City News Service (CNS)

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Thirty years ago today, plumber George Holliday was asleep in his Lake View Terrace apartment when he was awakened by a commotion outside so loud it prompted him to grab his video camera and walk to his balcony to see what was amiss. With a hovering Los Angeles Police Department helicopter's spotlight providing the illumination, the scene Holliday captured with his Sony Handycam changed history. It was March 3, 1991, and through the lens of his camera, Holliday recorded four white Los Angeles police officers using batons, Tasers, feet and fists to beat a Black man later...

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles City Council voted today to override Mayor Eric Garcetti's veto of a spending plan that outlined how to shift millions of dollars from the Los Angeles Police Department budget into communities of color. Garcetti signaled his support for the revised plan before the vote, noting in a letter to council members Tuesday that he supported their "plan to expedite this new set of investments without further delay." The override needed 10 votes -- or two-thirds of the council's 15 members -- to pass. It passed with 11 yes votes. Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez and Councilmen...

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Activists called today for the firing of any Los Angeles Police Department employee who created or circulated a Valentine-themed social media post featuring an image of George Floyd that included the words "You take my breath away," while the police union, the Floyd family attorney and various city leaders decried the post. "The family of George Floyd is outraged and devastated," Project Islamic Hope director Najee Ali said at a news conference at the LAPD's Harbor station, where an officer had made a formal complaint about the post at the urging of Police Chief Michel Moore. "It's...

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles Police Department has begun a program to dispatch a mental health response team, consisting of a sworn officer and a Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health clinician, to certain mental health calls, Assistant Chief Horace Frank announced today. The program, which is led by the police department's Mental Evaluation Unit, launched on Monday, Frank told the Police Commission. The unit's Systemwide Mental Assessment Response Team, consisting of a mental health clinician and sworn officer, will respond to mental health calls that meet specific criteria, according to Frank. Previously, SMART units were used as...

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A judge today ruled mostly in favor of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys for Los Angeles County in a petition brought against District Attorney George Gascón, saying he cannot order his prosecutors to ignore laws that the union says protect the public, including three-strike allegations and sentencing enhancements. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant heard arguments Feb. 2 on the union's motion for a preliminary injunction, then took the case under submission before granting it in large part Monday. The union hailed the judge's decision, saying it was based "on what the law...

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The National Police Foundation will hold two listening sessions today to help independently assess the Los Angeles Police Department's response to the large demonstrations that followed last year's in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The sessions will be held at noon and 5 p.m. to get input from members of the public, business owners, and community leaders on interactions they had with officers during demonstrations between May 27 and June 7 of 2020. According to the foundation, the input will be used to "identify successes and challenges," assist in developing strategies for the LAPD to consider...