Frank Stoltze
Criminal Justice Correspondent (he/him)I came to L.A. as a very young reporter on New Year’s Day, 1991. Two months later, four LAPD officers were caught on videotape beating Rodney King. A year later, the night before the riots/rebellion broke out, I was in the Nickerson Gardens housing project in Watts at an extraordinary rally of rival gangs that had brokered a truce.
Today, I cover a new movement for criminal justice reform. It is an important moment for justice in L.A., and not everybody shares the same vision. I seek to report the facts and events, but also provide you context for what is happening.
All of this means I still need to figure out the best donut shop in L.A. The best torta. The best (not fanciest) coffee. Best of all I get to meet the smartest, most interesting people and bring their voices to you.
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Criminal Justice
A lawsuit has been filed by the family of a man fatally shot by an L.A. sheriff's deputy who mistook the black COVID mask he was holding for a gun. -
Criminal Justice
An independent discipline panel and a demand for access to all body worn camera video: L.A. Supervisors seek ways to force oversight on a recalcitrant Sheriff Villanueva.
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Criminal Justice
The L.A. Congresswoman wants the U.S. Department of Justice to look into allegations that a deputies' clique is operating out of the Sheriff's Department's Compton station.
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Criminal Justice
The Sheriff’s department has opened criminal investigations into two key watchdogs and has investigated a former department official who played a role in disciplining deputies. Villanueva defends the inquiries as proper.
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Criminal Justice
Norrington was granted parole after serving 15 years for attempted murder, a crime he committed when he was 22. He's determined to prove the parole board made the right decision.
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Criminal Justice
The 62-year-old Cecil Rhambo rose to assistant sheriff during his 33-year career at the Sheriff's Department, so he could present a serious threat to Villanueva.
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Housing and Homelessness
The sheriff had earlier threatened to arrest any unhoused people who refused to leave by Independence Day.
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Criminal Justice
The suit claims Christopher Bailey was not resisting in any way when the deputies repeatedly punched, choked and tasered him during a May 2020 traffic stop.
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Criminal Justice
The recall campaign against L.A. County DA George Gascón remains a long shot, but he is not taking any chances. Gascón held his first public rally Friday to defend himself.
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Criminal Justice
George Gascón promised during his campaign to review past police shootings. The outside panel will examine fatal shootings to see if there is evidence that might call into question previous DA's decisions not to file criminal charges against the officers.
