LA City's Proposed Deal With LAPD Union Includes 11% Pay Hike For Rookies

The LAPD officers’ union and city have agreed on a new tentative labor contract that includes an 11% increase to the base starting salary for new recruits. The deal covers four years and includes a 6% raise for all officers in the first year, a 4% raise the second year, and 5% raises the following two years. “We believe this tentative agreement will put the LAPD on the right path forward retaining our experienced officers and supervisors and recruiting qualified cadets to enter our academy,” said Sgt. Jerretta Sandoz, the LAPPL vice president.

LAist

Watts leaders, shaken by shootings, tell residents to avoid large gatherings for rest of 2023

After recent violent incidents in Watts that injured nine and claimed two lives, community leaders have decided something must be done. “We done hit bottom, everybody,” said Cynthia Mendenhall at a news conference in the neighborhood on Tuesday. The former gang member, who has lost loved ones to gang violence, said it was evident in the fact that family members couldn't even be sure of their safety when crossing certain streets to pay respect to fallen loved ones. Leaders have now called on Watts residents not to congregate in large groups for the rest of 2023.

Los Angeles Times

Teenager Hospitalized After Drive-By Shooting In South Los Angeles 

A boy was injured in a drive-by shooting in the Florence neighborhood of South Los Angeles on Monday night. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, shots rang out around 10 p.m. in front of a home on 79th Street near San Pedro Avenue. Video from the scene shows paramedics treating a teenager at the scene for a gunshot wound. Witnesses said he is 15 years old. The teen was transported to a local hospital, where his condition is unknown. He is believed to have been the victim of a drive-by shooting, authorities said. It is unclear whether the teenager was the intended target. No suspect or vehicle description has been released. Anyone with information is urged to contact the LAPD. 

KTLA 5

Wilmington Man Gets 15 Years In Federal Prison For South Bay Robbery Spree

A Wilmington man who carried out a spree of armed robberies in the South Bay, including one in which he pointed a gun at a pregnant gas station worker, was sentenced Monday to 15 years in federal prison. Stevo Mijanovic, 20, pleaded guilty in March to two federal counts of robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In addition to the 15-year prison sentence, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner ordered Mijanovic to pay $2,733 in restitution. According to prosecutors, Mijanovic carried out the spree between August 2021 and January 2022, robbing six businesses in the Wilmington area, two others in San Pedro and Torrance and attempting to rob another business in San Pedro. The businesses included restaurants, convenience stores, gas stations and their employees. During a December 2021 heist, he pointed a firearm at a pregnant gas station worker in Wilmington, prosecutors said.

MyNewsLA

National Group Joins Search For Missing L.A. Girl, 12

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is boosting efforts to find a 12-year-old girl from San Pedro who disappeared in mid-July. Isabella Poland left her home around 4:20 p.m. on July 15, according to Los Angeles Police. Several days later, she was captured on surveillance video at the Montclair Place shopping mall, roughly 50 miles from her home, with an unknown male. Isabella’s mom, Linda Poland, told NCMEC that her family is heartbroken. “Isabella, we love you and need you home. Please reach out to us, we promise that you are not in trouble. We just want to know that you are okay,” Linda Poland told the NCMEC. Poland does not have a cell phone and was not allowed to use social media, authorities said. She is described as a white female with brown hair and brown eyes. She stands 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs around 130 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt and blue jeans. Anyone with information about Isabell’s whereabouts is urged to call NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or LAPD at 1-877-275-5273.

KTLA 5

Suspect Arrested In Stabbing Death Of 27-Year-Old Man On Santa Monica Beach

One person was arrested in the stabbing death of a 27-year-old man Monday afternoon on Santa Monica Beach. Police responded at about 2 p.m. Monday to the beach after a report of an assault with a deadly weapon. Officers found the victim on the east side of the beach near restrooms. The man had at least one stab wound to his chest. Officers provided CPR until the victim was transported to a hospital, where he died. Details about his identity were not immediately available. Witnesses told police they heard an argument between the victim and attacker near the restroom before the stabbing. The attacker remaiend in the area and was pointed out to police by witnesses. Police took the man into custody and found the weapon in his backpack, according to a statement from the department. Juan Evarastico Bahena, identified by police as a 48-year-old man who is homeless, was arrested on suspicion of murder.

NBC 4

Woman Goes Missing Near Wellington Heights Area Of LA County

Authorities circulated a photo Saturday of a 26-year-old woman who went missing last month near the Wellington Heights community of unincorporated Los Angeles County. Estefani Josefa De Paz was last seen June 30 at about 11 p.m. in the 3500 block of Cesar Chavez Avenue near East Long Angeles, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported. De Paz was described as a 5-feet-3-inch tall Latino woman weighing 120 pounds with brown eyes and hair. She was last seen wearing a blue dress with a black floral print. The sheriff’s Missing Persons Unit urged anyone with information regarding De Paz’s whereabouts to call them at 323-890-5500.

MyNewsLA

California Officer Wounded After Being Struck Twice In Shootout With Murder Suspect

A shootout between a murder suspect and an officer ended with the officer being struck twice in the lower extremities and the gunman shot in the hand, the Los Angeles Times reports. Officers with the Whittier Police Department were conducting surveillance on a suspect, identified as Edgar Gonzalez, 25, who was wanted in connection with a killing in Santa Fe Springs, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office said. Around 8:40 p.m. on Monday, officers attempted to stop Gonzalez. Officers directed the suspect to get out of the vehicle several times, and when he did, he ran off. Police pursued the suspect and caught up with him between two apartment complexes, where at least one officer opened fire. In the shootout, an officer was hit twice and the gunman was hit in the hand, sheriff's officials said. After the shooting, the suspect continued running and tossed his firearm along the way. A police K-9 was brought in and officers used a less-lethal 40mm baton round on Gonzalez before he was taken into custody, the sheriff's office said. The officer and Gonzalez were taken to a nearby hospital, where they were treated for their injuries.

PoliceOne

Alabama Officer ‘Knocked Out Of Her Boots’ By Speeding Driver Faces Long Road To Recovery

A Pelham police officer seriously injured when she was struck while on duty on Interstate 65 said she is thankful for the outpouring of love, prayers and support since the crash nearly one month ago. “I’m so blessed and grateful that I’m still alive and that I have the chance to walk again,’’ Officer Elizabeth Minter said in a statement posted on the department’s Facebook page Friday. Pelham Police Chief Brent Sugg said previously Minter was directing traffic around a crash at mile marker 242 on I-65 southbound shortly after 12:30 a.m. Saturday, July 1. Police said she was “knocked out of her boots” by a speeding vehicle. The driver had ignored traffic control vests and emergency lights and was going about 80 mph, police said. The driver was taken into custody shortly after the crash. Minter was quickly attended to by officers and firefighters and transported to UAB Hospital. The officer, the sole provider of three children, is now out of the hospital and working with home health and therapy. She said she still has more surgeries ahead, and about nine more weeks until she can try to walk.

PoliceOne

Memphis Officers Thwart ‘Potential Mass Shooting' At School

Memphis police on Monday said officers shot a suspect after he attempted to enter a Jewish school with a gun and fired shots after he couldn't get into the building. Assistant Police Chief Don Crowe said the suspect, whose identity has not been released, approached Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South around 12:20 p.m. He fired several shots and then left in a maroon truck. “Thankfully, that school had a great safety procedure and process in place and avoided anyone being harmed or injured at that scene,” Crowe said. Officers soon found the suspect's vehicle “shortly after that,” Crowe said, adding that officers then shot the suspect after he exited the truck with a firearm in hand. The suspect was sent to a hospital, where he is in critical condition. It was not immediately clear if school was in session. When asked if law enforcement believe the shooting was a hate crime, Crowe said officers were still on the scene and collecting information. “It's way too early for that. Again, we're very early in this investigation,” Crowe said. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations is now handling the case.

Associated Press

2 LAFD Firefighters Credited With Saving Man’s Life 

The Los Angeles Fire Department is recognizing two firefighters who bravely saved a man’s life in 2021. LAFD Engine 52 was dispatched to reports of a man threatening to jump off a bridge on September 27, 2021, on Sunset Boulevard, the fire department said – a situation that was “not uncommon” for the area. “The crew found no patient at the initial location but widened the search and found one man on the wrong side of the protective barrier of an overpass at Western Avenue and the 101 Freeway,” LAFD said. After finding the man, Engineer Andrew Kelly and Firefighter Nathan Vonderharr jumped into action and quickly reached over the railing to grab the man’s torso and arms, pulled him back over the railing, and pulled him safely to the ground. Firefighters stayed on the scene to ensure that the man was not able to get up and try to jump again. They provided him with a medical assessment and transported him to a local hospital with police.

KTLA 5

2 Hospitalized Following Chemical Investigation In Chatsworth

On Monday morning, an estimated 100 people were temporarily evacuated from a two-story commercial building in Chatsworth due to a chemical investigation, fire officials said. Hazardous materials specialists with the Los Angeles Fire Department were called in to investigate the odor’s source at the building located in the 9300 block of De Soto Avenue a short time after 9 a.m. Four patients were triaged at the scene by paramedics for unspecified "medical complaints," and two required hospitalization. By 10:45 a.m., the building was deemed safe. Hazmat teams said the odor had "dissipated and all readings are normal." "The previously smelled substance was not able to be identified, but is no longer a hazard," an LAFD official said. The intersection of De Soto Avenue and Prairie Street was temporarily closed off as a precaution before the area reopened to motorists. 

FOX 11

Riders Call On LA City To Fix Nefarious Bump Along Bike Path In Griffith Park

From scrapes and bruises to broken bones, cyclists say a section of the Los Angeles Bike Path in Griffith Park has been a treacherous ride for years. They have been demanding the city to fix it but they say it's just getting worse. While it may sound like a minor gripe, the bump could throw even an experienced cyclist right off their bike. Longtime rider Lawrence Long was on his bike last month when he struck the infamous cracked ridge in the road along North Zoo Drive. "I hit the bump and lost control and skidded down," he said. "Luckily, nothing broke." Long scratched up his knee and got a road rash on his thigh after riding over the nefarious bump. Other bikers like John Reimers weren't as lucky. "I was pretty skinned up. I had a concussion," Reimers recalled when crashed along the path about two years ago. Other cyclists have shared the damages to their bikes in the aftermath of their bouts with the precarious portion of the path. Many have been lobbying for the city to fix it. 

CBS 2

Imelda Padilla Becomes Formal Voting Member Of LA City Council

The Los Angeles City Council formally welcomed Imelda Padilla Tuesday as a voting member and certified her victory in the Sixth District special election. The council had appointed Padilla as a temporary voting member on July 5 while final results of her victory over council aide Marisa Alcaraz were being certified by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's office. Padilla took the oath of office at that time, joined by her family, saying the Sixth District is "ready to have a voting member" and "to have someone advocate on their behalf." During Tuesday's council meeting, Padilla took a moment to thank her mother for being her "ride or die" in everything she does. "As you will all see, we are a family of hustlers. My family works and I will be here to do what we do best in this capacity," Padilla said. "Just know that the things that I'm excited to be doing is be a coalition builder." "I told my constituents that I would be coming here and be very intentional with what I do," she added.

FOX 11

Councilmember Park Introduces Motion To Allow Permanent Coastal Al Fresco Dining

A City Council committee today approved a motion that would establish a permit process to permanently allow restaurant al fresco dining on both private property and in the public right of way in the city's coastal zone. In a unanimous vote, the council's five-member Planning and Land Use Management Committee called for a report on creating a Coastal Development Permit plan that would give permanent status to some 154 temporary al fresco permits issued during the pandemic, as well as enable other restaurants to apply for outdoor dining. Council members Traci Park and Tim McOsker - who are not members of the committee, but who represent coastal areas - introduced the motion with the intent of providing an "invaluable lifeline" to small businesses and keeping restaurants open. During the pandemic, the city's Planning Department issued some 154 temporary permits for outdoor dining in the coastal zone. While a Coastal Development Permit is typically required for restaurants in the coastal zone to add or expand outdoor dining space, various state laws also provide a temporary pathway to obtain a permit for al fresco dining.

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.