The man that Downey police shot and killed last night probably wasn't the armed robbers they were looking for, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department which is investigating the shooting.
Police Kill the Wrong Man During Pursuit of Armed Robbers
L.A. Sheriff's Deputies More Likely to Shoot Unarmed Black and Latino Men
A new report released by the Police Assessment Resource Center says that L.A. sheriff's deputies are more likely to shoot unarmed black or Latino men than they are to do the same to white or Asian men, reports CBS News. The report points to inadequate training, and says that the shootings are usually the result of the officer thinking that the person they're shooting at has a gun or is reaching for one.
Booked: The Bell 8
As initially rumored, eight former and current employees of the City of Bell were arrested yesterday, booked, and now face arraignment on a variety of corruption charges.
4/20 Day Pot Bust in Rosemead Yields Over 1 Ton of Marijuana, Worth $1.5 Million
For four people in Rosemead, any plans to observe the honorary stoner's holiday, 4/20, Tuesday, went to pot. As in it was a total bust.
Increase in Fatal Sheriff's Deputy Shootings Leads to New Policy
In 2008, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department had nine deputy-involved shootings. But for reasons unclear, that number increased to 16 in 2009, despite lower crime trends. For those reasons, Sheriff Lee Baca was expected today to gave a new deadly force guidelines to officers.
330 Citations Handed Out to Drivers & Pedestrians in Blue Line Sting
The Blue Line is notoriously known as most accident prone train in the city, if not the nation. Incidents involving cars and pedestrians make headlines quite often. In fact, the problem was enough to push Metro, L.A. County Sheriff's Deputies and LAPD to go on a public safety awareness campaign today, meaning they saturated an area of the light rail line and cited violator after violator.
FBI Investigating Burbank PD
Oh look, the squares at the Burbank Police Department are being investigated by the FBI and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department after seven members of the force, current and former, have filed lawsuits regarding human resource issues, sexual harassment and racial discrimination. The latest lawsuit filing comes from a captain who says he was demoted after pushing for an internal investigation on other officers' misconduct.
Sheriff's Say Crime is Down in Areas they Patrol
Los Angeles County Sheriff's patrol large swaths of land from up in the Antelope Valley to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Charged with all unincorporated areas such as parts of South LA and communities like Castaic and cities that contract their services like West Hollywood and Santa Clarita, yesterday the agency announced a major drop in crime despite the economic downturn. The news comes on the heels of four fatal deputy-involved-shootings that occurred within one week's time.
Don't Run that Light! 14 Red Light Enforcement Cameras to be Installed along the Eastside Gold Line
Just like they eventually did with the Orange Line, Metro is beginning to install red light enforcement cameras along the Gold Line. By the end of August, the agency expects to have installation complete at a few intersections along First Street. An opening date for the new light rail line between Union Station and East LA has not been announced.
Random Bag Checks by Sheriff's on Metro? Yes.
Apparently, Los Angeles County Sheriff's have been doing random bag checks for Metro since March, according to Damien Newton at StreetsblogLA. Metro staff emphasized to him that the searches are legal, after he spoke to them when a reader witnessed it happening to commuters entering the Gold Line platform at Union Station. Notes Newton: "When Metrolink announced it was going to begin randomly searching passengers' belongings last summer, there was a firestorm of protest. After the horrific crash last September, the agency came under fire for spending money Keeping Us Safe from Terrorists instead of improving rail safety."
Widespread Sweep to Nab Graffiti Offenders Underway in LA County
A county-wide sweep conducted by Los Angeles County Sheriff's in partnership with several local police agencies has been underway since early this morning in the hopes of netting "graffiti offenders on probation," reports the Star-News.
Raids Shut Down Powerful East L.A. Heroin Ring
An investigation launched last fall into an East Los Angeles drug operation netted 48 arrests of gang members during raids yesterday morning conducted at 38 different locations, the Press-Telegram is reporting. The raid, according to Sheriff Lee Baca "put a heroin ring out of business."
Suspect Still at Large Following WeHo Wee Hours Stabbing
A fight outside Astro Burger (7475 Santa Monica Blvd) in West Hollywood in the early morning hours "escalated into a stabbing," reports abc7.com. The incident was reported to authorities just before 3 a.m. and resulted in one man being hospitalized, with the suspect still at large. Sheriffs on scene were working with witnesses to determine what caused the fight and to get a clear description of the suspect, but were facing a jumble of stories at the time. The name and condition of the victim has not been released, and the authorities are asking that anyone with any information about the fight and the alleged stabber to come forward with details.
Sheriff's Deputies Shoot and Kill Man Wielding Machete and Bat
Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies responded to a call made in Rosemead last night from a father reporting his 22-year-old son was reportedly "on drugs and wielding a machete," explains cbs2.com. Ernesto Castaneda allegedly threatened the deputies who arrived on scene with his machete and a baseball bat, prompting the deputies to shoot him in the torso "after he refused to drop the weapons then charged at them." This was not the suspect's first run-in with the authorities; according to court records, he was "convicted last year of evading arrest and being under the influence of alcohol or drugs in a vehicle." Castaneda was taken to an area hospital, but died later from his injuries.
WeHo Police Lock Down 15 Blocks for 5 Hours, Residents Not Pleased
An attempted armed robbery prompted West Hollywood Sheriff's to shut down 15 square blocks from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. last night, leaving residents locked inside their homes or outside the perimeter for hours, WeHo News finds in a special bulletin.
No Drunks Driving in Newhall
Or, if there are, they opted not to drive where the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's deputies had set up a DUI checkpoint on Friday night. The checkpoint, which was "set up at the westbound side of Lyons Avenue just west of Avenida Dorena from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m." had 704 cars pass through, but only three drivers were taken off the line for additional sobriety tests. At the end of the night, though, there had been no arrests made. But while there might not be any drunks driving around Newhall, there were four people among the 704 who were driving sans valid licenses. Lest the whole set-up be a wash, the deputies got to impound all four of the drivers' vehicles and issue citations.
Metro's Wayfinding Program
The Metro now employs helpful Sheriff's Guides to assist disoriented or lost travelers.
Lesson of the Day: Don't Shoot Your Gun at a Police Helicopter
Seven people have been detained at the scene after two bullets struck a Los Angeles County Sheriff's helicopter that was responding to a 11 p.m. robbery call last night in Carson. Bullets hit the belly and tail area, forcing it to perform an emergency landing at the Carson station. It did so safely without incident and the helicopter is still able to fly.
Evade Train Fare & the Police Might Shoot
A man who tried to get away from Transit Sheriff's Deputies on a Metrolink Train yesterday was shot at, but not hit. Police were checking fares in Norwalk when one man split after the train doors opened.
Compton Shootings Leave 4 Dead
Three separate shooting incidents since Thursday have left four dead. The most recent took place yesterday around 1:30 p.m. when a man in a car drove up to a church and shot a man in a wheelchair and the man pushing him. The vehicle used was later found abandoned.
Marijuana Bust in Santa Clarita, a.k.a., Setting of 'Weeds'
There's something similar about Weeds on Showtime and today's marijuana bust in the Santa Clarita Valley. If you watch the TV show and know the SCV, you know that it is filmed there (opening credits are very much the neighborhood of unincorporated Stevenson Ranch).
Police Accused of Pepper-Spraying Inmate's Genital Area
Three Los Angeles Sheriff Department (LASD) deputies assigned to the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown are suspended (or, paid leave, that is) as a criminal investigation is opened into accusations from an inmate saying that he was isolated by them, punched and pepper-sprayed in the anus and scrotum area. It all started when inmate Alejandro Franco, 23, who is there for "allegedly violating terms of his probation for a domestic violence conviction," swore at a deputy when he requested a clean shirt and was refused.
About 45 minutes after the argument, three deputies removed him from his cell, handcuffed him and took him to a recreation area away from other inmates, Franco said.more ›
Today in Stupid Car Chases
Yesterday, a 26-year-old man stole a Los Angeles County Sheriffs (LASD) patrol car for unknown reasons, leading a car chase that ended in the San Diego area. The chase ended on the southbound I-5:
Regino Aguilar, 26, got out of the car after the chase but didn't comply with officers' orders, said San Diego police Lt. Kevin Rooney.more ›
Man Tasered by Sheriffs in South LA Dies
Since 2001, about 230 people have died in the U.S. after being shocked with a Taser. One of the most recent incidents was in an unincorporated part of South LA last Friday night when a 32-year-old man died after being shocked twice by LA County Sheriffs. Apparently, Cesar Silver was under drugs or alcohol and fought and struggled with five sheriffs before the Taser gun was brought out. "Eyewitnesses indicated there was a real struggle....
No need for arrests on the Orange Line
Even Flat Stanley pays his Orange Line fare. The Daily News has an idea. We're not so much into it, but here is how it goes. While Metro contracts with LA County Sheriff's, the LAPD has a man who knows something about enforcing ticketless travelers on transit systems and he happens to be top cop Chief William Bratton. Some will remember that he became famous for his "broken windows" theory that enforced smaller crimes...

