Emada Tingirides: LAPD’s Litmus Test For True Reform

Even after more than a decade, civil rights attorney Connie Rice can still picture the moment: Emada Tingirides, then an unseasoned sergeant in the Los Angeles Police Department, walking into a meeting with Watts community leaders to pitch something radical. After decades of aggressive policing that left residents of housing developments such as Nickerson Gardens and Jordan Downs deeply distrustful of the LAPD, Tingirides was proposing to flip the script: Instead of the traditional hard-charging approach to policing that values arrests over all else, the Community Safety Partnership called for officers and residents to work together in a meaningful way to come up with solutions to problems. Officers in the program would spend their days working with kids on youth football teams and in mentorship programs instead of busting them for petty crimes.

It was a hard sell to a group that had watched plenty of cops bring them other ideas that had gone nowhere. But Tingirides was different. The young Black officer and Watts native conveyed a level of commitment and understanding that began the hard process of turning skeptics into believers, Rice recalled. Even more difficult, it would turn out, would be persuading officers who long equated success with racking up arrests to get on board. But Tingirides, 53, made it work and went on to oversee the expansion of the program across the department. In doing so, she became the local face in a pitched debate over the soul of American law enforcement. It’s a heavy burden. Rice said she sees Tingirides as a litmus test of sorts for the direction the nation’s third-largest police department is heading as it continues its search for a new chief, with the retirement of Michel Moore.

Los Angeles Times

Far-Left Activist Convicted In Executions Of 2 FBI Agents Headed To Parole Hearing With Support From Dems

Leonard Peltier, an indigenous activist who executed two wounded FBI agents after a shootout in 1975, is due for what could be his final parole hearing Monday. And while he has the support of left-wing advocates and a handful of Democratic lawmakers, the FBI Agents Association is vehemently opposed to his release from prison and calling on the federal Parole Commission to keep him locked up. Peltier, 79, is being held at a federal penitentiary in Sumterville, Florida. He is serving two consecutive life sentences for the slayings, plus another seven years for an attempted escape. On June 26, 1975, FBI special agents Ronald Williams and Jack Coler were looking for a group of armed robbery suspects in the Oglala Sioux Indian Reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Although Peltier wasn't one of them, he was traveling in a vehicle that caught the agents' attention. According to court documents, Williams warned Coler over the radio that someone in the vehicle was about to start shooting at them. Gunfire erupted. Both agents were wounded. Peltier approached them with a rifle and shot each man in the head from point-blank range. Then he fled to Canada, where he was captured and extradited to the U.S. to face justice. Coler, originally from Bakersfield, California, had been an LAPD officer before joining the FBI in 1971. Williams was also a California native, from Glendale. He joined the FBI in 1972.

FOX News

L.A. Detectives Investigating Deadly San Pedro Shooting

One person was killed by gunfire Sunday in Los Angeles’ Harbor region, authorities confirmed to KTLA. Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to the 400 block of West Oliver Street at around 10:30 a.m. in San Pedro on reports of “man down.” Details are extremely limited and it’s unclear how the shooting unfolded but responding officers located the victim suffering from a gunshot wound at the scene. Footage of the investigation showed a heavy presence of police with a portion of the street cordoned off with yellow crime tape while investigators scoured the area for evidence. A canopy, typically used to cover a deceased victim, was also visible on the neighborhood sidewalk. No information was provided on the victim’s age or gender, nor was a description of a suspect or suspects in the fatal incident.

KTLA 5

3 People Shot In Nickerson Gardens

A suspect shot three people in Nickerson Gardens Friday night. Investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department believe the shooting happened at around 8:30 p.m. Two of the people wounded stayed at the scene while the third drove themselves to the hospital. Police believe one of the victims will survive while another is in serious condition. The final victim is in an unknown condition. 

CBS 2

Police Investigating After Shots Fired Inside Crowded Recording Studio In Downtown L.A. 

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating an overnight shooting that took place in a downtown Los Angeles recording studio. Initial reports indicate that officers were first dispatched to 9th and San Pedro streets just before 3 a.m. on a call regarding shots fired inside a building, said to be a music studio. At least 20 people were inside the studio at the time, according to preliminary information. Video from the scene obtained by KTLA shows police instructing everyone inside the studio to exit with their hands up. Multiple people were seen being handcuffed, and police confirmed to KTLA just after 7:30 a.m. that one person was taken into custody and one firearm was confiscated. No suspect description or motive has been released, and the investigation remains ongoing. 

KTLA 5

Man Arrested After Striking Woman, Causing Her To Bleed In Venice

A man was arrested in Venice on Saturday night after he physically assaulted a woman, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed. Police were sent near Wavecrest Court and Pacific Avenue around 8 p.m. after a 911 caller reported a domestic violence incident, the LAPD said. Officers arrived and began searching for the suspect, who at one point was reportedly standing on the hood of a vehicle and yelling at a 911 caller, according to the department. The man was found near Brooks Avenue later in the evening and taken into custody for domestic violence, police said. The victim, who was bleeding due to the physical assault, chose not to be taken to a hospital, according to authorities.

Westside Current

Video Shows 50 People Loot An Auto Store In South Los Angeles

An auto parts store was looted by around 50 people overnight in South Los Angeles. Authorities said the group broke the glass and entered the Auto Zone store just before 4 a.m. on Monday at Century Boulevard and Hoover Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department Officer. Video shows cans and other items dropped outside the store as the suspects tried to get away. Officers pursued one vehicle to Pepper Street and Sycamore Avenue in El Segundo where one suspect was taken into custody, police said. A street takeover was happening in the area, but it is not confirmed that all the people involved in the loot came from the takeover.

CBS 2

1 Killed, At Least 5 Others Hurt In Shooting At A Compton Party: LASD

One person was killed and at least five others were injured Friday night in a shooting at a party in Compton, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The shooting was reported sometime before 8 p.m. on the 800 block of East Greenleaf Boulevard at a home where approximately 100 people were in attendance. Neighbors told NBC4 the fatal victim was a man in his 20s -- the son of the homeowner. "That kid was a sweet kid," said Janet Earl, a neighbor. "That shouldn't have happened to him. That was a really sweet, sweet, sweet kid." Neighbors said the homeowner often hosted events such as jazz concerts at their home, and Friday's festivities were like any other. Suddenly, gunshots were heard and tragedy struck. "When I came outside, I was met by three boys," Earl said. "They told us to go in the house, you know, with more gunshots. It got to be crazy. I mean real, real crazy." Details on what led up to the violence were not immediately available, but neighbors said the fatal victim was trying to stop the shooting.

NBC 4

2 Pedestrians Dead After Being Hit By Amtrak Train In Panorama City

Two pedestrians were killed when they were hit by a train in Panorama City late Sunday. Firefighters were sent to the scene, located on the railroad tracks near 7600 Woodman Avenue, at around 9:30 p.m. after learning of the collision, according to a statement from Los Angeles Fire Department officials. They arrived to find both victims, one man and one woman both in their mid-30s, dead at the scene. Neither of their identities has been released due to the ongoing investigation. No other injuries were reported and none of the crew members or passengers on the train required medical assistance, firefighters said. The train, an Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, was heading southbound when the crash happened. No further information was provided. 

CBS 2

LA County Officials Urge Common-Sense Precautions Amid Slight COVID Increases

Acknowledging small increases in COVID-19 case data over the past month, Los Angeles County health officials on Friday urged residents to again take “common-sense precautions” to limit the spread of the virus and avoid another summer surge in infections. COVID cases and hospitalizations have spiked upward the past three summers as people take advantage of warmer weather to travel and gather with others, according to the county Department of Public Health. In 2021 and 2023, cases began creeping upward in early July, while in 2022, the increase began in early May. Fueled by the emergence of new "FLIRT" variants of the virus, the county has already begun to see “small increases” this year in reported COVID-19 cases, testing-positivity rates and concentrations of the virus in wastewater. According to the Department of Public Health, there were 106 average daily new COVID-19 cases in the county this week, up from 83 per day last week. Health authorities reminded residents that the official case numbers continue to be an undercount of actual infections, since many people either do not test or do not report results of home tests to health officials.

NBC 4

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 8,900 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.