Law Enforcement News

LASD Detective Dies In Carson After Medical Emergency While Driving
A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detective died Sunday after suffering a medical emergency while driving home from a work assignment in Carson, according to authorities. It happened just after 10 p.m. near West Carson Street and Vermont Avenue. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna identified the single-car crash victim as Steven J. Lim, a detective and 26-year veteran of the LASD who "handled the most severe child abuse cases." Officials said Lim was driving east on West Carson when he suffered an unknown medical emergency and crashed his car. No other cars or people were involved, authorities added. Lim was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries. He leaves behind a wife and five children. No other details were immediately available.
FOX 11

Faced With Shrinking Ranks, LAPD Looks To Rehire Retired Officers
The Los Angeles Police Department is making a simple but unusual pitch to its retired cops: Come back. Please. Faced with a flood of departures and a trickle of recruits entering its training academy that have led to dwindling staffing levels, LAPD officials have drawn up plans that call for as many as 200 retired police officers to be rehired. On the campaign trail in her recent race for mayor, Karen Bass pledged to rebuild the department's ranks to 9,700 officers as the city confronts violent crime rates that remain above pre-pandemic levels. Bass didn't say how quickly she wanted to reach her goal, but, with about 9,200 officers currently on the force and the department failing to attract enough new recruits to keep up with the pace of attrition, making good on her promise anytime soon will be very difficult. About 600 cops are expected to retire or leave for other reasons in the next year — about 20% higher than the typical departure rate, according to LAPD Chief Michel Moore. As a stopgap measure, the department hopes a rarely used bureaucratic mechanism will allow it to regain lost ground. Known informally as the "bounce program," it allows the chief of police to bring retired officers back for up to a year. It typically has been used sparingly in the past to recall an individual officer whose specialized skill sets make them hard to replace, such as a homicide detective who retired while working a case that might otherwise fall without their involvement.
LA Times

Two Passengers Killed In Mission Hills Crash; Driver Arrested
A car crashed into a parked vehicle in Mission Hills, resulting in the deaths of two passengers and the arrest of the motorist on suspicion of DUI, police said Monday. The crash was reported about 11:40 p.m. Sunday in the 10100 block of Woodman Avenue, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Lizeth Lomeli told City News Service. According to the preliminary investigation, the car was northbound on Woodman Avenue when it crossed over to the southbound side and crashed into a parked vehicle, Lomeli said. A man in his 20s who was riding in the rear seat died at the scene, and a woman in her 20s who was riding in the front seat died at a hospital, police said. Their names were withheld, pending notification of their relatives. The driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, police said. The motorist’s name was not immediately released.
MyNewsLA

El Sereno Mother Searching For Justice After Hit-and-Run Driver Injured Her Son With Autism On Christmas Eve
Authorities are searching for a hit-and-run driver that severely injured an autistic man on Christmas Eve in El Sereno. According to Los Angeles Police Department, the collision occurred at around 3:40 p.m. on Dec. 24, when the victim, 22-year-old Andrew Ramos, was struck by the driver of a green Toyota Tundra while walking his dog across a marked crosswalk at the intersection of Huntington Drive and Kendall Avenue. Instead of stopping to help Ramos, who has high-functioning autism, the driver fled from the area and failed to render any aid. The dog was uninjured, but Ramos suffered a broken leg that required surgery, which he is still recovering from. "Can you just imagine the fright that I felt on Christmas Eve?," Ramos's mother, Valerie, said. "To hear my son was struck by a vehicle?" Ramos was at his grandmother's house before the big family dinner, offering to walk to the store and grab some milk and butter moments before the incident occurred. Now, his family is desperately seeking for justice and for the driver to turn himself in.
CBS 2

Video: Several Injured After Tesla Driver Backs Into Crowd In Silver Lake
Several people were injured after a driver backed out of a driveway in Silver Lake, dragging people with him and then speeding off Friday night. The incident was caught on home surveillance footage at around 11:30 p.m. after the man slammed into the garage of a home and got back into his car. A crowd of people, including a man holding a dog, can be seen trying to stop him from getting behind the wheel, but the driver got into the car and backed up. The man holding a dog was struck by the open driver's side door as the Tesla reversed out of the driveway. After coming to a stop in the street, the driver sped away. Several people were injured trying to get the driver to stop. At least one person was taken to the hospital. Police said the driver went on to hit several parked cars, a sign, and a city vehicle before he was finally arrested on suspicion of DUI
NBC 4

2 Suspects Sought After Smash-and-Grab Robbery At Macy's In Baldwin Hills, LAPD Says
A search was underway for two suspects after a late-morning smash-and-grab robbery was committed at a department store in Baldwin Hills, authorities said on Sunday. The incident happened around 11:30 a.m. at the Macy's at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Initial reports of shots fired turned out to be unfounded, investigators said, adding that the sound was probably to that of display-case glass being shattered. An unspecified amount of merchandise was taken during the robbery. The two suspects fled in a silver four-door Lexus, authorities said. They're described as the following: a man in his early 20s wearing a black Champion sweater and another man wearing a gray Puma sweatshirt armed with a pistol. Both men are around six feet tall, police said. No injuries were reported.
ABC 7

Ex-Husband Allegedly Drives Dump Truck Into South LA Home In Apparent Domestic Dispute
A man was caught on camera driving a dump truck into his ex-wife's South Los Angeles home over the weekend in an apparent domestic dispute. This all happened around 4 p.m. on Jan. 15, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Deputies said they'd been called to the home in the 1500 block of W. 107th Street for reports of a domestic disturbance. The incident was captured in a TikTok video posted by a neighbor. In the video, a driver can be seen driving a dump truck into a home, plowing a car parked on the street into the yard, and more. According to the post, the man behind the wheel was the ex-husband of the woman who lived in that home. She said the ex-husband was attacking, "all cause his ex-wife wouldn't take him back." She also claimed that this wasn't the man's first attack.
FOX 11

San Pedro Woman Busted During Investigation Into Drug Smuggling In Los Angeles County Jails
A San Pedro woman is in custody after authorities discovered fentanyl, heroin and illegal firearms inside her residence, officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced last week. The woman’s arrest came after detectives with LASD’s Organized Crime Task Force received information about inmates in county jails conspiring to smuggle illegal narcotics into the facilities. On Friday, Jan. 6 at around 12 a.m., detectives were conducting surveillance at the woman’s San Pedro residence as part of the smuggling investigation, an LASD news release stated. “OCTF detectives authored a search warrant that was signed by a judge. Then, the OCTF conducted the search warrant at the location and detained the female suspect,” the release noted.
KTLA 5

Six People, Including Mother And Baby, Killed In Tulare County; Drug Cartel Suspected
Six people, including a 6-month old baby, her teenage mother and an elderly woman, were killed Monday in a Central Valley farming community in what the local sheriff said was likely a targeted attack by a drug cartel. The massacre occurred around 3:30 a.m. in and around a residence in the Tulare County town of Goshen near Visalia. Authorities said they were searching for two suspects and that the killings may have been related to a search warrant carried out last week at one of the homes that resulted in one arrest and the seizure of guns, marijuana and methamphetamine. “I think it’s specifically connected to the cartel,” Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux told The Times without specifying a particular criminal organization. “The level of violence … this was not your run-of-the-mill, low-end gang member.” Authorities did not release the names or ages of all victims, but said it appeared some were family members.
La Times

New Jersey Officer Dies Trying To Rescue Her 6-Year-Old Daughter From House Fire
The fire tore through their home within seconds. It was Friday around midnight when William Montanaro awoke to fire alarms blaring. He ran downstairs and saw flames on the first floor of his Hazlet home. The 39-year-old ran back upstairs to get his family — his wife, Jacqueline, two young daughters and dog. Within seconds, smoke engulfed the house. It was impossible to see. He, Jacqueline and their 8-year-old fought their way outside, but 6-year-old Madelyn was still in the home. William rushed back in, as did Jacqueline. “When I rushed back into the house for Madelyn, I became enveloped in a massive amount of thick, hot black smoke,” William said in a statement issued by his brother, Domenico Montanaro, a reporter for NPR. “Without hesitation, Jackie then charged in with a mother’s love and the courage of a police officer fueling her attempt to save our daughter,” William said in the statement, referring to Jacqueline’s job as a supervisory U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at Newark Liberty International Airport.
PoliceOne

Public Safety News

Woman In Grave Condition After Fire At Motel In Chatsworth
A fire at a motel in Chatsworth left one woman seriously injured Sunday morning. The blaze broke out at around 4:30 a.m. at a two-story motel in the 21900 block of W. Lassen Street, according tothe Los Angeles Fire Department. One woman was rushed to a nearby hospital and is said to be in grave condition after suffering serious burns during the fire, which was reportedly contained to a single unit on the second floor of the motel. A second person was evaluated at the scene for smoke inhalation, but did not require medical transport. The fire was put out by the sprinkler system in the room.
CBS 2

Christmas Tree Catches Fire, Burns Through Floor In West Hills
A West Hills home was damaged Sunday night when the Christmas tree inside caught fire. The fire was reported at 9:29 p.m. on the 8300 block of Stephen Lane, said the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Nicholas Prange. The area is just north of the Orcutt Ranch Horticulture Center. Firefighters entered the home and put out the flames within 22 minutes — but not before it burned through part of the floor, Prange said. No injuries were reported, he said.
LA Daily News

Firefighters Knock Down Blaze In Two-Story Apartment Building In Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw
Crews with the Los Angeles Fire Department knocked down a fire at a two-story apartment building Sunday in the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw area. Firefighters responded to the scene, located at 3950 S. Nicolet Avenue, just after 5:30 p.m. Smoke was seen billowing from the two-story apartment building when firefighters arrived, prompting them to go into offensive mode. “The first twenty LAFD firefighters quickly mounted a coordinated attack, sending crews interior with hose lines and to the roof to provide ventilation,” authorities said in a news release. It took just 16 minutes for firefighters to extinguish the blaze, confining it to just the unit where it started. Crews were also able to protect the apartment units on either side of the fire. No injuries were reported.
KTLA 5

L.A. Fire Dept. Warns Of River Danger Even After Rain Is Over
Fire department swift water rescue crews were busy during the rainy weekend and remained on alert Monday morning. The Los Angeles River was running about 3 to 4 feet deep Monday morning. The Los Angeles Fire Dept. says rescue crews often get extra busy after the rain stops as people let their guard down. "They get a little too close to the waterways and end up losing their footing and end up floating downstream," said L.A. Fire Captain Dusty Clark. "Years past we've ended up having several of these rescues that after the storm has passed, people come out and end up getting themselves in precarious situations and find themselves in harm's way." One man believed to be experiencing homelessness and living in a riverbed channel was rescued Sunday evening from rushing water.
CBS 2

Local Government News

L.A. To Keep Downtown Hotel Open As Homeless Housing For Another Year
A 13-story hotel that has served as a cornerstone of Los Angeles’ fight against homelessness, a facility that had been set to cease operations in less than three weeks, will be kept open for an additional year, city officials said Friday. The L.A. Grand Hotel, which served as temporary housing for a portion of the city’s homeless population since the outbreak of COVID-19, will continue operating until at least Jan. 31, 2024, said Mercedes Marquez, the mayor’s chief of housing and homelessness solutions. The hotel, which had provided the city with about 480 rooms, is expected to give Bass a critical tool as she ramps up the activities of Inside Safe, her initiative to dismantle homeless encampments and bring unhoused people indoors. In 2021, more than 100 people were moved there from a massive encampment at Echo Park Lake, according to figures provided at the time by the mayor’s office.
La Times