LAPD Officers Pepper-Sprayed During Venice Anti-Encampment Enforcement; DA Won’t Pursue, Passes Case To City Attorney

Two Los Angeles Police Department officers were pepper-sprayed Monday evening while enforcing the city’s anti-camping law near a homeless encampment across from a school at Westminster Dog Park. The incident occurred just before 6 p.m. as the officers, assigned to the Pacific Division, were conducting outreach and enforcing Municipal Code 41.18, which prohibits camping near sensitive areas such as schools and parks. The officers approached a tent occupied by David Jacobs, a man with a long history of causing disturbances in the area. Jacobs, who has multiple prior arrests in Venice for both misdemeanor and felony offenses, allegedly sprayed the officers with pepper spray before fleeing on foot. The officers pursued Jacobs and apprehended him on the sand near Venice Beach, where he was arrested without further incident. The officers were not injured and have since returned to duty. However, despite the seriousness of the assault, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to file felony charges. Instead, the case has been referred to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, which will review it for possible misdemeanor charges.

Westside Current

‘Ground Zero For Human Trafficking.' Feds, Los Angeles Team Up To Crack Down On Figueroa Corridor

A portion of Figueroa Street in South Los Angeles surrounded by nearly two dozen churches and several schools has been a breeding ground for human trafficking, prompting officials from the federal, Los Angeles city and county agencies to launch an unprecedented crackdown initiative, officials announced Wednesday. The Figueroa Corridor Human Trafficking Initiative will target sex traffickers who often exploit girls as young as 11 years old with violence, intimation and psychological abuse along the Figueroa Corridor, a 3-and-a-half-mile stretch of Figueroa Street between Gage Avenue and Imperial Highway, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrade said while standing next to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Los Angeles Police Chief Dominic Choi, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Felstein Soto. The Figueroa Corridor has been plaguing the neighborhood made up of businesses and residences for years, according to Estrada. “There are 23 churches in the area and five middle schools and elementary schools. But this area is also ground zero for human trafficking where children and women are exploited and abused each and every day,” the U.S. Attorney said. Conditions in the Figueroa Corridor are so horrendous, Estrada said, as young girls and women are being forced into commercial sex work even during daytime. And at night, the area turns into an “outdoor bordello,” Estrada explained. “We see underage girls walking around and next to nothing, regardless of the weather, with pimps lurking nearby in cars supervising everything,” he described.

NBC 4

L.A. Mayor Bass To Make LAPD Chief Pick This Month

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Wednesday that she intends to pick the city’s next police chief by the end of the month, but declined for now to name the finalists that were forwarded to her office two weeks ago. Bass said she had not yet interviewed any of the finalists sent to her by the Police Commission, the five-person civilian body that oversees the Los Angeles Police Department. The names were quietly passed on to Bass on Aug. 21, the day that the commission wrapped up its final interviews with several finalists behind closed doors. Commissioners have refused to reveal the identities of the front-runners — reflecting the secrecy that has enshrouded much of the search process. The circle of people who have been briefed on the final list of candidates appears to be quite small, with even senior LAPD officials and longtime consultants reportedly being kept in the dark. The finalists will now compete to replace former Chief Michel Moore, who retired unexpectedly in February after after 5 ½ years on the job. The months-long search to find his successor has created a palpable air of anticipation within the country’s third largest police force. Speaking to The Times on Wednesday, Bass said that she hadn’t yet “talked to any of the candidates so I don’t know how they feel” about being publicly identified. “Right now, I don’t plan on that, but I do plan on making a decision in the month of September,” Bass said. “I think it’s a question as to whether those individuals would like their names released. I think I need to be sensitive to that.”

Los Angeles Times

Man’s body found inside minivan in Highland Park

Police are investigating after a man’s body was discovered inside a minivan in Highland Park Wednesday morning. Los Angeles police responded to the area of El Paso Drive and North Avenue 50 around 10:30 a.m. after a bystander called the police after noticing the body inside the vehicle.

KTLA 5

Family Members Join Police In Plea For Information On Hit-and-Run Driver That Killed South LA Woman

Family members of a 43-year-old woman who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in South Los Angeles last month joined police on Wednesday in their plea for information. The crash happened on Aug. 16 at around 10 p.m., when Latesha Washington was hit by a speeding BMW at the intersection of Central Avenue and 88th Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Officers arrived to find Washington in the street and despite attempting life-saving measures she was pronounced dead at the scene. Since then, investigators have been unable to locate the suspect or their vehicle, leading to Wednesday's conference to ask the public for help in locating the driver. A standing reward of up to $50,000 has been offered by Los Angeles city officials for information that leads to the identification, arrest and conviction of the suspect. Anyone who knows more is asked to contact LAPD detectives at (213) 924-3621. 

CBS 2

Two Men Shot Leaving Restaurant Near Hollywood Walk Of Fame

Two men leaving a restaurant near the Walk of Fame were hospitalized when a gunman opened fire in Hollywood overnight. The shooting was reported just before midnight outside the Status Hollywood restaurant and lounge on the 1600 block of Cahuenga Boulevard. Police said the two victims had just finished dinner and walked out of the lounge when a gunman standing next to a car opened fire from across the street. Both victims were struck by the gunfire and transported to a local hospital. A security guard who witnessed the incident ran to help one of the victims who said he was feeling weak and starting to lose consciousness. “I grabbed a shirt that was lying there and I applied pressure … Got that hole covered,” Eric Hinkley said. Police said the unidentified victims were in stable condition at the hospital. The suspect, described only as a man in a black hoodie, ran northbound on Cahuenga after the shooting.

KTLA 5

Man Stabbed In Mid-City

An investigation is underway in Los Angeles after a man was stabbed Wednesday, according to authorities. The man made it to the La Brea E Line Metro station in the Mid-City neighborhood where he was able to get help from an elevator contractor who called 911, according to Metro officials. He was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries. His current condition is not known. Information on a suspect has not yet been released. The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).

FOX 11

Thief Likely Drugged Family Dog During Home Burglary In Southern California

A Sherman Oaks family was left shaken after their beloved French Bulldog was likely drugged while their home was burglarized late last week. Danielle Towne told KTLA that on Aug. 29, she, her husband and their baby boy had gone out for just a few hours and had forgotten to activate the alarm system on their home in the 5000 block of Ranchito Avenue. Towne said that when the family returned, around 7 p.m., she saw her dog was disoriented, wobbling and in distress. “It was very upsetting,” she told KTLA’s John Fenoglio. “It was probably the hardest thing to do deal with that night.” As she was about to rush her dog to the animal hospital, Towne quickly realized she’d been burglarized. “I looked in our bedroom and noticed it was completely torn apart,” she explained. “I immediately noticed a lot of our stuff was missing.” All of her jewelry and family heirlooms, like her mother’s wedding band and her grandmother’s Rolex, were stolen. “It was all jewelry. They didn’t take laptops or electronics and stuff,” she said. “It seemed like they were looking for stuff that was really specific.” Surveillance cameras captured a man with what appeared to be a white satchel strung over his shoulder as he hopped into a red SUV, which had been circling the block, before the family returned home to find they had been broken into, their bedroom sliding door pried open.

Yahoo! News

2 Phoenix Officers Shot With 1 Listed In Critical Condition, Police Say

Two police officers have been shot and wounded by a man suspected of breaking into a vehicle, and one of the officers was likely saved by his ballistic vest, authorities said Wednesday. Interim police Chief Michael Sullivan said at a news conference after Tuesday night’s shooting that one officer was hospitalized in critical condition while the other was in stable condition. The names of the officers haven’t been released. Police identified the suspect as 41-year-old Saul Bal and said he’s been booked into the Maricopa County Jail on suspicion of two counts of attempted murder plus burglary and weapons charges. The two police officers responded to a call of someone attempting to break into a vehicle around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sullivan said. The suspect took off running and jumped over a fence, and the officers were both shot when they gave chase, he said. The suspect was detained not far from the shooting scene near downtown Phoenix, Sullivan said. The interim chief said he has spoken to the officer who is in stable condition. “He was traumatized. He just been shot, and his partner had just been shot,” Sullivan said at the news conference, adding that officers have been met by gunfire 11 times so far this year.

Associated Press

14-Year-Old Student Fatally Shoots 4 People In Rampage At A Georgia High School

A 14-year-old student opened fire at a Georgia high school and killed four people on Wednesday, authorities said, sending students scrambling for shelter in their classrooms — and eventually to the football stadium — as officers swarmed the campus and parents raced to find out if their children were safe. The dead were identified as two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, about an hour’s drive from Atlanta. At least nine other people were taken to hospitals with injuries. The words “hard lockdown” appeared on a screen in junior Layla Ferrell’s health class and lights began flashing. She and her frightened classmates piled desks and chairs in front of the door to create a barricade, she recalled. Sophomore Kaylee Abner was in geometry class when she heard the gunshots. She and her classmates ducked behind their teacher’s desk, and then the teacher began flipping the desk in an attempt to barricade the classroom door, Abner said. A classmate beside her was praying, and she held his hand while they all waited for police. After students poured into the football stadium, Abner saw teachers who had taken off their shirts to help treat gunshot wounds. Two school resource officers encountered the shooter within minutes after a report of shots fired went out, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said. The suspect, a student at the school, immediately surrendered and was taken into custody. He is being charged as an adult with murder.

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.