One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Hawthorne Man Arrested for Choking His Wife, Pepper Spraying His Six Kids
Photo by Adrin Shamsudin via Shutterstock
Police say they have arrested a Hawthorne man who pepper sprayed his kids when they tried to stop him from choking his wife, The Daily Breeze reports.
The man Lakepa Tahi Fifita, 45, began choking his wife during an argument about finances. When his children asked him to stop, he asked one of them to fetch him a can of pepper spray, which he then turned on them.
The man was arrested on Monday on suspicion of child abuse and domestic violence and is being held in jail on $90,000 bail, Hawthorne police Lt. Gary Tomatani told the paper.
The six children, ranging from 4 to 16 years old, are staying with their mother, but the county Department of Children and Family Services has opened an investigation.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
