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Current Police News

• Current Police News February 7, 2008

LAPD SWAT Officer Killed, 1 Wounded In Ongoing Standoff

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. - A man who had telephoned authorities to say he had killed three family members shot to death an LAPD SWAT officer overnight and wounded another SWAT officer during a gunbattle inside a Winnetka home, police said. It was the first fatality in the history of the elite LAPD SWAT team, which was created in 1967. First-Assistant police Chief Jim McDonnell said the wounded officer was expected to survive. The incident began around 9 p.m. Wednesday when a man locked himself up inside a home near Vanowen Street and Oakdale Avenue, according to an officer at the Los Angeles Police Department's West Valley Station. At 7:30 a.m., smoke billowed from the home in the 19800 block Welby Way, and the standoff continued. At least 200 officers were at the scene, and firefighters were also at the scene trying to control the house fire. Earlier, at 6:05 a.m., John Klemack-Cadiz reported that tear gas was deployed.

Gunbattle

McDonnell said SWAT officers entered the residence shortly after 12:30 a.m., triggering an exchange in which two veteran officers were wounded. One died at Northridge Medical Center shortly after 1 a.m., he said in a briefing also attended by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. KNBC's Robert Kovacik said the wounded officer was still in surgery at 6 a.m. McDonnell said in a briefing outside Northridge Medical Center on Roscoe Blvd. in Northridge said the 200 officers at the scene included SWAT team members. They surrounded the residence in a standoff that McDonnell referred to as an ongoing "dynamic tactical situation." An armored SWAT vehicle was at the scene and helicopters circled overhead. Police did not immediately confirm that three civilians had been killed, as the suspect said when he called police last night, but people familiar with the operation told camera crews at the scene that two bodies were inside the residence in addition to the one that could be seen on the front lawn.

Officers Identified

Each of the two officers who was shot spent more than 25 years in the Los Angeles Police Department, more than 20 in the SWAT team, McDonnell said.

Article retrieved from msnbc.msn.com

• Current Police News January 20, 2007

Board of Rights Process

Los Angeles, January 15, 2007- In response to calls by some elected officials and community leaders to change the disciplinary hearing process for LAPD officers, Los Angeles Police Protective League President (LAPPL) issued the following statement.

The LAPPL strongly supports the California Supreme Court ruling that police officers have the right to keep their personnel records private.  Law enforcement officers are already vulnerable to criminals intent on doing them harm, and we need to be able to protect the safety as well as the privacy of our officers and their families.

The Board of Rights hearings are being miscategorized by many people in the community.   Although these are confidential meetings that are closed to reporters, the public is absolutely represented, both by civilian Board of Rights members, and by the Inspector General.   We respectfully disagree with those who believe that dragging these cases through the media will be helpful to the officers involved. 

Along with other public safety unions, we will fight any legislative efforts that would reduce or remove this right of privacy.

About the LAPPL Formed in 1922, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents the more than 9,000 dedicated and professional sworn members of the Los Angeles Police Department.  The LAPPL serves to advance the interests of LAPD officers through legislative and legal advocacy, political action and education.  The LAPPL can be found on the Web at www.LAPD.com