Law Enforcement News
Police Chase: Suspect Slams Reported Stolen Car Into South LA Fruit, Flower Stand At End Of Pursuit
A suspect fleeing police in a reportedly stolen car slammed the vehicle into a stand selling fruit and flowers at the end of a chase in South Los Angeles on Tuesday. The collision occurred near the intersection of Vernon Avenue and Flower Street at around 1:10 p.m. Tuesday. It's not clear where the pursuit, which involved LAPD, originated. Eyewitness News obtained video of the moment the vehicle slammed into the street vendor's stand. The suspected driver ended up becoming trapped inside the wrecked vehicle. He was eventually extricated and rushed to the hospital in serious condition, fire officials said. No other injuries were reported. The suspect was not immediately identified, though fire officials described him as being in his 30s. LAPD said he was in police custody.
ABC 7
Megan Thee Stallion Testifies She Was Shot By Fellow Rapper Tory Lanez
Rapper Megan Thee Stallion testified Tuesday that she froze when fellow musician Tory Lanez told her to "dance, bitch'' and that he shot her in the feet after she got out of an SUV in the Hollywood Hills nearly 2 1/2 years ago following a pool party at Kylie Jenner's home. "I'm in shock. I'm scared. I can't believe he's shooting at me,'' she said of her fellow rapper. Lanez -- whose real name is Daystar Peterson -- is charged with one count each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, discharging a firearm with gross negligence and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, along with allegations that he personally used a firearm and inflicted great bodily injury on her shortly before 4:30 a.m. July 12, 2020. In a packed downtown Los Angeles courtroom, Megan Thee Stallion said she could see Lanez holding the gun and pointing it at her and saw him shooting the gun "after he said, 'Dance, bitch.''' The rapper -- whose real name is Megan Pete -- said she felt "shock'' and "hurt'' and saw blood when she looked at her feet.
NBC 4
LA-area hotel owner on cigarette break jumps into action to help unconscious cop involved in car wreck
A Los Angeles-area hotel owner who was enjoying a cigarette break jumped into action on Tuesday to help save a California Highway Patrol officer who was rendered unconscious in a car crash. "I pry open his door and I'm trying to see if he's alert or not. I grab his radio and I say, ‘Officer down, officer down,’ and the radio goes silent and they do an all alert and they ask me where I'm at and who I am," Shiraz Deayal, owner of a Days Inn in West Covina, told Fox 11.
Fox News
LA County Sheriff's Sergeant Saves Man From Choking
A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department sergeant saved a man from choking while being out on patrol Tuesday. Sergeant Duncan who was assigned to the LA County Sheriff's Department County Services Bureau was patrolling an alley behind a Department of Public Social Services office in LA when he saw another LA County employee exit his van in distress. The man's face appeared to the red and he was giving Sgt. Duncan the international sign for choking by signaling with his hands towards his neck. Sergeant Duncan pulled over his patrol vehicle and immediately got out to render aid to the man. He used the Heimlich maneuver to help dislodge any food particles that might have been obstructing the man's airway. After about five to six thrusts Sgt. Duncan was able to clear the man's airway and asked him if he needed further medical assistance, but it was refused. Sergeant Duncan waited and monitored the man for a few minutes before continuing to patrol his area. "It was just me doing what any deputy would do," Sgt. Duncan said. According to research by Statista.com around 4,000 to 5,000 people die each year from choking. It is more common in younger children.
NBC 4
As Hate Crimes Continue To Rise, LAPD Chief Blames Social Media, Kanye West
Hate crime reports across Los Angeles are up 13% over last year’s record-setting levels, according to LAPD Chief Michel Moore, who said he believes inflammatory rhetoric on social media was contributing to the increase. The new statistics, presented at Tuesday’s Police Commission meeting, showed that with less than two weeks left in the year the city will almost certainly top 2021’s total of 615 reported hate crimes. That tally was the most among large U.S. metropolitan areas, and the third-highest annual total in any U.S. city since the 1970s. So far in 2022, crimes against LGBTQ people have risen to 30 from 19 at this time last year, while those against Jewish people have jumped from 72 to 88. But as in other major cities, Black Angelenos remain the most targeted group, the department’s figures show. The number of hate-related incidents involving Black residents jumped 36% to 279, according to the department’s figures.
LA Times
2 Taken Into Custody After Pursuit In Los Angeles County
Two suspects were taken into custody Tuesday night after leading officials with the California Highway Patrol in pursuit. Deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department initiated the pursuit when the driver was on the 710 Freeway, at around 8:30 p.m. for suspected reckless DUI. CHP took the pursuit over shortly thereafter. The pursuit suspect, driving a silver Nissan Sentra, was periodically blacking out the vehicle’s headlights while on the several different SoCal freeways. The driver transitioned between the north and southbound 5 Freeway, as well as the eastbound 10 Freeway, before finding his way back to the 710. After exiting the freeway in the area of Downey and getting on Imperial Highway, the suspect at one point appeared to be driving into a parking lot, but then swerved back to the roadway over a curb. Just a short time later, he slowed the car, exited and attempted to flee authorities on foot.
KTLA 5
6 Arrested In San Diego On Kidnapping, Other Charges; They Took Orders From Mexican Mafia, Officials Say
A three-month investigation in San Diego resulted in charges against five men and a woman who authorities say planned violent crimes, sold drugs and stored guns in a house at the direction of the Mexican Mafia prison gang, officials announced Tuesday. San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said a house in the Encanto neighborhood of southeastern San Diego was used to sell drugs, store guns and plan violent crimes, including kidnappings. San Diego County Dist. Atty. Summer Stephan called it a house “full of plans to cause murder” and other crimes. The defendants were arrested last week in San Diego and National City. Three of them — Rafael Castro, Samuel Diaz and Daniela Wilson — were charged in San Diego County Superior Court with kidnapping for the purposes of extortion. Wilson also was charged with soliciting someone to commit murder.
LA Times
2 Mississippi Police Officers Shot, Killed By Armed Woman At Motel
Two police officers were shot and killed while responding to a call at a motel Wednesday morning. The officers were responding to a call around 4:30 a.m. at a motel when a woman, who was armed with a gun, shot and killed them before killing herself, WWLTV.com reported. One officer died on scene and another died later at a hospital. The officers have not yet been identified. We will update this article once more information becomes available.
PoliceOne
Tennessee Deputy Who Died In Crash Hailed A Hero For Preventing More Deaths
A Tennessee reserve deputy died Monday after an SUV crashed into the back of his patrol vehicle while he was handling traffic duty for nearby road construction. According to WSMV News, Maury County Sheriff’s Office Reserve Deputy Brad Miller, 68, had served in law enforcement for more than 19 years. Miller saved the lives of three of the construction workers on site. If Miller hadn’t been positioned where he was, they would not have made it, Sheriff Bucky Rowland said at a press conference. “He took pride in his department,” Rowland said. “He always (served) with a smile and joy in his heart. It was his DNA to put himself in that position to fill that gap. In doing so, others went home, and Deputy Miller became someone’s hero.” Miller worked at General Motors before joining the Maury County Sheriff’s Office as a reserve deputy. Miller and his wife were just a few months away from celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.
PoliceOne
Public Safety News
2 Injured After Car Plunges Down 800-Foot Slope In Angeles National Forest
Two people survived a terrifying drop down an 800-foot slope after their car veered off an Angeles National Forest road. According to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the crash happened just before 2:30 p.m. on North Angeles Forest Highway near mile marker 18. Helicopter rescue teams hoisted the two injured individuals to safety and took them to Huntington Memorial Hospital. Officials said they are conscious and alert.
CBS 2
3 Injured When Flames Tear Through San Pedro Apartment Building
Three people were injured when a fire broke out in a San Pedro apartment building Wednesday morning. The blaze was reported around 1:42 a.m. in a two-story structure in the 1200 block of Palos Verdes Street, the Los Angeles Fire Department stated in a news alert. Arriving firefighters found flames showing from the second floor and initiated an offensive operation against the blaze. The fire was extinguished in about 17 minutes. Three patients whose ages, genders and conditions were unknown were treated at the scene, according to the fire department. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
KTLA 5
COVID-19 Cases Are Starting To Drop In L.A. Will The Decline Last?
The number of newly reported COVID-19 cases has ticked down in Los Angeles County, a reprieve following weeks of increases. Whatever the wider prognosis for the winter, this dip will almost surely delay the return of a public indoor mask mandate in the nation’s most populous county. For the week to Tuesday, L.A. County’s case rate was 3,148 a day, down 18% from last week. On a per capita basis, that’s 218 cases a week for every 100,000 residents. A rate of 100 or more is considered high. Many experts caution that official case figures, while a useful metric, are likely a significant undercount due to the proliferation of at-home tests, which are not reliably reported to public health agencies.
LA Times
Local Government News
LA City Council Passes State Of Emergency On Homelessness Before Winter Recess
Warnings were issued to the crowd against noise disruptions in the chambers as the Los Angeles City Council began its final session Tuesday before winter break. The chambers were filled to capacity, and more people were assembled outside. At least one protester was removed from the chambers. The City Council voted to ratify a state of emergency on homelessness Tuesday, confirming Karen Bass's first official act as mayor of Los Angeles. In a statement after the ratification, Bass called Tuesday a "monumental day for the city of Los Angeles." "I commend and thank the City Council for their swift action and unanimous ratification of my emergency declaration," Bass said. "The people of our city have demanded that we urgently and immediately take every possible action to bring unhoused Angelenos indoors, and this declaration will enable us to move faster and unlock every tool possible. I look forward to continuing to lock arms with the City Council to advance a unified, citywide approach to our homelessness crisis. Together -- we are moving Los Angeles in a new direction."
CBS 2
LA Council Approves Little Tokyo Funding In Motion Filed By Kevin de León
Los Angeles Councilman Kevin de Leon may have been chased from the council chamber Tuesday, but was able to vote on several items — including on a motion that he filed himself last week. De Leon, who appeared in the chamber for the second consecutive meeting on Tuesday, again sparked protests and a prolonged recess. But this time, he stayed in the building and cast votes despite not being in the chamber. One of the items he voted on authorized funding for the Little Tokyo Business Improvement District to switch from a merchant-based to a property-based district. The motion, seconded by Joe Buscaino — who departed the council on Sunday — said the members of the district proposed the transition. The funding passed 8-3, with council members Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez voting against it. Council members Curren Price, Nithya Raman and Monica Rodriguez were not present for the vote. Similar items usually pass the council without opposition.
CBS 2
