Mother Of Slain Deputy Clinkunbroomer Slams DA Gascón Over Decision Not To Pursue Death Penalty

The mother of the Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who was fatally shot earlier this month in Palmdale said in remarks broadcast Wednesday that the district attorney's decision not to pursue the death penalty for the shooting suspect is a "disgrace." Kim Clinkunbroomer said in an exclusive interview with Good Morning America she was devastated about the decision by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón to seek a maximum term of life in prison without parole. "It just seems that the district attorney wants to spare a life, when (the suspect) didn't spare my son's life -- he executed my son," Clinkunbroomer, the mother of slain Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, told Good Morning America. "You can't do this to families. We need to defend our law enforcement officers, and that's not -- that's a disgrace." Gascón is an opponent of the death penalty and said in a news conference last week that it "doesn't serve as a deterrent."

CBS 2

LAPD Chief Expresses Concern About ‘Book And Release’ Plan Under New Zero Bail Policy

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore is expressing concern about the county’s new zero bail policy that is set to take effect this weekend which will allow some criminal suspects to be cited and released when they would have previously been held on bond. The new Pre-Arraignment Release Protocols are designed to rely less on the arrestee’s ability to pay and more on their risk to the public or victim, Los Angeles County Superior Court stated following a July decision to institute the system on Oct. 1. According to the protocols, those arrested for low-level, non-violent offenses will be released at the location of arrest or booked and then released with a promise to appear at arraignment. “A person’s ability to pay a large sum of money should not be the determining factor in deciding whether that person, who is presumed innocent, stays in jail before trial or is released,” Presiding Judge Samantha P. Jessner said at the time. Those arrested for more serious crimes will go before a magistrate, who will determine “appropriate non-financial pre-arraignment release terms,” the news release stated.

KTLA 5

Amie Harwick Case: Jury Deliberations Begin In Hollywood Sex Therapist's Killing

Jurors wrapped up their first day of deliberations Wednesday in the trial of a man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend — a well- known marriage and sex therapist — by throwing her off the third-floor balcony of her Hollywood Hills home. The downtown Los Angeles jury is due back in court Thursday morning to resume its deliberations in the trial of Gareth Pursehouse, who is charged with one count each of murder and first-degree residential burglary in the death of 38-year-old Amie Harwick in the early morning hours of Feb. 15, 2020. The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of murder while lying in wait. The 45-year-old Playa del Rey resident could face a potential life prison sentence without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged. During closing arguments Tuesday, prosecutors told jurors that Harwick was caught by surprise by Pursehouse, who broke into her home, waited for hours, attacked her and tossed her off the third-floor balcony. But a defense attorney countered that the woman could have fallen after climbing over the balcony following a confrontation with a man in a crisis.

FOX 11

Suspected DUI Driver Arrested After Hitting Pedestrian On Venice Boardwalk

A suspected DUI driver was arrested on Monday morning after he ran into a pedestrian while driving on the Venice Boardwalk. According to Los Angeles Police Department, officers were called to the area near the basketball courts, on Ocean Front Walk, at around 10 a.m. for a car driving on the boardwalk. Arriving officers say that the suspect, 33-year-old Israel DeAvila, was uncooperative at first, but they were eventually able to get him out of the car when he was taken into custody. Investigators learned that DeAvila became aggressive when he was approached by a group of people who told him to get off of the boardwalk. He allegedly began to rev his engine moments before driving into the group, hitting at least one of the people. Video shows the suspect swigging a bottle of beer as he's confronted by one of the bystanders on the boardwalk. "You gotta get off the boardwalk," a man can be heard telling the suspect, as he pulls away down the crowded path. Several blocks later, with a noticeably broken front windshield, police were finally able to locate him. The video shows two officers and multiple bystanders attempting to pull him from inside of his car. 

CBS 2

Dognapping Culprits Wanted In Connection With North Hollywood Attack: LAPD

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is seeking the public’s help in identifying two people accused of dognapping during a robbery in North Hollywood. LAPD said the robbery occurred Tuesday at 12:46 a.m. in the 11100 block of Burbank Boulevard. There, the victim entered a business with her dog on a leash. According to police, two people entered the business shortly after and attacked the victim in a “seemingly unprovoked” assault and forcefully took her dog. The pooch, whose name is Drake, is described as an 11-year-old pit bull/Rhodesian ridgeback mix. The individuals wanted in connection with the attack are described as a woman who wore all black clothing and shoes, and a man who wore a black and white sweater, blue jeans and white shoes. Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to contact North Hollywood Robbery Detectives Noah Stone and Chris Phillips at 818-754-8424. Anonymous tips can be made by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

NBC 4

Police Seek Help Finding Man, 87, With Dementia

Police sought the public’s help Wednesday to find an 87-year-old man with dementia who went missing in South Los Angeles. Joseph Sawyer was last seen at around 4 p.m. on Sept. 19 at his residence in the 3600 block of West 58th Place near Slauson Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Detectives described Sawyer as a 5-foot-9-inch Black man weighing 170 pounds with a bald head and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, with no description of other clothing possibly worn. Police say Sawyer is presumed to be utilizing public transportation and frequents the area of Chesterfield Square Park near La Cienega Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. Anyone with information about his whereabouts was urged to contact LAPD Missing Persons Unit Officer Hendrickson at 213-996-1800. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8277. During non-business hours or weekends, calls should be directed to 877-527-3247.

MyNewsLA

Stolen $1.5M Ancient Buddha Statue Recovered; Suspect Arrested

A man has been arrested in connection with the theft of a Buddha statue worth $1.5 million, Los Angeles police said Wednesday. The statue was recovered from a truck on Saturday and 44-year-old Justin Livick was arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property, LAPD Lt. Ruiz told KTLA. He has since been released from custody. It is unclear if Livick stole the statue or had purchased it from someone else, Ruiz said. The incident remains under investigation and no further details were released Wednesday. The statue was stolen from the Barakat Gallery in Beverly Grove around 3:45 a.m. Sept. 18, police said. Security video shows the thief pulling up to the gallery in a moving truck. The driver steps out, breaks open a driveway gate, enters the gallery and uses a dolly to move the statue into the truck. The entire heist took around 25 minutes, gallery owner Fayez Barakat told KTLA.

KTLA 5

Video Shows Shootout Between Texas Officers, Suspect Who Stole Vehicle And Cuffed Woman To Seatbelt

The Dallas Police Department released body camera video showing a shooting involving a man who stole a car and handcuffed a woman to the seatbelt. The shootout happened Sept. 24 after officers received a call about a stolen car. According to police, officers were following the stolen vehicle with paper plates that didn’t belong to it. When officers approached the vehicle, the suspect, identified as Michael Shirley, was outside of the vehicle. Shirley was given verbal commands to stop and show his hands, but he pulled a handgun from a shoulder holster, police said. Dash cam video shows an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and the officers. The suspect then got back into the stolen vehicle and drove away. Officers pursued the suspect until he hit a curb and flipped the vehicle. The suspect then shot at the officers again. Two undercover officers took cover behind a car and returned fire, hitting Shirley. A drone was launched to get a closer look at the vehicle. Inside the vehicle, officers saw a woman handcuffed in the back seat, police said.  

PoliceOne

Philly Police Arrest More Than 15 People Following Smash-and-Grab-Style Robberies

Groups of teenagers swarmed into stores in several areas of Philadelphia in an apparently coordinated effort, stuffing plastic bags with merchandise and fleeing, authorities said. Police arrested 15 to 20 people. Video on social media showed masked people in hoodies running out of Lululemon with merchandise and police officers grabbing several and tackling them to the sidewalk. Photos of a sporting goods store at a mall showed mannequins and sneakers scattered on the sidewalk. The thefts and unrest stretched from downtown to Northeast and West Philadelphia, leaving smashed display windows and broken storefront coverings. Those doing the ransacking were not affiliated with a protest happening in the city, Interim Police Commissioner John Stanford said at a news conference. “This destructive and illegal behavior cannot and will not be tolerated in our city,” Mayor Jim Kenney said on social media, calling it a “sickening display of opportunistic criminal activity.” His administration is working with police to assess “which areas of the city may need increased coverage or additional resources,” he said. People appeared to have organized efforts on social media, Stanford said. Police are investigating “that there was possibly a caravan of a number of different vehicles that were going from location to location" and that a couple of people in the caravan were in custody.

Associated Press

New COVID-19 Booster Vaccines Arrive In LA County

Los Angeles County's top health officials rolled up their sleeves and received updated COVID-19 booster shots Wednesday as they urged residents -- particularly those in groups at risk of severe illness from infection -- to receive the new inoculations now that they are available locally. County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis and Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer both received the shot Wednesday at a county-run vaccination site at Ted Watkins Park in Watts. Ferrer said the updated booster shot, which is engineered to specifically defend against currently circulating variations of COVID-19, is slowly becoming more widely available, and the county expects that in the coming weeks, the vaccinations should be available at more than 1,000 sites in the county. She acknowledged that COVID hospitalization and death numbers remain low, but added, "They are not insignificant."

NBC 4

L.A. City Council Approves New Ethics Commissioner After Rejecting Previous Nominee

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved a nominee for a spot on the Ethics Commission after several weeks of intense public scrutiny over the council’s handling of nominees for the city panel. The council voted 10 to 2 to approve Alex Johnson, a vice president at Bryson Gillette, a consulting firm that also has done campaign work. The firm has handled more than $2 million worth of work for various campaigns since May 2020, according to city records. In remarks before the vote, Johnson appeared to touch on public distrust of City Hall, which has been rocked by a series of recent corruption scandals. “I do not take this nomination lightly,” Johnson said. “I fully recognize the inflection point that we are in, the gravity of this moment, and the unique and critical role that the Ethics Commission plays in ensuring accountability, transparency and trust in government.” The city commission proposes policy and issues penalties for campaign finance violations, among other duties. The five-person panel, whose members are nominated by city officials, hasn’t been able to meet because it lacks enough commissioners. Johnson’s nomination, put forward by Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, was closely tracked at City Hall after the council last month torpedoed City Controller Kenneth Mejia‘s nomination to the city’s ethics commission.

Los Angeles Times

LA Council Approves 7-Story Affordable Housing Project In Sherman Oaks Amidst Objections

A controversial vote to approve a 7-story, 200 unit, affordable housing project on the 5500 block of North Ethel Avenue in Sherman Oaks without any notice requirements or appeal rights from residents was met with objections from several councilmembers including Bob Blumenfield (CD3), Imelda Padilla (CD6) and Traci Park (CD11). Concerned a vote to approve an appeal of a determination of incompleteness by the Department of City Planning (DCP) under the Mayor's Executive Directive 1 (ED-1) would set a precedent and streamline similar applications in his district, Councilmember Blumenfield motioned for an amendment to deny the appeal. Blumenfield's motion failed with eight councilmembers voting to approve the appeal - effectively removing any blocks that would have halted the application process. ED-1 had been enacted by Mayor Karen Bass in December of 2022 in order to expedite the processing of shelters and 100% affordable housing projects in Los Angeles, however Bass' directive was flawed in that it did specifically exclude R1 zones like the Ethel Avenue Project, which is primarily made up of single-family homes.

Westside Current

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.