Lawsuit claims LAPD commander tried to ‘discredit’ police union. Is it part of a broader rift?

The union that represents Los Angeles police officers has fired another salvo against a member of the department’s top brass, filing a lawsuit this week that accuses a prominent commander of inappropriately accessing the union’s internal communications. “We believe that Commander Carranza’s fraud was motivated by an effort to discredit our Captain Assessment survey’s results by claiming that security precautions were not in place that would have prevented [nonmembers] from taking the survey,” the Police Protective League‘s president, Craig Lally, said in a statement.

Los Angeles Times

Man Killed In Machete Attack In Downtown Los Angeles

An argument between two men in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday night ended with one killing the other with a machete, police said. Officers responded to a homicide call in the 500 block of South Los Angeles Street after 11 p.m. Thursday and found a man with wounds to his neck, Los Angeles police Officer Jeff Lee said. The man had been attacked with a machete, police said. His assailant ran west on 6th Street and has not been arrested. Paramedics rushed the injured man to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Lee said. An investigation into the attack is ongoing.

Los Angeles Times

Serial Sexual Assault Suspect Arrested In Westwood Following Pursuit

Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department arrested a serial sexual assault suspect following a pursuit that ended in Westwood Thursday afternoon. Several patrol cars were behind the driver as he circled the Westchester neighborhood for nearly an hour. The vehicle made its way northbound on the 405 Freeway and exited in the Westwood area. There officers used spike strips to disable the vehicle but the driver continued to maneuver despite the wheel damage. The chase ended when the driver rode into the Westwood Medical Plaza roundabout where traffic blocked off any possible exit routes. The driver surrendered and an arrest was made. It is believed that the driver has ties to Boston, according to the LAPD.

NBC 4

VIDEO: Burglars Steal Over $100K In Merchandise From South LA Sneaker Shop

The owners of a high-end sneaker shop in South Los Angeles were left picking up the pieces after their business was hit by a burglary crew early Friday morning. Rich LA Clothing and Sneakers in South LA’s Gramercy Park neighborhood was hit by burglars just weeks ago. Sources believe the same suspects left an Encino store damaged earlier this week since the same vehicles were spotted leaving both scenes. Surveillance video from the scene shows around 3 a.m. Friday, at least six suspects cut through the metal gates, broke through the glass and display cabinets and proceeded to ransack the shop. The owners told FOX 11 the suspects got away with an estimated $100,000 in merchandise, including boxes that had just arrived. In addition, a high-end clothing store next door owned by the same folks was also hit. The business owners estimated an estimated $20,000 in merchandise was stolen. 

FOX 11

Encino City Leaders Hold Meeting To Address Recent Rash Of Crime Plaguing Area

Encino city leaders hosted a meeting on Thursday to address the rash of crime that has plagued the area in recent weeks with community members. Council member Nithya Raman hosted the Zoom meeting, along with Los Angeles Police Department officials and the Mayor's office on Thursday evening to open a line of communication with the public about the almost daily crime that has continued in Encino, Tarzana and Woodland Hills for the past month. "To learn more about the LAPD response to this issue and to provide information and tools to help our community stay safe and secure," Raman said about Thursday's meeting. One of the many who logged on to see what they had to say was Michelangelo Falcon, who had his store high-end sneaker store Equvalence broken into for the third time since opening eight years ago. "When you have these type of meetings, it kind of comes down to what comes from it," he said. "I mean, how many of these meetings are you going to have and how much action is going to come from it?" Falcon says that the recent crime, in which the thieves took cash and product, including some shoes that were listed as high as $15,000, has him beyond frustrated. 

CBS 2

DNA Snags Suspected Serial Killer In Brutal 1977 Slayings In Ventura County

Almost 50 years after three women were strangled to death in Ventura County, cold case investigators said Thursday that they’d found the suspected serial killer who committed these murders. Through modern DNA technology and increasingly advanced data sharing across law enforcement agencies, homicide detectives were able to connect the dots on Warren Luther Alexander, 73, who was extradited this week from North Carolina — where he is awaiting prosecution in a cold case killing from 1992 — and is now being held in Ventura County Jail without bail. And cracking these cold cases — three in Southern California, one in North Carolina — appears to be just the tip of the iceberg. “We believe there may be additional victims, both locally and in other states,” Ventura County Dist. Atty. Erik Nasarenko said when he announced Thursday morning that his office had filed three counts of first-degree murder against Alexander. “This is an ongoing investigation, and we will continue to pursue all leads that become available. This is not in any way closed.” Alexander, who was a cab driver and a long-haul cross-country truck driver, is suspected of killing Kimberly Carol Fritz, Velvet Ann Sanchez and Lorraine Ann Rodriguez in 1977 in a series of horrific slayings that had stumped detectives for decades.

Los Angeles Times

Man Sentenced To Prison For Leading Southern California Drug Trafficking Ring

A Compton man was sentenced to prison for leading a Southern California drug trafficking ring. Raul Cisneros Jr., 46, was sentenced Thursday to 127 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. From at least July 2014 to August 2016, Cisneros managed the operations of a drug trafficking organization that shipped and sold cocaine and methamphetamine to customers. His operation had also been shipping cocaine to Alaska through commercial flights and U.S. mail. In October 2015, officers stopped Cisneros in his car while heading to an accomplice’s home to pick up money. Inside his car, officers found around $5,000 in cash which were earnings from drug sales. He also had around 10 kilograms (22.1 pounds) of cocaine packaged in five separate bundles which he intended to sell to customers, authorities said. While searching Cisneros’ home, authorities found around 30.7 kilograms (66.1 pounds) of cocaine, 167.7 grams of crack cocaine and approximately 3.6 kilograms (1.1 pounds) of methamphetamine inside his kitchen cabinets.

KTLA 5

Mother Arrested 37 Years After Baby’s Body Found In California Dumpster

A woman has been arrested and faces charges in the death of a newborn baby girl whose body was found inside a dumpster 37 years ago in Southern California. The baby’s body was found on Oct. 13, 1987, by a man rummaging for recyclables in a dumpster behind a business on the 5400 block of La Sierra Avenue in Riverside. The newborn’s death was ruled a homicide by the Riverside County Coroner’s Office and although the Riverside Police Department investigated the case, “all leads were exhausted and a suspect was not identified.” The investigation was eventually closed until the Police Department formed a homicide cold case unit in 2020 and a new generation of detectives began looking into the child’s death. Through modern DNA technology, detectives were able to identify the baby’s mother as 55-year-old Melissa Jean Allen Avila. Avila was 19 at the time of the baby’s death. After she was identified, local police worked with the U.S. Marshals Service to locate Avila, who had since left Riverside County and California altogether.

KTLA 5

Dash Cam: Man Shoots, Wounds CHP Officer Before Fleeing In Cruiser, Causing Fiery Crash

Newly released video shows a man shooting a CHP officer before driving away in a cruiser, KCRA reported. The October 2023 incident began when an officer approached a white Honda parked on the shoulder of an interstate, initially believing it to be a disabled vehicle. The car had tinted windows and a sunshade covering the front windshield, video released Aug. 5 shows. Dash camera footage shows the officer approaching the vehicle on the passenger side and asking the driver to roll down the window. The driver refused, exited the vehicle and immediately shot the officer. The officer took cover. One minute after the officer’s initial stop, the driver began shooting again, hitting the officer once more. The driver then stole the patrol car and drove erratically on the freeway. The driver veered in front of an 18-wheeler, causing the truck to flip on its side and the cruiser to catch fire. The suspect managed to exit the vehicle and was subsequently taken into custody. He was transported to a hospital where he later died, according to the report. The officer, who was shot in the abdomen, shoulder and leg, has physically recovered and returned to duty. CHP chopper video taken after the incident shows evidence markers indicating how dangerously close the gunshots came to other drivers.

PoliceOne

Video Shows Florida Deputy Rescue Missing Child From Large Pond

A Florida deputy is being praised after rescuing a 5-year-old boy with autism who wandered away from home and was found in a pond, WFLA reported. The boy’s family called 911 when an alarm on a second-story door alerted them to his disappearance, according to the report. Upon arrival, Deputy Wes Brough began searching the home and quickly focused on nearby ponds and lakes. Body camera footage shows Brough searching near a pond when he hears the child’s voice. “He’s out here somewhere. I got him! I got him!” the deputy shouts to fellow officers. The video then captures Brough rushing into the water to save the 5-year-old, who was clinging to a log. Brough safely carries the boy out of the water and reunites him with his family shortly afterward. In a Facebook post, the sheriff’s office confirmed that the family had taken several measures to secure their home, including installing the alarm system that alerted them to the boy’s disappearance. Brough expressed his gratitude for being in the right place at the right time. “I have three children of my own, one being a 5-year-old. So, to have him hold onto me tightly like that, it really felt like it was my own kid holding onto me,” Brough said in a reel shared by the sheriff’s office.

PoliceOne

Gun Deaths Fell In 2023 — Except Among Kids

Gun deaths fell again in the United States in 2023, according to provisional data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in July – except among children. Gun deaths among children under 18 years old rose from 2,542 in 2022 to 2,581 in 2023. Even though that’s slightly lower than the record set in 2021, it’s still an average of seven kids killed each day, and more than double the death toll endured in 2013, when 1,249 children died from gunshots. Sixty-three percent of the child gun deaths last year were homicides, while 29 percent were suicides and 5 percent were unintentional shootings. The figures come from the CDC’s WONDER database, which collects mortality information from death certificates at the state level. The estimates are provisional and are likely to change slightly before final figures are released in December. While the data is not yet final, it provides the most comprehensive and accurate accounting of gun deaths in America. Shootings claimed 46,728 lives last year, according to the CDC data, marking the second year in a row that gun deaths fell after reaching an all-time high in 2021. The 2023 total represents a 3 percent decrease from 2022, when 48,204 people died from gunshots, and a 4.3 percent decrease from 2021, when 48,830 people were killed.

The Trace

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.