Dodger Stadium From Praveen31's Flickr Stream

In a swift response to the March 31st beating of Giants fan Bryan Stow at Dodger Stadium, LAPD chief Charlie Beck has announced that a zero-tolerance policy will go into effect immediately. Starting with the next game. For reals this time.

In the short term, there will be more police officers – paid for by the Dodgers. In the long-term, they plan to “look at technology, observation posts, lighting, environmental studies and increased community outreach.”

Microchips? Armed guards on a wall? I particularly enjoy the “environmental studies.” Can you imagine: After further review, Chavez Ravine is not an appropriate location for a sports venue. Sorry about evicting all the people that lived there.

The entire announcement is best summed up in the ESPN comment thread by Stark10547:

Officers in the Van Nuys Division of the LAPD are caught off-guard. Is that what we think it is?

The year was 1951.

Photo from the USC Digital Library

LAPD Bomb Squad by Clinton Steeds (2009)

I came home this evening to find a lot of police activity in my neighborhood and had to do a little detour. I realized that the happenings were pretty close to my street. In fact, one end of my street, about half a block from my house, was yellow taped off. I really wanted to find out what was going on, but wasn’t too keen on wandering over to the scene. I learned some basic information from a neighbor (suspicious package, homes evacuated), but I wanted to follow the progress.

Someone suggested I go to an online police scanner, which hadn’t occurred to me. I found what looks to be a pretty good resource. Radio Reference.com’s Los Angeles County page has live communication feeds from a variety of police, fire, and EMS departments. I tuned in to the Los Angeles Police and Fire-San Fernando Valley Divisions broadcast and  learned fairly quickly that the situation was resolved and that the “resources” were being released. In a relatively short period of time, I heard all kinds of things from animal bites to suspects being apprehended. I know I’m not the only one who get frustrated when up-to-the-minute info is not readily available, even on Twitter. You might want to bookmark this one.

Not a traffic stop; the officers were inside enjoying their lunch. Bigger with a click.

For months I’ve been meaning to write something about Eastside Market & Deli (careful with that link, it’s got obnoxious auto-play music and no mute button.) If I recall correctly, I first heard about Eastside Market here at MetBlogs a few years ago. I’ve been a fan ever since, and thought it worth posting again to spread the word about the great sandwiches and other menu items.  This is not that post. I’ll just recommend the Number 7 (pastrami & roast beef) and lots of napkins. It’s a heart attack on a roll, but at least you’ll die happy. Very happy. I also recommend that you go for lunch, as Eastside Market closes at 3:30pm.

Same red curb, different day. Click to embiginate.

Though I don’t go to Eastside Market often, it seems that every time I’m there I find a LADWP truck or (usually) a LAPD patrol car parked at this red curb right on the corner of Alpine & Centennial. Sure, it’s the most convenient spot to park; it’s only a few steps away from Eastside Market’s front door. The curb is red for a reason, though. This is a bit of a blind corner to begin with, and having a vehicle (especially a big truck) parked there makes going around that corner downright dangerous.

This is a ringing endorsement for Eastside Market. In case you didn’t know, if you find a place that a lot of police frequent you know the food is going to be good. On the other hand, what makes city employees (particularly the ones charged with enforcing the law) think that parking laws do not apply to them?

Get yourself over to Eastside Market sometime soon for a great lunch. Don’t park next to the red curb, though. Apparently, that spot is reserved for Los Angeles city employees.

The LAPD would like you to know in which parts of town it is not OK to drink and drive:

• North Hollywood
• Hollywood
• Downtown

Everywhere else is a go. Happy New Year!

LAPD Sobriety Checkpoints:

Thursday, December 31, 2009, 8:00 PM – 3:00 AM
Hollywood Boulevard at Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood

Friday, January 1, 2010, 6:00 PM – 1:00 AM
South Figueroa Street between 8th and 9th Street, Downtown Los Angeles

KNX is also reporting that a sobriety checkpoint at Lankershim and Chandler boulevards will go into operation at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

LAPD Classic Cruiser picture taken by 888bailbonds

As Tara mentions below, the police in Venice and throughout LA are over-extended, and even if they weren’t it behooves us to reach out within our communities more and find ways to be supportive and help each other. In that spirit, I thought I’d share the LAPD’s Crisis Response Team recruitment announcement I got recently. It’s not close to the neighborhood watch idea that Tara is talking about, but it is one way to possibly make a difference and to help your neighbors cope with traumatic events like homicides, suicides, and serious accidents. The CRT “provides immediate on-scene crisis intervention, attends to survival and comfort needs, and acts as a liaison between the victim and emergency personnel,” among other duties. The trainings run from 6:30 to 9:30 Tuesday and Thursday nights February 2 through March 25 and cover topics such as crisis intervention, suicide aftermath support, and working with diverse populations. More information and an application are available on the LAPD website.

Remember back in January when when the City Council suspended the bike license program after LAPD Chief Bratton recommended discontinuing the program all together? You might recall that since the program was suspended and no more licenses are being issued, the Chief issued a moratorium on the law until and can be officially removed. Well, turns out some officers don’t seem to care about that.

This photo shows LA cyclist Alex Thompson being handcuffed Saturday night for, get ready for this, walking in a cross walk while there is a red hand showing. He was in cuffs for 20 minutes, but he wasn’t trying to cross when they grabbed him. He was trying to take a photo of another cyclist who was being cited by Officer Schube for not having a bike license. More details on West Side Bike Side -as you can imagine this one will be going to court. On the list of the worst people in the city to give a bike license citation to, the people who were actively involved with getting the law suspended 3 months prior are probably towards the top of the list. This one is going to be interesting…

[Photo of Alex Thompson in cuffs by Gary Se7en, used with permission]

Remember the May Day Melee?  In a visible display of What Happens When LAPD Gets Scared of Large Gatherings, the police on duty monitoring the 2007 May Day rally in MacArthur Park launched an out of control, freaked out display of force in response to “agitators” who allegedly threw bottles at them.  As a result, nine separate lawsuits were filed against the city.  The LA City Council voted today to settle all nine for $12.85 million.   That is a lot of money.  In even worse news, it still has to deal with 27 other lawsuits stemming from the incident.  In even worser news, this settlement comes right after the City Council approved $20.5 million to settle a Rampart-related case brought by officers who claimed they were falsely arrested and otherwise mistreated.

In case you’re one of those types of people who think that immigration rally-goers deserve whatever punishment the riot-geared cops dole out, lest we forget the clip that forever erased all feelings of annoyance I’ve ever had towards one Ms. Christina Gonzalez of Fox 11, circa John Beard:

Following Police Chief William Bratton’s recommendation to discontinue the bicycle licensing program, our fine City Council voted unanimously today to suspend the program and, most importantly, the LAPD’s bizarre enforcement of it.

The LA County Bicycle Coalition has a post up about the news. And all I have to say is this:

Hallelujah.

45 year old Susan Szegedi has been missing since January 20, 2009. LAPD is asking the public for help.

Susan Szegedi was last seen on January 20, 2009, when she left her residencin the 400 block of North Gower Street in Los Angeles, (LAPD Olympic Area).

Szegedi requires medication, which she has been without since she vanished.  Her family believes she may be distraught over the recent loss of a friend.  Szegedi has uncharacteristically not made contact with her friends or family.

Szegedi is a forty-five year old Caucasian woman with brown hair, brown eyes, 5’7” and approximately 145 pounds.  She is known to wear a pearl necklace.

Szegedi is believed to be driving her 2001 gray Honda Civic, California license number 4KYW571.

If you have seen or have any information regarding the whereabouts of Susan Szegedi, please contact the Los Angeles Police Department, Missing Persons Unit, Detective Bruce Kuehl at 213-485-5381.After hours or on weekends, calls may be directed to a 24-hour, toll-free number at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 or by texting CRIMES (274637) and beginning the message with the letters LAPD.  Tipsters may also submit information on the LAPD website  www.lapdonline.org. All tips are anonymous.

NBCLOSANGELES is reporting that the LAPD would like you to not shoot your gun into the air on New Year’s Eve. You could maybe hurt somebody, and that would be bad.

It’s also against the law. And, dumb.

As of this posting, the department has not ruled out any other crimes as acceptable celebratory gestures. So, party on.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Well, here’s another clue to the payoff: Times blogger Joel Rubin’s scoop that Bratton has recorded a robo-call announcement shilling for presidential candidate Barack Obama – or, more to the point – attacking GOP rival John McCain’s record on crime and punishment:

The message reportedly criticizes the record of Republican Party presidential nominee John McCain on law enforcement issues.

A spokesperson for Bratton confirms that he has recorded the political campaign message but would not provide details of its content or where the Obama campaign plans to use it.

My beef’s not with anyone backing Obama – quite the contrary, the man is currently the best man in the race for the job, and I’m curious to hear what he has to say about McCain’s law-n-order chops.

My quarrel is with Bratton abusing his taxpayer-funded position to engage in politics waaay out of his jurisdiction. Sure, law enforcement is a local issue everywhere. But if Rubin’s sources are correct, this feels suspiciously like chair-fluffing for a cabinet seat in an Obama administration.

So, what’s your bet – Homeland Security or Department of Justice?

Barely two weeks left to go before this nation decides who should replace the worst president in U.S. history, and L.A.’s top police officer throws an ideological bomb into the room:

Al Quaeda may be planning a terrorist attack to somehow influence the U.S. elections, LAPD Chief William Bratton and co-author R.P. Eddy warned today in an op-ed in the New York Daily News … Read the rest of this entry →

Beauty is in the eye of the gun holder. And Gaylean Dunn, of the Van Nuys division, was that gun holder.

Thirteen policewomen cried 211 as Dunn created a 415 with her 484 of the LAPD beauty contest crown. She was named “Miss Fuzz.”

The year was 1972.

Photo from UCLA Library Digital Collections

Last night was the Wolfpack Hustle Midnight Dragrace that I mentioned the other day and for those that showed up and stuck it out it was one hell of an event. Somewhere between 200-300 riders were in attendance around the 11pm when qualifications were supposed to begin but due to the crowds and chaos things were *a tad* bit late to start. Previous races have seen the full support of the LAPD (with at least one race even having officers in patol cars blocking off the 2nd st tunnel for us) so just after midnight when the cops showed up people weren’t too surprised or worried. Ooops. Read the rest of this entry →