LAPD slams ‘highly inaccurate’ audit that questioned millions spent on helicopters

Two months after an audit raised questions about the cost and value of the Los Angeles Police Department’s helicopter program, the department has shot back, defending its nearly round-the-clock flights above the city. In a presentation to the L.A. Police Commission on Tuesday, LAPD Cmdr. Shannon Paulson said that the audit showed a “fundamental lack of understanding” about how the aircraft help identify and catch crime suspects. The audit by the city controller’s office reported that 61% of flight time by LAPD helicopters was spent on “non-high priority incidents.” Paulson said that finding was based on a “highly inaccurate definition” of so-called Part I crimes set by the FBI, which include homicides, robberies and property crimes such as auto theft.

Los Angeles Times

Shortage Of 911 Operators In LA Is Straining Emergency Response System

The LAPD's communications operators, which are responsible for answering millions of 911 calls each year and dispatching police, have been working mandatory overtime in order to keep the city's emergency response system running because of a critical staffing shortage. There are 162 unfilled jobs for the operators, called Police Service Representatives, or PSRs, and the city hasn't been able to hire and train new PSRs quickly enough, which has strained the network that the public depends on to send help when there's a life-threatening emergency. “Our PSRs are absolutely dedicated, it’s not going to fail, we have enough personnel currently to answer at a minimum standard, but it’s not where we need to be," LAPD Captain Raymond Valois told the I-Team. The PSRs field thousands of 911 calls and text messages each day from communications centers in Downtown LA and in Chatsworth. Virtually every 911 call from within the City, even those later transferred to the fire department or other agencies, first pass through the LAPD's centers.

NBC 4

Chief Michel Moore Retires After More Than Four Decades With LAPD

Thursday marked Michel Moore's final day as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department before his retirement after more than 40 years of service with the agency. Moore released a statement Thursday morning, hours before he was scheduled to hand over department leadership to interim Chief Dominic Choi. “Today is my last day as chief of police of the finest police department in America," Moore said in the statement. "It has been an honor and privilege to have served Los Angeles for more than four decades. As I look forward to my next adventure with my family, I am proud of the dedication of our people and know the future for Los Angeles and the LAPD is bright." A ceremony was scheduled for Thursday afternoon when Moore leaves department headquarters. Participants will form an Honor Cordon, cheering on Moore as he exits the facility in a ceremony considered one of the department's highest tributes. In a January interview with NBCLA after announcing his retirement, Moore said he is building a house in Tennessee. Moore and his wife will soon be moving there to be closer to his daughter, he said, adding that he made the decision to step down during the Christmas holidays. “I said 2024 is the year,” Moore said. “The two most important people in my life, my wife and my daughter, they've given a lot for me to do this. It's time to say, ‘Okay, I've been selfish enough.’”

NBC 4

Dominic Choi To Be Sworn In Friday As LAPD's Interim Chief

The ceremony will take place just a day after former Chief Michel Moore formally retired. Hundreds of uniformed and civilian LAPD employees gathered outside the department's downtown headquarters and formed an Honor Cordon, saluting and cheering as Moore exited the building for the final time as chief. The Honor Cordon is considered one of the department's highest tributes. Moore said he plans to move away from Los Angeles to be closer to his daughter, though he will retain a consultant role with the city. The Board of Police Commissioners selected Assistant Chief Choi as the interim chief of police, and he is to take on the role starting Friday. He will be formally sworn in as the department's 58th chief at LAPD headquarters. Among those expected to attend the event are City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, City Council President Paul Krekorian, Council members Traci Park, John Lee, Tim McOsker and Imelda Padilla. Richard Tefank, executive director of the Board of Police Commissioners will also be in attendance, as well as Carlos De La Guerra, managing senior assistant city attorney, Erich King, legislative director for Lee's office, Matt Szabo, the city's administrative officer, and Joe Buscaino, former City Council member.

ABC 7

Woman Killed In Hit-and-Run Crash In Leimert Park

A 60-year-old woman was killed in a hit and run collision near the Leimert Park neighborhood and Friday police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash. The collision was reported at 10:30 p.m. Thursday and Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to Crenshaw Boulevard and Homeland Drive where they found the victim in the street, an LAPD spokesman told City News Service. Witnesses told police a vehicle was driving southbound on Crenshaw, struck the pedestrian and did not stop to render aid. The victim as pronounced dead the scene. LAPD’s South Traffic Division is investigating the hit and run.

MyNewsLA

Teen Brutally Beaten At Dockweiler Beach, Group Of Attackers Remain On The Loose

A mother is desperately seeking the individuals who brutally beat her 16-year-old son in an on-camera assault that could have cost the boy his life. “They told me they didn’t know if my son was going to live,” Frankie, the teen’s mother, told NBC4. Video of the attack showed several people kicking the boy all over his body as he lay on the ground, helpless. Using his hands to shield his face and head to his best ability, the teenager took the brutal beating after he tried to break up a fight at Dockweiler Beach between two girls. Following the teen’s attempt to stop the fight, a group of four to six males viciously assaulted him. “Nobody helped him during the fight, no one said stop,” Frankie said. “No one said, ‘I’m going to call 911.’ Nobody did anything.” According to the disheartened mother, the group stole her son’s shoes and phone following the attack. They also spewed racist and homophobic slurs at him. Detectives believe the boy’s attackers are part of a gang and range in age from 14 to 17 years old. The victim suffered a punctured lung and lost more than half a liter of blood. As he continues to recover physically, the teen is also dealing with constant pain and trauma.

NBC 4

LA Sneaker Store Hit By Smash-and-Grab Robbers; Suspects Run Off With Only Right-Footed Shoes

A shoe store in Los Angeles' San Fernando neighborhood is left picking up the pieces after the business was hit by a group of smash-and-grab robbers. Shocking surveillance camera shows the moments when several suspects broke into the HypeBeast Kickz. The windows were smashed and the suspects ran off with at least 50 shoes. "It's very frustrating, honestly. It's like devastating," said Mario, who runs the store with his father. Worth nothing, however, that the suspects stole shoes from the display rack – meaning they ran off with only right shoes and are missing left shoes if they were to resell the stolen kicks. As of Thursday night, no arrests have been announced in connection to the robbery. 

FOX 11

Thieves Steal Over $20,000 Worth Of High-End Sneakers In Southern California

Owners of a sneaker store are devastated after burglars ransacked the shop and escaped with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. Surveillance cameras captured the break-in on Feb. 22 at around 2:30 a.m. as four masked thieves smashed their way through the glass entrance of HypeBeast Kickz. Located on Maclay Avenue in San Fernando, this is the second time the high-end sneaker shop has been targeted by burglars since it opened three years ago. Even though the shop is located about 600 feet from the San Fernando Police Department, that did not appear to deter the suspects as they pulled up in a white Kia sedan. A suspect is seen hurling a large rock to shatter the store’s glass windows. As the burglars swarmed the shop, display shelves were knocked over or destroyed as they grabbed as many pairs of sneakers as they could. At one point, a suspect appeared to cock a handgun while inside the store. The suspects ran back outside to load the stolen merchandise into a getaway car before returning to continue knocking over display cases and grabbing more items.

KTLA 5

Minnesota Officer, Court Employee Killed Trying To Serve Eviction Notice

A court employee trying to serve an eviction notice at a home in Independence, Missouri, was shot and killed Thursday and two police officers who responded to help him also were shot, one fatally. “I’m very tragically sorry to report that we lost one of our own,” Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman said. He identified the deceased officer as Cody Allen, 35. Dustman said Allen “always had a smile” and described the police department as a “broken family,” over his death. The second officer, whose name wasn’t released, underwent surgery and is expected to recover, Dustman said. A third officer also “took gunshot rounds” and had minor injuries, the police chief said. The shooting occurred when court employee Drexel Mack tried to serve an eviction notice. Mack or another civil process server also at the home called 911 saying Mack had been shot, Dustman said. The officers responded at about 1:10 p.m. and approached Mack to help him when someone shot at them, he said. Helicopter video from KMBC-TV showed emergency vehicles converged around a large, isolated house in the middle of a field. The area is a mixture of woods and farmland with a smattering of houses on multi-acre lots. A church is mixed in among the homes.

Associated Press

NYPD Patrol Chief Slams Judge For Releasing Felon, Repeat Offender

The NYPD publicly denounced a judge who released an accused subway pickpocket without bail, claiming that the serial offender is again “walking the streets of this city, looking for his next victim.” While complaining about the release of Rudell Faulkner on drug and stolen property charges on X, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell bashed Supreme Court Judge J. Machelle Sweeting for setting the repeat offender free. “This is his sixth arrest this year, with four being felonies,” Chell wrote as he posted a mugshot of Faulkner. “Our cops @NYPDnews did their job. @ManhattanDA drew up proper charges and asked for bail and did his job,” Chell wrote in the post Tuesday. That part of Chell’s tweet is factually incorrect — the case is being prosecuted by the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, as Faulkner’s alleged crime occurred in the Bronx. The Manhattan DA is not involved in the case. Chell went on to write that Sweeting — who is usually assigned to Manhattan civil courts, but has lately been filling in for vacationing Bronx judges — “did not do her job” because she released Faulkner free without bail. “She set free a predator back into the community, who may be on your next train, or walking the streets of our city, looking for his next victim,” Chell said. Faulkner, 64, was arrested Feb. 23 for narcotics possession and criminal possession of stolen property after cops stopped him jumping a turnstile at the Fordham Road subway station near Jerome Ave. in Fordham about 5:21 p.m.

New York Daily News

New Measure Aims To Make L.A. Streets Safer From Deadly Car Crashes

The streets of Los Angeles are on the ballot as a new measure aims to make roads and walkways safer from deadly car crashes. Measure HLA, also known as Healthy Streets LA, would implement Mobility Plan 2035, which calls for additional safety features such as widening sidewalks, protected bike and bus lanes, road elements to prevent speeding, and more, to improve traffic safety. The improvements aim to save lives from an increasing number of deadly car collisions. Brooke Rios, an educator and a supporter of “Yes on Measure HLA,” said she has seen too many close calls by watching students trying to make their way to school in a high-traffic area. “I’ve seen students get hit by cars,” Rios said. “I’ve watched families with children in tow trying to cross busy streets like Washington Boulevard and Venice Boulevard that don’t have the infrastructure for safety. They’re literally risking their lives on the way to school.” L.A. residents will have the chance to vote on Measure HLA in Tuesday’s primary election. 

KTLA 5

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.