Zero cash bail to blame for 'brazen' smash and grab robberies in LA, police union says

Los Angeles' controversial zero cash bail policy is to blame for the recent surge in smash and grab robberies across the city, according to the union representing LAPD officers. "The elimination of cash bail for these types of offenses is really an invitation to these kind of folks who are inclined to break the law and inclined to do it so brazenly, to push them over to say, 'hey, if I was to get caught, I'm going to be right back out again,'" Los Angeles Police Protective League spokesperson Tom Saggau told Fox News Digital. Zero cash bail, also known as no-cash bail or zero-dollar bail, refers to individuals who are arrested and charged with a crime then released from custody without having to pay any bail money upfront. The policy was first rolled out in LA during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to decrease jail crowding. It was terminated in July 2022, but a judge reinstated the policy in May after a class action lawsuit was filed by recent arrestees who couldn't afford to pay bail and had to remain in custody for a few extra days. The consequence of the policy has led to more smash and grab robberies across the city, law enforcement officials say, and suspects become repeat offenders when incidents are charged as misdemeanors. This was evident in the recent 'flash mob' robbery at a Topanga mall's Nordstrom over the weekend, Saggau said. It marked the second organized retail theft of an LA establishment within just one week.

FOX 11

LAPD to deploy BolaWrap devices to officers patrolling L.A. Metro buses, trains

The Los Angeles Police Department is still exploring ways to arm its officers with the BolaWrap — a handheld device firing a lasso-like cord designed to wrap around a person's legs — more than three years since the device was first introduced. On Tuesday, Aug. 15, the Police Commission approved a new, year-long pilot program for officers patrolling the city's transit system to be equipped with the devices. In a letter to the commission, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said the department wanted to distribute BolaWrap launchers to the 25 full-time officers assigned to the Transit Services Division who patrol L.A. Metro railcars and buses within city borders. That's after the department had already deployed the devices to its Hollywood and Central community stations starting last August. In the letter, Moore said the device wasn't used enough to give the department enough data "to make a conclusive determination about the effectiveness of the device." The department issued 150 BolaWraps to officers to be used during their regular shifts. Over the last year, the officers only used the devices 15 times, including twice during one incident. The letter did not say whether the device either successfully wrapped anyone or resulted in injuries to people it was used on.

Daily Breeze

Shooter sought after Hyde Park attack

A man was shot in Hyde Park Tuesday morning, and the Los Angeles Police Department is looking for the shooter. The man, 40, was shot in the 3600 block of Slauson Avenue at 11:22 a.m., according to LAPD Officer Podany. He was taken to a local hospital, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey. His condition was unknown. Police believe the shooter is a Black man wearing a black shirt, and he was last seen headed west on Slauson Avenue. The events leading up to the shooting and a possible motive remain unknown, and no further details were available.

KTLA 5

Man Stabbed in LA, Suspects at Large

A man in his 60s was stabbed and the two suspects who allegedly committed the attack were on the loose Tuesday evening south of downtown Los Angeles, authorities said. Officers responded to Maple Avenue and East 20th Street at about 9:30 p.m., where they found the victim with stab wounds, Officer Norma Eisenman of the Los Angeles Police Department told City News Service. Witnesses told police the suspects — a man and a woman — disappeared inside a nearby homeless encampment after the stabbing. Officers searched the encampment and did not find the suspects, Eisenman said. The victim was taken to a hospital, where his condition was not immediately released.

MyNewsLA

Student Hospitalized In Stabbing On Campus Of JP Widney High School

A student was injured Tuesday afternoon in a stabbing on the campus of J.P. Widney High School west of downtown Los Angeles. School police received a call at about 1 p.m. regarding a stabbing on the campus in the 2300 block of South Gramercy Place. Officers discovered an injured student who was transported to a hospital, according to a Los Angeles School Police Department spokesperson. Details about the student's condition were not available early Tuesday afternoon. Another student was detained in connection with the stabbing. It was not immediately clear what kind of weapon was used.

NBC 4

Possible bank burglar escapes, leaving behind a suspicious bag and causing morning-long street closures

The Los Angeles Police Department blocked off several streets in Downtown Los Angeles as they investigated the possibility of a burglar inside a bank. Around 4 a.m. Tuesday, a suspect was seen on surveillance footage inside the Wells Fargo bank at 232 E. Second Street, Downtown Los Angeles. The area of San Pedro and 2nd Street remained closed off for over eight hours as the investigation continued. Police determined around noon that the suspect had escaped and left behind a bag. A bomb squad was called in to examine the bag and its contents.

CBS 2

Loved Ones Desperate For Answers In Search For Beverly Hills Musician Who Vanished Weeks Ago

Worried friends and neighbors are desperate for answers in the search for a local woman who went missing several weeks ago. The Beverly Hills Police Department is actively looking for 48-year-old Camela Leierth-Segura, a musician who co-wrote the Katy Perry song "Walking on Air." According to her friends, her 2010 silver Ford Fusion was last seen in Beverly Hills in the middle of the night on June 30. That was also the last day anyone heard from her. "I'd like to think nothing bad happened, but do I think something bad happened? Yeah," friend Cecilia Foss said. Leierth-Segura is originally from Sweden, where her family still lives today. Her sister got in contact with a friend from New York to help. "When I woke up in the morning there was already a message saying 'Hey, have you talked to Camela?'" friend Liz Montgomery said. Montgomery immediately filed a missing person report with Beverly Hills police. Also missing is Leierth-Segura's 19-year-old cat Morris. She was recently evicted, according to her landlord in Beverly Hills. Friends and neighbors say she was struggling to pay rent.

ABC 7

Watch: N.Y. officer disarms woman firing gun by striking her with cruiser

A Nassau County police officer disarmed and arrested a woman who fired a loaded gun in broad daylight by knocking her over with his cruiser, CBS New York reports. The woman was spotted pointing a gun in the middle of an intersection, firing at least one shot and pointing the weapon at her head. "She was waving the gun around at innocent people, putting them in fear for their lives," Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said during a news conference. Caught on bystander video, the officer who responded to the scene made a split-second decision to use his cruiser to disarm the woman. “They faced down deadly physical force against civilians and themselves, and they used their vehicle to stop that threat,” Ryder said. “The other option on the table is to take out the gun and shoot her. They didn’t do that. They chose an alternative option that they thought quickly to react and probably saved people’s lives, including their own, from any further injuries.” According to Nassau Police, a semi-automatic handgun was retrieved. The woman is in police custody and is currently receiving treatment for minor injuries at a local medical facility. The officer involved in the incident is also undergoing treatment for emotional trauma at a different hospital.

PoliceOne

Two hikers and a dog rescued from steep hillside in Griffith Park

Firefighters rescued two people and a small dog that got lost while hiking near the Bronson Caves in Griffith Park. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, they first learned about this missing group of hikers shortly before 7:50 p.m. With no sunlight to aid in their search, rescue crews used spotlights on their helicopters to locate the pair and their dog. Luckily, firefighters spotted the group amid "very steep terrain" near the Bronson Caves, which are about a mile away from the Hollywood Sign. All three were hoisted up into an LAFD helicopter hovering above them. The two hikers initially said they did not sustain injuries, but eventually told rescue crews they sustained minor injuries. Firefighters flew them to a nearby hospital for examination at about 8:15 p.m. Their dog did not get hurt during the ordeal, according to LAFD. 

CBS 2

Firefighters stop spread of Agua Dulce brush fire at about 20 acres

Fire crews halted a brush fire burning in warm conditions Tuesday afternoon in the Agua Dulce area. There were no reports of damage due to the Baker Fire, burning north of the 14 Freeway near Agua Dulce Canyon Road, north of Avenida Donari. The fire, estimated at about two dozen acres, started around 1 p.m. About an hour later, crews on the scene reported that the spread of the fire had been stopped. There were no reports of injuries.

NBC 4

Maui wildfires death toll tops 100 as painstaking search for victims continues

The ongoing search for victims of the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century continued in earnest Tuesday on the Hawaiian island of Maui. At least 106 people have been confirmed dead in the blaze that destroyed most of the historic port town of Lahaina — one of several fires that broke out in Maui on Aug. 8 — but hundreds more remain missing. Speaking Tuesday at an event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, President Biden said all federal resources were being made available to Hawaii. "Every asset they need will be there for them," Mr. Biden said. "And we'll be there in Maui as long as it takes." Mr. Biden said that his administration is "surging federal personnel" to Maui to "help the brave firefighters and first responders, many of whom lost their own homes, their properties, while they're out busting their neck to save other people." The president said he and first lady Jill Biden plan to travel to Hawaii "as soon as we can." More than 400 FEMA have already deployed to island, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in an address Tuesday afternoon, along with another 273 National Guard soldiers.

CBS 2

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass scores a U.S. policy shift to expedite homeless housing

Los Angeles officials are celebrating the demise of one of their biggest obstacles to getting homeless people into permanent housing: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requirements that keep applicants waiting for months while their assigned apartments remain vacant. Responding to pleas from Mayor Karen Bass and city and county housing officials, HUD has agreed to exempt local housing providers from the rules that required applicants to produce identification and document their homeless status and income before moving into their apartments. Instead, applicants can now move in first and then assemble the necessary documents—a process that often takes months for those living on the streets. Bass, whose Inside Safe program to clean up encampments around the city has filled shelters with thousands of people but has managed to obtain permanent homes for fewer than 200, said the waiver will allow the city to take advantage of hundreds of units that are vacant because of the prequalification rules. “This addresses major roadblocks to moving Angelenos from interim housing in motels to permanent housing, putting housing first and bureaucracy last,” Bass said in a statement to The Times. “For too long, the system responded to unhoused Angelenos with a 30+ page questionnaire asking for proof that they were low income instead of with the housing they need. People should not be left in motels, tiny homes, or A Bridge Home housing because of paperwork.”

Los Angeles Times

City Councilwoman Heather Hutt Introduces Motion to Ban Cashless Business

Los Angeles City Councilwoman introduced a motion Tuesday seeking to ban cashless retail businesses in the city in an effort to empower residents who may not have bank accounts or denied access to credit. "Cashless businesses create an economy in our city that is not inclusive and accessible for all people," Hutt said in a statement. "There are many unbanked groups ... that rely on cash to pay for goods and services." "As a city that has promised to be a safe and fair place for all, we must be proactive in ensuring that all our systems create fairness and equity for each and every individual," she added. Hutt's motion states that the city encourages residents to participate in its economic development, including the practice of purchasing goods and services. But there are millions of Americans who do not have bank accounts or have been denied access to credit, preventing them from being able to "engage in consumer transactions unless they are able to pay for goods and services in cash." Not accepting cash payments systematically excludes low-income communities of color, young people who do not meet the age qualifications for credit or debit cards, and seniors who have not transitioned to card or digital payment modes, the motion stated.

Westside Current

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 9,200 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.