Free Republic

A gunman who opened fire outside a Trader Joe's in Silver Lake was in custody after a tense standoff that claimed the life of one woman inside the store. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the death, saying the woman was pulled out of the store by authorities and declared dead at the scene. The mayor released no other details, saying police were trying to reach next of kin. The incident began as family dispute in South Los Angeles involving a man in his late teens. Police said he shot his grandmother and a second woman at her residence. He then took...

FACEBOOK6 TWITTER REDDIT PINTEREST LINKEDIN EMAIL Los Angeles police reported a possible hostage situation at a Trader Joe’s grocery store Saturday. A suspect being pursued by police crashed his vehicle, got out of the vehicle and ran into the store, LAPD Officer Mike Lopez told CNN. Lopez said customers ran out of the Trader Joe’s. Police are still trying to determine whether there are any hostages inside the store. He said he did not know whether any shots had been fired by the police or suspect. This is a developing story.

Full title...................Gunman 'takes hostages and opens fire' inside a Trader Joe's in Los Angeles after he was chased by cops for 'shooting his girlfriend and grandmother'.....................A hostage situation is underway at a Trader Joe's in Silverlake, Los Angeles after a man being chased by police jumped out of their car and ran into the store on Saturday afternoon. The vehicle was seen wrapped around a pole and police rescued a woman left inside. Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times the woman is his girlfriend, and he had fired at officers before he ran inside the supermarket. LAPD told...

Viral video of woman's arrest sparks anger, but LAPD says she was involved in violent kidnapping plotA viral video of several Los Angeles police officers training their firearms on an unarmed woman drew fierce criticism online Monday, but police and prosecutors said Tuesday that the footage actually depicted the arrest of one of three people involved in a violent plot to hold an actor for ransom. The video, taken early Monday near La Cienega Boulevard and Centinela Avenue, shows several police officers aiming their guns at a woman who has her hands in the air. As the woman walks backward...

After 41 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, the last nine as its chief, Charlie Beck retired on Wednesday, handing his badge and collar stars to his successor, Michel Moore (yes, that’s how he spells his first name). The occasion of Beck’s retirement has been marked by a good deal of adoring press attention, not the least of which was a 2,200-word retrospective on his career in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times. The story, by Times writer Cindy Chang, noted some of Beck’s missteps as chief, such as when a horse owned by his daughter, also an LAPD officer, made...

The LAPD arrested a Democratic Los Angeles councilman on Monday after he and other demonstrators blocked the entrances to a downtown Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center for about an hour. Dramatic footage showed Mike Bonin, a fierce critic of President Trump, being led away in plastic zip-tie handcuffs shortly before noon, after police informed protesters they were engaged in an unlawful assembly. Images and videos posted to social media showed dozens of demonstrators waving signs and chanting slogans, with several blocking access to the detention center's driveways and entryways. Eighteen protesters were arrested in total, according to local...

A 54-year-old man who works as an adoption manager with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services has been arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography, police said Tuesday. Police arrived about 5 a.m. to raid Carlos Castillo’s Hollywood apartment, which he shares with his longtime partner, neighbors in the building told KTLA. Castillo was allegedly in possession of more than 600 images and videos of child pornography. Los Angeles Police Department Officer Herrera confirmed Castillo’s arrest Tuesday. A person who answered the phone at Castillo’s residence on Tuesday said he did not want to comment on...

Michael MacDonald was riding his bicycle near Los Angeles’ Miracle Mile when he was allegedly struck by a honking Mercedes driver who fled the scene in March of 2015. The collision at San Vicente Boulevard and Masselin Avenue, which involved the car’s side mirror, left the architect lying in the middle of the street dazed and hurting. He was hospitalized with minor injuries, including abrasions and leg pain. Although a witness in another car was able to follow the Mercedes and jot down the license plate number, no arrests were made and no charges were ever filed.

An attorney for the family of a 14-year-old boy killed by a Los Angeles police officer released body camera footage Tuesday of the controversial 2016 encounter, arguing that the recordings show that the boy had tossed his gun and was unarmed when he was shot. Humberto Guizar released two clips recorded by the body cameras of two officers who responded to a vandalism report behind a North Chicago Street apartment complex, where the teen, Jesse Romero, was with a group of boys tagging graffiti. Two-and-a-half minutes into the footage, the officers spot at least two boys outside the complex. One...

Two women were detained by police when one of them allegedly threw what witnesses said were ashes at Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck during a meeting at LAPD headquarters. --------snip-------- Several sources told CBS2’s Dave Lopez the substance was the ashes of Wakiesha Wilson, who died while in LAPD custody in 2016. Reports from the scene suggest that Sheila Hines-Brim allegedly threw some of Wilson’s ashes at Beck and then reportedly shouted, “That’s Wakiesha,” as she was walking away. -----------------snip----------------- The activist group Californians for Progress identified the detained women as Melina Abdullah, a leader of the Los...

A Los Angeles police officer has been arrested on federal charges alleging he tried to smuggle two illegal immigrants into the United States this week in southeastern San Diego County. Mambasse Koulabalo Patara has been charged with violating immigration laws, according to a federal complaint filed Wednesday. He was arrested early Tuesday morning at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Pine Valley, located about 12 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Two years after the LAPD touted a multimillion-dollar purchase of a fleet of eco-friendly electric BMWS, the vehicles are being used for personal trips to grab lunch and -- in one instance -- a visit to a nail salon, according to a local report. [Snip] A CBS investigative team, which reviewed mileage logs and followed the BMWs when they left LAPD garages, found that officers appeared to have a loose interpretation of those guidelines. One BMW went straight to a Yoshinoya drive-thru and returned to a police station, CBS reported. Another headed for Loyola Marymount University and picked up someone...

Los Angeles police are investigating almost two dozen cases of alleged criminal sexual misconduct connected to multiple people within the entertainment industry, a senior department official told NBC News. [Snip] Allegations span from misdemeanor sexual battery to felony rape, and in many cases, there are multiple complaints lodged against the same individual, the official said. With calls from victims continuing to roll in, the number of investigations is expected to rise. [Snip] The LAPD has also collected nearly 30 "courtesy reports" that take a victim's statement before referring the case to law enforcement agencies in other parts of the country...

Bodycam video allegedly shows an LAPD officer planting drugs inside a black suspect’s wallet. *snip* The suspect, Ronald Shields, 52, was arrested at the time and charged with felony hit-and-run and possession of cocaine. Officers claimed in the police report that they found a small bag of coke in the front left pocket of Shields’ shirt. But bodycam video apparently tells a different story.

The 3-1 vote was met by jeers from dozens of people who crowded the Police Commission’s meeting room, many of whom repeatedly urged the civilian oversight panel to reject the proposal. “Shame on you!” some shouted. “Shame on you!” That frustration spilled outside the LAPD’s downtown headquarters as protesters settled in the middle of 1st and Main streets, chanting and holding signs as they denounced the decision. Officers ultimately led four people away in handcuffs. Drones have been hailed by law enforcement across the country as a valuable technology that could help find missing hikers or monitor armed suspects without...

Los Angeles police are searching for a man who tried to sexually assault a woman outside her Van Nuys apartment while people walked by and cars slowed down without intervening, authorities said. At about 5:45 a.m. Saturday, the woman was walking to her apartment in the 14000 block of Vanowen Street when she was confronted by a man trying to speak to her in Spanish, which she does not speak, authorities said. She told police he smelled of alcohol. ... The woman kept the struggle in full view of security cameras, which captured the attack, authorities said. Surveillance video shows...

Police were on a city-wide tactical alert Friday after a power outage at one of the Los Angeles Police Department’s two dispatch centers. The outage was reported about 11:20 a.m. at the LAPD’s downtown dispatch center, according to a department spokesman. All communications operations were shifted to the department’s other dispatch center at the Valley Bureau and no disruptions were reported, said Officer Sal Ramirez.

LAPD Officers Join Compton Students For Father-Daughter Dance Friday was a night of celebration in Watts for dozens of young princesses. The gymnasium at Compton Avenue Elementary School magically transformed into a beautiful ballroom - all for the annual father-daughter dance. The music was thumping, feet were moving and smiles were everywhere! "I really like the fact that these beautiful ladies are being empowered. They're being shown that they are princesses in their own right, and all are individuals and all are appreciated here," father Jesse Melano said. But not all of these young ladies have a father figure in...

Los Angeles has blocked airport police and firefighters from co-operating with federal immigration agents. The latest directive is the city's most aggressive bid yet to oppose President Trump's tough crackdown and protect illegal immigrants from immigration officials. Mayor Eric Garcetti declared it was 'un-American' to 'demonize' their neighbors simply because they are foreign, as the city beefed up its 'sanctuary city' status. The Los Angeles Police Department already prohibits police from asking for the legal status of a suspect even if they have probable cause. 'In Los Angeles, we don't separate people from their families because it's inhumane,' Eric Garcetti...

It's a detail that stands out in photos of recent immigration roundups across the country: federal agents wearing clothing that labels them as "police." Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say it's an accurate word for them to use, and it can mean the difference between life and death in volatile situations. But elected officials in Los Angeles say they want the practice to stop. When ICE officers call themselves "police," they claim, it's misleading and endangers public safety. How long has this been happening? What's the debate? And why is it coming up now? The history It isn't new for...