City News Service (CNS)

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations released a report today recommending changes to policing in Los Angeles County, calling for an end to qualified immunity, reallocation of funding to community initiatives, and assigning use-of-force investigations to special prosecutors outside the D.A.'s office. "Redefining Policing with Our Community" offered 34 recommendations the commission says seek to "build a new normal that prioritizes human dignity and repairs the damage done by discriminatory policies and practices." Launched as a part of a 2015 project to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Watts Rebellion, the report takes into...

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Activists, parents and students spoke out today in support of defunding the Los Angeles School Police Department, something the Board of Education will discuss Tuesday. A coalition including members of Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles and other community organizations, parents, and students said during a digital news conference they support a total elimination of school police, arguing that Black students are disproportionately targeted for arrests. "Now is the time to be bold and take action to defund school police. It's long overdue," said Sarah Djato, a student representing a group called Students Deserve, which conducted more than 5,500...

By Eric Heinz, City News Service LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The City Council's Budget and Finance Committee moved forward today with a proposal to cut $100 million to $150 million from the Los Angeles Police Department's proposed 2020-2021 budget, while community activists presented their idea for more dramatic reductions in law enforcement spending. The committee voted to send the proposed $100 million to $150 million cuts to the full council, which will consider directing city staff to compile a report that would examine how the reductions could be made without affecting basic policing services. But supporters of the People's Budget LA told...

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Representatives of Black Lives Matter-LA and the Los Angeles Community Action Network said today they want to end police officers' use of rubber projectiles, batons and other less-lethal force, particularly against peaceful protesters. During a call in front of the Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters to end what the representatives said was excessive use of force by officers, LACAN executive director Pete White emptied a bag of used rubber bullet shells and casings along with other items he said were used against protesters during the so-called George Floyd Solidarity protests against police brutality. On Tuesday, City Attorney...

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Top Los Angeles law enforcement officials say they will not pursue criminal or financial penalties against protesters who have been detained, it was reported today. The decision follows complaints by many of those arrested that they spent hours in plastic handcuffs in crammed buses without justification, leaving them with injuries and potentially exposing them to the coronavirus, the Los Angeles Times reported. Many of those were taken into custody last week for either violating curfew rules or failing to disperse after the LAPD had declared their protest unlawful. A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union...

By Eric Heinz, City News Service LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Mayor Eric Garcetti said tonight he will not authorize an increase of the Los Angeles Police Department's budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year and is temporarily prohibiting officers from entering names into a statewide gang database. "To the men and women of our Los Angeles Police Department, we ask so much of you, and never more than in these days," Garcetti said. "All of us, every single one of us, are making a sacrifice. This is not on your shoulders alone. COVID-19 has given us the worst economy in our lives, a...