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An unsigned letter circulated among the Los Angeles Police Department rank and file last week, encouraging officers to call in sick to protect their own interests. It had been been a month of upheaval for police, with unprecedented protests over police killings of Black people and the Los Angeles City Council agreeing to cut the LAPD’s budget by $150 million amid calls for sweeping reforms. LAPD commanders are investigating whether an unusual spike in officers calling in sick over the July 4 weekend was the result of an orchestrated protest or labor action, which would be illegal. Sources in the...

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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) urged residents Thursday to continue following the social distancing guidelines ahead of Independence Day to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the police department in Los Angeles posted a photo of a crowded protest taking place in the city. What the mayor said: Garcetti praised the coronavirus measures the city introduced at the beginning of the pandemic and called on residents to avoid large gatherings and wear face coverings in public places or places where they cannot keep a recommended distance this July 4th because “COVID-19 has taken control.”

Mayor Eric Garcetti said that Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers who felt demoralized by recent protests and budget cuts should take heart and “remember why they became police officers.” Garcetti was speaking after numerous reports of “record low” morale in the LAPD, after the Black Lives Matter riots led the mayor to announce $150 million in cuts to the department, which became official on Monday. Garcetti is also feuding with the local police union, which took offense last month when the mayor referred to police (in general) as “killers.” LAPD officers also learned that they would to be paid...

A Black Lives Matter activist has claimed he was shot in the groin with a rubber bullet during a protest in Los Angeles, causing him to lose a testicle. South African native Bradley Steyn, who was involved in anti-apartheid protests in South Africa when he was younger, claims the LAPD are responsible for his injuries, and he now plans to sue. Steyn claims he was attacked by law enforcement during a May 30 George Floyd protest in Los Angeles' Fairfax district. . . . 'At the march I was shot by a member of the LAPD with a rubber bullet...

Singer-songwriter Meredith Brooks is calling out Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti for the city’s permissive attitude toward crime, saying that it has forced her friends to buy guns to protect themselves and has caused residents to flee the city. Her criticism comes as L.A. is still reeling from the widespread looting stemming from violent rioting during the past week. The city’s tense situation was made worse by Mayor Garcetti’s plan to slash the LAPD budget by as much as $150 million. The mayor also called LAPD officers “killers” at a recent meeting with local black leaders. Meredith Brooks said in...

Los Angeles saw a massive spike in homicides during the first week of June, authorities said Tuesday. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said murders were up 250 percent from May 31 through June 6, and the number of gunshot victims increased by 56 percent during the same period, compared to the previous week. In the past 24 hours, the city recorded four shootings -- one that resulted in a homicide, the department tweeted.

Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez, a Democrat, pushed to make drastic cuts to the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) funding amid a nationwide campaign by the far-left to defund police departments — a move she made while having an LAPD unit stationed outside her private home since April. Spectrum News 1 journalist Natalie Brunell reported that the unit, which guards Martinez’s home, usually includes two police officers and has been in place for the last two months. “The private security detail infuriated some members of the force when Martinez became one of the council members to spearhead a...

Nationwide hysteria has given many liberals in positions of power nationwide the green-light to enact a handful of radical policies they’ve long wanted a catalyst for. In Los Angeles, city council president Nury Martinez introduced a motion instructing the City Administrative Officer and Chief Legislative Analyst to find upwards of $150 million in cuts to the LAPD budget. Ironically, Martinez benefits from the LAPD to an extent the citizens unfortunate enough to live under her leadership don’t. As Spectrum News noted: A Los Angeles Police Department unit, often staffed by two officers, was ordered to stand watch outside L.A. City...

Officials with the Los Angeles police union assailed Mayor Eric Garcetti on Friday for comments he made describing police officers as “killers,” saying LAPD officers have lost confidence in the mayor's ability to lead the city after days of demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. At a news briefing, Los Angeles Police Protective League director Jamie McBride accused Garcetti of "political pandering" and called him "unstable." “He smeared every single police officer in Los Angeles and across the nation by calling us killers," McBride said. The union's comments came after Garcetti announced this week that he would...

LOS ANGELES— Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that he tasked the city to “identify $250 million in cuts” to invest more money into the black community, communities of color, women and “people who have been left behind." The Los Angeles Times reported that the city will try and cut between $100 million to $150 million from its police budget alone. Garcetti said it is incumbent on the city to “step up and say, ‘What can we sacrifice?’” The mayor said that the city will not increase its police budget of $1.8 billion. Deadline reported that Garcetti said that...

A heavily armed man wearing a National Guard uniform was arrested early Tuesday morning on assault weapon charges in Los Angeles, according to FOX 11. Reporter Bill Melugin said the arrest occurred near protests over the death of George Floyd in the city’s downtown area. The suspect, 31-year-old Gregory Wong, was taken into custody at 1st Street and N Main Street around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. The site is located across the street from the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) headquarters. “Authorities [said] that the suspect was dressed in National Guard apparel and had multiple weapons on him at the...

Ken Osmond, best known for his role at the troublemaker Eddie Haskell on the television comedy “Leave It to Beaver,” died on Monday morning. He was 76. Sources tell Variety Osmond passed away at his Los Angeles home surrounded by family members. The cause of death is unknown.

He played the notorious troublemaker on two versions of the show; in between, he was a motorcycle cop for the LAPD. "He was an incredibly kind and wonderful father," his son said Monday in a statement. "He had his family gathered around him when he passed. He was loved and will be very missed." Osmond was 14 in 1957 when he hired for what was supposed to be a one-episode gig and went on to appear on 96 of the original series' 234 installments over six seasons. When Leave It to Beaver returned with an updated version in 1983, he...

A disturbing video posted to social media that appears to show a uniformed Los Angeles Police Department officer whaling on a man being detained has prompted an internal investigation for misconduct and excessive use of force.

William Shatner, known for his roles on Star Trek, T.J. Hooker, and The Twilight Zone, has already shown he's full of holiday spirit. The actor-turned-musician has released an entire album of Christmas music, not to mention his impressive roster of Christmas movies. But this time Shatner Claus has taken it a step further. On Christmas Day 2019, the Los Angeles Police Department was surprised with a visit from Captain Kirk himself. But he didn't just come by to give his thanks for working on Christmas— he brought along plenty of food. Shatner reportedly brought beef and pastrami sandwiches, bagels, lox,...

"The majority of pathogens that come into an environment come in from the soles of shoes, and then they atomize, they get up in the air, they land on desks, and that's where our officers are being contaminated," Harris said. NBC4's I-Team reported in 2018 and 2019 a number of LAPD officers and city workers reported they'd been exposed to infectious diseases, including typhus, salmonella, and MRSA. Most of the reports were made at the Central Area police station in downtown LA. In March 2019 one officer contracted salmonella typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid fever. A second officer then...

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles police officer is under investigation after a random review of body camera footage showed him fondling a dead woman’s breasts, according to a person briefed on the incident.

The Los Angeles Police Department has opened an inquiry after a recruitment ad went up on the right-wing website Breitbart, saying such a job listing would conflict with the department’s “core values.” Critics have repeatedly accused Breitbart of running racist and sexist content over the past decade, pointing to articles with such headlines as “The Smartest People in the World Are All Men,” “Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy,” and “Data: Young Muslims Are a Ticking Time Bomb in the West.”

The Los Angeles Police Department will modify its policies on the use of confidential informants and undercover officers after a Los Angeles Times report revealed the agency had spied on a political group that was planning protests against President Trump in 2017, officials said. Chief Michel Moore told the Police Commission Tuesday that the decision to deploy informants inside sensitive locations — including churches, hospitals or law offices — or among political groups will now require the approval of some of the department’s highest-ranking officers.