph Johnson, Philip Bailey and Verdine White. The council presented the three with certificates and staged a meet and greet with them for fans. "I'm from Los Angeles, born and raised," said Johnson. "I'm a product of the L.A. United School District. This is a very special moment for me." "We're very blessed and thankful that the music has withstood the test of time," Bailey told Eyewitness News.
ABC 7 |
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Metro To Begin Soliciting Private Companies For Help With Public Transit Project Between Valley And Westside
Officials at LA Metro say the agency will begin a process next month to partner with a private sector company for its multi-billion dollar public transit project aiming to connect the San Fernando Valley and Westside via the Sepulveda Pass as a public transit alternative to the notoriously congested 405 freeway. The undertaking marks the first time LA Metro will employ this public-private partnership model, known as a Pre-Development Agreement (PDA), in the early design process of a large-scale project. Colin Peppard, senior director of the office of innovation at LA Metro, said that officials recognized the technical value private sector companies could offer in 2016 after the agency Metro received a slew of unsolicited project proposals.
Los Angeles Daily News |
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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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