Good Morning.
Join us on Saturday, June 4th for LAPD's 19th Annual "Still Saving Lives" Car Show sponsored by Fusion Motor Company. The event will take place from 9:00 - 15:00 at Warner Center Park in Woodland Hills. Click here for more information.
Law Enforcement News
LAPD Officer Dies In Training Accident At Police Academy
A Los Angeles police officer died Sunday, days after he suffered a spinal cord injury during a training exercise at Elysian Park Academy. The accident happened Thursday, according to LAPD Chief Michel Moore. Officer Houston Tipping worked out of the Devonshire Division. His age was not immediately released. According to the chief, Tipping was working as a bike instructor engaged in a scenario that involved grappling with another officer. During the exercise, Tipping fell to the floor and suffered a spinal cord injury. Other officers present initiated CPR until Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics arrived. Moore called Tipping "a bright and uplifting young man with a full life in front of him." In a Twitter statement, he expressed "Grief, sorrow and sadness," adding, "May God Welcome him home & comfort his family, friends & partners. Our work continues in a profession that at times calls for a cost that is so very high. Blessed are the Peacemakers." Tipping is survived by his parents, Richard and Shirley, his stepfather Bob, his siblings Kat and Tyler and his girlfriend, Brittany, according to the LAPD. “As we grieve this terrible loss, our thoughts are with the family of Officer Tipping, his Devonshire area family, and the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department during this difficult time,'' Moore said. "True to his character of unending service, Officer Tipping is an organ donor. Over the next few days, his selflessness will save other lives.''
NBC 4
Police Seeking Shooter In South L.A. Slaying
Police are looking for a man who allegedly shot and killed another man in the Manchester Square area of South Los Angeles Friday evening. The shooting was reported just before 5:45 p.m. on the 1500 block of West Florence Avenue. When the Los Angeles Police Department responded to the scene they found the victim unconscious and not breathing, according to Officer Drake Madison. The victim has been identified by police as a 40-year-old man. According to the LAPD, the victim and the shooter were involved in some type of verbal dispute, which led to the suspect pulling out a firearm and opening fire. Several shots were fired during the altercation, police said. Police are looking for the suspected shooter, a 6-foot-tall Hispanic man in his 40s with shoulder-length hair and a full beard. The alleged shooter was wearing a dark shirt and dark pants at the time, Madison added. The investigation is ongoing, but detectives at this time believe the shooting was gang-motivated.
KTLA 5
2 Injured After Gunfire Erupts At North Hollywood Swap Meet
Gunfire erupted at a crowded North Hollywood swap meet Saturday afternoon injuring two men in their 20s, according to officials. The shooting happened shortly after 3 p.m. on Lankershim Boulevard near Valerio Street. The two men first argued, then each pulled out a gun and shot at the other, according to a police service representative at the Los Angeles Police Department's Operations Center. One person was struck and seriously injured, according to officials. One of the men was taken to a local hospital by ambulance while the second was taken in a private vehicle, the police service representative said. LAPD says it recovered about 10 shell casings on the ground near the entrance to the swap meet. No one else at the swap meet was injured. No other details were immediately known. The investigation is ongoing.
ABC 7
Police Respond To Possible Drive-By Shooting In Marina Del Rey Area
Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a possible drive-by shooting outside a restaurant in the Marina Del Rey area Saturday night. The incident occurred at around 10:25 p.m. near the intersection of Washington and Lincoln Boulevards. At least one person was injured, though their condition was unknown. No other information was immediately available.
CBS 2
2 Hospitalized After Man Opens Fire In Culver City Bar
Two people were hospitalized with gunshot wounds after a man opened fire inside a Culver City bar Saturday evening. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, a man in his 30s walked into a bar on the 13400 block of Washington Boulevard around 10:50 p.m. and began shooting at the bar’s security guards. The security guards returned fire, police said, striking the shooter and a bystander. The shooter and the bystander were transported to the hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds. Both were in stable condition Saturday night, LAPD officials said. No other suspects are wanted in connection to the shooting, which is being investigated by the LAPD. The Culver City Police Department provided traffic control during the shooting investigation.
KTLA 5
2 Arrests Made In Beverly Crest Follow-Home Robbery
Two arrests have been made in connection with a follow-home robbery in Beverly Crest last month. The four tourists from Northern California were visiting Los Angeles for a birthday celebration. They left a restaurant around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Beverly Grove area and felt they were being followed to their Airbnb in Coldwater Canyon. When the victims parked their car on the driveway and got out of the vehicle, they were held up by three suspects armed with guns. The suspects proceeded to steal all the property they had on them in the driveway and then took the four men into the home at gunpoint. Overall, the suspects stole about $75,000 worth of belongings including cash, luxury watches, and designer clothes. Bail for the two suspects has been set at $4 million. Police believe there may be additional victims and are asking people to come forward with any information related to this case. The third suspect has not been identified.
FOX 11
Second Suspect Arrested In Shootout With Law Enforcement In East LA
A second suspected gunman has been arrested in connection with a shootout involving California Highway Patrol officers and sheriff's transit deputies in East Los Angeles that left another person wounded, authorities said Friday. Neither has been identified. The shooting was reported shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Third Street and Ford Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "Investigators have learned a California Highway Patrol officer was driving a marked black and white patrol car northbound on Ford Boulevard at Third Street when two ... male suspects were walking through a crosswalk at the intersection,'' according to a sheriff's department statement released Friday. "One of the males opened fire on the officer, striking his patrol car repeatedly,'' the statement said. "The officer sped away and requested assistance over his radio, indicating he was being shot at.'' Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies who were nearby responded and were involved in a shooting with the men, sheriff's officials said.
NBC 4
19-Year-Old Suffering From Depression Goes Missing In Sylmar
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department circulated a photo of a 19-year-old man suffering from depression who went missing Monday morning in Sylmar. Abdur-Raheem Darcuiel was last seen at approximately 3:30 a.m. in the 14400 block of Olive View Drive, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau reported. Darcuiel was described as a 5-foot, 11-inch tall Black male weighing 150 pounds with brown eyes and black shoulder-length hair. He was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, gray sweatpants and black Nike shoes. The sheriff’s Missing Persons Unit urged anyone with any information regarding Darcuiel’s whereabouts to call them at 323-890-5500.
MyNewsLA.com
Arson Investigation Launched After Two Dumpsters, Carport Catch Fire In Canoga Park
Arson investigators were called to the scene of a fire outside of a Canoga Park commercial building early Monday morning. When Los Angeles Fire Department crews arrived to the scene on N. Owensmouth Avenue, they found a carport in the rear of a commercial building heavily-involved with flames. They also found fire escaping from two dumpsters in the immediate area. It took 43 LAFD firefighters 33 minutes to extinguish the flames, preventing the flames from spreading to the one-story commercial building. As a result of the blaze, arson investigators were called to the scene. No injuries were reported.
CBS 2
Compton Neighborhood Hit With Illegal Street Takeover
An illegal street takeover hit a Compton neighborhood in the early hours of Monday morning — but it didn't last long — as law enforcement swarmed in to break it up. Authorities responded after reports of over 200 people gathered at the intersection of Wilmington Avenue and Caldwell Street in Compton. People were reportedly doing donuts in the street while shining lasers and shooting fireworks in the air. Residents say they're fed up with the almost-constant string of street takeovers in their neighborhood. Neighbors say they feel like prisoners in their own homes during these street takeovers. One home had a wall knocked out last month when a car crashed into it. Just steps from the home, there is blackened pavement and debris from tire burn-outs. "I do get angry. I do get mad," said Alex Ramos, a Compton resident. She says street takeovers take place several times a week at the intersection of Wilmington Avenue and Caldwell Street.
CBS 2
Phoenix Cops Find 1,200 Catalytic Converters As Thefts Soar
An Arizona man was facing multiple theft charges Friday after detectives found more than 1,200 catalytic converters packed into a storage unit, a case that highlights a national surge in thefts of the pricy auto parts that play a critical role in reducing vehicle emissions. The discovery followed a months-long investigation that began with a January tip that someone was storing stolen catalytic converters in an industrial area near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. “We were very surprised at the amount in there,” Phoenix police Det. Adam Popelier said in a police video taken Thursday as officers were pulling converters from the jam-packed storage locker. The 48-year-old man who police say was buying and selling the convertors was charged with 40 counts of theft and may face additional charges. The huge rise in catalytic converters thefts across the nation has hit tens of thousands of car and truck owners in the pocketbook and frustrated police, who are faced with a crime that takes just minutes to commit and is difficult to solve even if they find the stolen parts.
PoliceOne
'How To Murder Your Husband' Author Found Guilty Of Murdering Husband
In a climax worthy of one of her romance novels, a jury found writer Nancy Crampton Brophy shot her husband twice in the heart four years ago — rejecting her claims that she deeply cherished her truelove, developed shock-induced amnesia and simply lost track of a missing gun barrel. Foreshadowing Wednesday’s verdict was the self-published author’s notorious essay, “How to Murder Your Husband.” But unlike in her fiction, Crampton Brophy didn’t get away with it. A Multnomah County jury of five men and seven women deliberated for about eight hours over two days before delivering a guilty verdict on a single count of second-degree murder in the death of chef Daniel Brophy, an instructor at the Oregon Culinary Institute in Southwest Portland. Crampton Brophy, now 71, displayed no visible reaction inside the packed courtroom. Several members of Crampton Brophy’s family sat in the audience directly behind her during the 27-day televised trial. Some of them wrenched forward and audibly gasped, one emitting a sob, as the judge read the verdict aloud.
PoliceOne
Public Safety News
Hiker Found Dead At Will Rogers State Historic Park In Pacific Palisades
A hiker was found dead Sunday at Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades, authorities said. Los Angeles firefighters and paramedics responded to an emergency rescue call at the park in the 3000 block of Rustic Canyon Road before 11:40 a.m., authorities said. Two rescue crew members located the hiker, who was declared dead at the scene, authorities said. The 35-year-old man has not been identified. Los Angeles police officers were also dispatched to investigate the man’s death, Los Angeles police spokeswoman Rosario Cervantes said. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office will also participate in the investigation.
Los Angeles Times
Hit-and-Run Driver Crashes Into Sylmar Business: LAFD
A pickup truck crashed into a Sylmar business Sunday evening. The crash was reported at 8:18 p.m. at 13751 Foothill Blvd., according to Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The driver had fled the scene by the time the LAFD responded, and no injuries were reported. The L.A. Department of Building and Safety has been notified so they can assess the structure, Stewart added.
KTLA 5
Los Angeles County Reports 12,694 New COVID Cases Over Holiday Weekend
Los Angeles County public health officials reported 12,694 confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, with 13 COVID-related deaths and 486 hospitalizations. The county reported 2,901 new cases Monday, 4,108 cases Sunday and 5,685 on Saturday, raising the cumulative total from throughout the pandemic to 2,974,197. The daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 3.7% as of Monday. County health officials were urging residents to mark Memorial Day with caution to prevent the spread of COVID-19. “As we celebrate Memorial Day … I’d like to extend my gratitude to all of our armed forces members and their families who have dedicated their lives to protecting us through their military service,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement issued Friday. “Many of us will attend events or host gatherings honoring these courageous men and women this long weekend,” she continued. “Regardless of how you plan to spend the holiday, we ask that you reduce the chance of getting or spreading COVID-19 by taking advantage of four powerful tools — vaccinations, masking, testing, and therapeutics.”
MyNewsLA.com
Local Government News
LA City Council Begins Process To Buy Chinatown Building Amid Rent Increases
The Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to try to buy a 124-unit housing development in Chinatown in an effort to keep some of the tenants housed amid rent increases by their landlord, who does not want to sell the building to the city. Councilman Gil Cedillo, who represents the neighborhood, said the vote is "a major step" in the acquisition of the building and a "part of the very extensive process of eminent domain." Council members voted 12-0 to begin the process. Residents of Hillside Villa Apartments in the 600 block of North Hill Place have lobbied since 2020 for the city to use eminent domain to purchase the building, saying that the landlord increased some rent prices by as much as 300% after the building's affordability covenant expired. The apartments were constructed with loan assistance from the then-Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles. In exchange for the loans of about $5.5 million, a 30-year affordable housing covenant was negotiated with the property owner. That agreement expired in August 2020.
FOX 11
