It’s been six months since “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/friends">Friends</a>” actor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/matthew-perry">Matthew Perry</a> was discovered dead from a ketamine <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/overdose">overdose</a>. Now, the Los Angeles Police Department is launching a joint criminal investigation with the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) to determine how the actor had so much of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/drugs">drug</a> in his system.
Perry was discovered dead at his home, in a hot tub, at the age of 54 on October 28, 2023. The sitcom star was determined to have died from an overdose. “At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression,” the report said, per <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/matthew-perry-death-dea-lapd-criminal-investigation-ketamine-1235905358/">The Hollywood Reporter</a>.
Contributing factors to the cause of death included drowning and buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid addiction. 
Perry had been vocal about his struggle for sobriety. He published a tell-all memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” one year prior to his death. The book went into detail about Perry’s excessive drug use over the years.
He also discussed using ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties, in the book. These experimental treatments are often used to assist with depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction, chronic pain, and other mental health struggles. “I often thought that I was dying during that hour. Oh, I thought, this is what happens when you die. Yet I would continually sign up for this sh** because it was something different, and anything different is good,” Perry wrote. 
The “Friends” star said the treatments made him feel like he was “hit in the head with a giant happy shovel.” He also claimed to get a hangover from the ketamine infusions, saying the aftermath of treatment often “outweighed the shovel.”
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The “Friends” star had been undergoing ketamine infusion therapy before he died, the outlet noted. Despite Perry having a ketamine session just over a week before his death, the autopsy said this particular visit was not responsible for the overdose because “the ketamine in his system at death could not be from that infusion therapy since ketamine’s half-life is three to four hours or less.”

Matthew Perry

LAPD, DEA Launch Criminal Investigation Into Matthew Perry’s Death

LAPD, DEA Launch Criminal Investigation Into Matthew Perry's Death

Drugs

Friends

LAPD

overdose

Burglars who have entered the United States through a visa waiver program have created so much havoc in Los Angeles that the LAPD has created a special task force to combat organized foreign gangs.
Many tourist burglars who’ve been arrested often entered the U.S. through a visa waiver program. Many were visiting from Chile and other South American countries.
“I can tell you that we have a significant increase in burglaries from organized groups that are outside this country, that are coming into this country and they are targeting high-end residents. We are addressing that specifically in a task-force fashion through multi-agencies,” LAPD Chief Dominic Choi said on March 12.
According to the LAPD, there have been over 900 residential burglaries across the city since January, some of which have been committed by the tourist burglars, who may be using new technology to circumvent home security systems.
On March 4, the Wilshire department of the LAPD acknowledged, “Wilshire area has been subjected to various residential burglaries, involving 3-4 suspects using Wi-Fi jammers as they enter victims’ residences. The Los Angeles Police Department is seeking your help to deter such burglaries.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Wilshire area has been subjected to various residential burglaries, involving 3-4 suspects using Wi-Fi jammers as they enter victims’ residences. The Los Angeles Police Department is seeking your help to deter such burglaries. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/lapd?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#lapd</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/lapdwilshire?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#lapdwilshire</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LAPDRodriguez?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LAPDRodriguez</a> <a href="https://t.co/XXYMnb0ImJ">pic.twitter.com/XXYMnb0ImJ</a>
&mdash; LAPD Wilshire (@LAPDWilshire) <a href="https://twitter.com/LAPDWilshire/status/1764780841996030209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2024</a></blockquote>
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“Some sort of device by burglars that actually deaden, kill or stop WiFi from operating,” Police Commissioner William Briggs explained.
“The immediate fix for these home-alarm systems is to hardwire them, where you plug these systems directly into your ethernet in the wall and not use your WiFi internally,” Choi said.
Jammers and drones have been discovered in Beverly Hills and other nearby cities; last year, burglars were nabbed as they were staking out homes while they were wearing suits similar to military snipers.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: The LAPD forms a special task force to combat organized foreign gangs burglarizing homes
The organized gangs are coming from Peru, Columbia, Ecuador, Chile, etc
OVER NINE HUNDRED HOMES in LA were burglarized since January 2024 
Similar patterns are emerging in… <a href="https://t.co/FyzwWP0qP8">pic.twitter.com/FyzwWP0qP8</a>
&mdash; End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1769805504623137046?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Similar burglaries are occurring in Arizona. “These are Chilean burglary groups that are coming to the United States on a visa waiver program,” Scottsdale Police Chief Jeff Walther admitted.
As far back as June 2022, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer started a vertical prosecution unit in June 2022 called H.E.I.S.T (Home Invasion. Eradication. Interdiction. Strike. Team.) to prosecute burglary cases.
“Defendants from Chile have posed a uniquely frustrating challenge because the Chilean government has refused to provide us with the criminal history of Chilean citizens utilizing the ESTA VISA Program to enter the United States,” the Orange County District Attorney’s office <a href="https://orangecountyda.org/press/orange-county-district-attorney-law-enforcement-officials-announce-more-than-140-defendants-charged-in-last-year-with-committing-o-c-home-invasion-robberies-and-burglaries-commercial-burglaries-an/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> in May 2023. “ESTA –Electronic System for Travel Authorization – requires criminal histories be provided before residents can enter the United States for 90 days at a time – unlimited times. Without criminal histories, prosecutors have been largely handcuffed in trying to prove why these defendants pose a greater public safety risk beyond a single burglary charge.”

Dominic Choi is swarn in as new LAPD Chief

LAPD Forms Special Task Force To Combat Foreign Gangs Burglarizing Homes

burglary

Chile

Los Angeles

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles</a> city officials approved a $1.8 million legal settlement brought by a Los Angeles police officer who said he was sexually harassed by a top aide for former Mayor Eric Garcetti — a scandal that a legal organization said stalled Garcetti&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-l-a-mayors-india-ambassador-nomination-backed-by-female-democrats-despite-sex-harassment-scandal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmation as President Biden&#8217;s ambassador to India</a>.
Council members unanimously voted 13-0 to settle the 2020 lawsuit filed by LAPD Officer Matthew Garza, who served on Garcetti&#8217;s protective detail and accused Rick Jacobs of inappropriately touching and sexually harassing him over several years. Jacobs reportedly acknowledged &#8220;it&#8217;s possible&#8221; that he may have made sexual jokes, but denied harassing anyone.
&#8220;The city attempted to vilify Officer Garza when he spoke truth to power,&#8221; Greg Smith, Garza&#8217;s attorney, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-11-08/l-a-city-council-approves-1-8-million-settlement-for-lapd-officer-who-claims-harassment-by-garcetti-advisor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Los Angeles Times. &#8220;I applaud the 13 to 0 vote by the City Council, affirming the merit of this case. Enabling predators isn&#8217;t leadership — residents of Los Angeles deserved better.&#8221;
The outlet reported at least two other male city employees who worked for Garcetti said his top aide had given them &#8220;unwanted hugs, touches,&#8221; or made &#8220;sexual comments.&#8221;
Two other men accused Jacob of groping them, while another staffer told The Times that Jacob&#8217;s alleged harassing behavior was &#8220;something everyone talked about&#8221; in the mayor&#8217;s office.
Garza&#8217;s lawsuit reportedly claimed that Garcetti and his wife, Amy Wakeland, witnessed Jacobs&#8217; alleged behavior. They have both denied that allegation, with Garcetti <a href="https://www.dailynews.com/2023/11/08/lapd-officer-gets-18m-in-sex-harassment-case-against-garcetti-aide-rick-jacobs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">telling</a> the Times in May that he would have taken action if he had been informed about the problem.
Whistleblower Aid, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit legal organization supporting individuals who report government and corporate lawbreaking, told The Daily Wire in an emailed statement the settlement exposed an alleged culture of harassment and intimidation running all the way to the top.
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&#8220;Today&#8217;s settlement underscores the validity and seriousness of the allegations that Garcetti and his team fought so hard to deny and suppress,&#8221; Whistleblower Aid CEO Libby Liu said.
&#8220;It would not have been possible without the bravery and determination of a few individuals from inside Garcetti&#8217;s mayoral administration who refused to roll over for the sake of his future career ambitions and told the truth under oath,&#8221; Liu added. &#8220;The size of the settlement speaks volumes about the power of the evidence that these whistleblowers presented and the importance of holding enablers accountable.&#8221;
Former mayoral communications director Naomi Seligman, a whistleblower who the legal group represented, called the incidents &#8220;particularly egregious,&#8221; claiming Garcetti&#8217;s former administration contradicted its public commitment to gender equity and &#8220;zero tolerance&#8221; to sexual misconduct.
&#8220;People who subject subordinates to sexual pressure and humiliation can only continue the abuse if someone at the top enables it,&#8221; Seligman said. &#8220;The taxpayers of Los Angeles should not have to pick up the tab for Eric Garcetti&#8217;s derelict leadership. Garcetti failed in his fundamental duty as mayor to keep city employees safe. Today&#8217;s settlement acknowledges that at last.&#8221;
The controversy consumed Garceti&#8217;s final stretch as the top city official for Los Angeles, which lasted for more than 600 days while he simultaneously waited for confirmation as U.S. ambassador to India. 
Despite Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) saying that Garcetti &#8220;likely knew or should have known&#8221; about the alleged misconduct, Senate lawmakers confirmed the ex-mayor&#8217;s nomination 52-42 in March.

L.A. City Council Awards $1.8 Million To LAPD Officer Who Accused Ex-Mayor Garcetti’s Top Aide Of Sexual Harassment

L.A. City Council Awards $1.8 Million To LAPD Officer Who Accused Ex-Mayor Garcetti's Top Aide Of Sexual Harassment

Courts

Eric Garcetti

U.S.

Danny Masterson, famously known for his role as Steven Hyde in “That &#8217;70s Show,” was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison on Thursday after a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/actor-danny-masterson-found-guilty-of-two-counts-of-rape-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles jury found him guilty</a> of raping two women at his Hollywood Hills home in the early 2000s.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo handed the sentence to the 47-year-old actor after he reportedly listened to statements from the women he was convicted of sexually assaulting in 2003.
“Mr. Masterson, I know that you’re sitting here steadfast in your claims of innocence, and thus no doubt feeling victimized by a justice system that has failed you,” Olmedo told Masterson before handing down the sentence, according to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/danny-masterson-sentencing-rape-trial-fd7a10eda44d0e3ddde582d4c7053eb6?taid=64fa1b51c3af050001f10525&amp;utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Associated Press</a>. “But Mr. Masterson, you are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago took away another person’s voice, and choice. One way or another you will have to come to terms with your prior actions, and their consequences.”
A Los Angeles jury found Masterson guilty of two counts of rape in a retrial in May after several women he met through the Church of Scientology accused him of sexual assault in the early 2000s.
According to reports, the jury of seven women and five men reached the verdict after seven days of deliberation, but couldn’t decide on another sexual assault charge involving an ex-girlfriend, Chrissie Carnell-Bixler, with 8 of 12 jurors favoring a guilty verdict.
The retrial comes after three women — Carnell-Bixler and two Jane Does — came forward over six years ago and accused Masterson of sexually assaulting them between 2001 and 2003, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Masterson allegedly drugged and raped the women in his Hollywood Hills home. A judge declared the first round of deliberations a mistrial in November after the jury deadlocked.
Before the sentencing on Thursday, Masterson’s lawyer, Shawn Holley, reportedly told the judge that “his life that will be impacted by what you decide today.”
“And the life of his 9-year-old daughter, who means the world to him, and to whom he means the world,” Holley said. “He has lived an exemplary life, he has been an extraordinary father, husband, brother, son, co-worker and community servant.”
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Masterson rose to fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s while starring in “That ’70s Show” alongside Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, and Topher Grace.
In 2016, Masteron and Kutcher reunited on the Netflix comedy “The Ranch” until the sitcom wrote his character off the show following a Los Angeles Police Department investigation.
The women reportedly testified that church officials conspired with Masterson to cover up the incidents and not to report a member to law enforcement. They have previously said the reason LAPD and other law enforcement agencies refused to pursue Masterson was due to his affiliation with the Church of Scientology, and the church intervened in his case, impeding the investigation by filing “50 affidavits from Scientologists who denied the woman’s account.”
Scientology church officials have “vehemently denied having any policy that forbids members from going to secular authorities,” the Associated Press reported.
After the verdict earlier this year, the church told the outlet in a statement that the “testimony and descriptions of Scientology beliefs” during the trial were “uniformly false.”
“The Church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone — Scientologists or not — to law enforcement,” the statement said.
Masterson reportedly said previously that the sexual relations between him and his accusers were consensual and denied the rape allegations that the women brought against him during the #MeToo wave in 2018.
“It seems as if you are presumed guilty the moment you are accused,” he said when the allegations were first brought against him.
Masterson, who did not testify or have his lawyers call witnesses, will be eligible for parole after serving 25 1/2 years, but could reportedly be imprisoned for life.

Danny Masterson rape retrial

‘That 70s Show’ Actor Danny Masterson Sentenced To 30 Years To Life On Two Counts Of Rape

'That 70's Show' Actor Danny Masterson Sentenced To 30 Years to Life In Prison For Two Counts Of Rape

Crime

Hollywood

MeToo

Rape

Scientology

Three people were arrested in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles</a> on Tuesday when a group of LGBT activists clashed with a parental rights group protesting school policies that keep parents in the dark about their children&#8217;s gender identity.
The incident began when a small group of unruly LGBT counter-protesters <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/parental-rights-protesters-clash-with-pro-lgbtq-youth-in-downtown-la" target="_blank" rel="noopener">faced off</a> with a rally of nearly 200 parental rights protesters, organized by the Instagram-based group &#8220;Leave Our Kids Alone,&#8221; which was marching from City Hall to the Los Angeles Unified School District&#8217;s offices.
When the parental rights marchers arrived at the Los Angeles school district offices, the group of LGBT activists gathered on the opposite side of the street.
The Los Angeles Police Department set up skirmish lines to separate the groups.
However, police eventually declared an unlawful assembly and ordered all protesters to leave the area. At one point, police attempted to push back the LGBT activists, which <a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/lgbtq-youth-lausd-parental-rights-rally" target="_blank" rel="noopener">led</a> to the arrests.
Three protesters were ultimately arrested for failure to disperse, police said, and all three were <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/rally-march-to-lausd-headquarters-blocks-streets-near-downtown-la/3211034/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jailed</a> on $5,000 bond.
The parental rights protesters were <a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/lgbtq-youth-lausd-parental-rights-rally" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calling</a> on the Los Angeles school district to adopt parental notification policies similar to those passed by other California school districts, which require schools to notify parents if their child asks to go by a new name or pronouns or asks to use the bathrooms or play on the sports teams of the opposite sex.
&#8220;Teach the Bible, not porn,&#8221; read one protester&#8217;s sign. &#8220;Listen To Detransitioners,&#8221; read a large banner carried by other parental rights protesters. Many of the protesters wore white shirts emblazoned with the groups slogan, &#8220;Leave Our Kids Alone.&#8221;
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The smaller LGBT counterprotest was reportedly organized by Queer Nation Los Angeles and Ground Game LA, who <a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/lgbtq-youth-lausd-parental-rights-rally" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> the parental rights group of a &#8220;hate-filled, fascist agenda of fear&#8221; and &#8220;trying to bring their hate to City Hall.&#8221;
The Los Angeles school district said in a statement that it follows state law and a state-approved curriculum that &#8220;reflects and embraces the experiences and backgrounds of our diverse community.&#8221;
&#8220;However, the District will always and unequivocally provide additional resources and support for every student, including those experiencing gender dysphoria and questioning their sexual orientation, and will respect whatever decision a student and their family determines,&#8221; an LAUSD spokesperson <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/rally-march-to-lausd-headquarters-blocks-streets-near-downtown-la/3211034/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> NBC Los Angeles in a statement.
Two Los Angeles area school districts recently adopted a policy requiring schools to inform parents if their child changes their <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gender</a> identity.
The Murrieta Valley Unified School District south of Los Angeles <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/second-california-school-district-adopts-mandatory-gender-transition-parental-notification-policy">adopted</a> the policy at a school board meeting this month.
The policy, which <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/second-california-school-district-adopts-parental-notification-policy-for-gender-changes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requires</a> parents to be notified of gender identity changes within three days, is similar to one adopted last month by the Chino Valley Unified School District just east of Los Angeles.
This month, California’s attorney general <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-attorney-general-investigating-chino-school-district-over-gender-parental-notification-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a> to the Chino Valley district’s new gender identity policy by launching a “civil rights investigation into potential legal violations” by the district.
The Chino Valley school board president responded by accusing state officials of “overstepping their boundaries.”
“This is a ploy to try to scare all the other boards across California from adopting the policy,” Chino Valley school board president Sonja Shaw <a href="https://abc7.com/chino-rob-bonta-investigation-gender-identity/13603292/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “I won’t back down and will stand in the gap to protect our kids from big government bullies.”

Parents Rights protest

3 Arrested In Los Angeles As Parental Rights Group Clashes With LGBT Activists Over Gender Policy

California

Education

LGBTQ

Public Schools

Transgender

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles</a> is launching a task force to combat the uptick in retail theft, including organized smash-and-grab robberies involving large groups of thieves.
The Organized Retail Crimes Task Force was announced Thursday by Mayor Karen Bass, the LAPD, and several other law enforcement agencies, follows a chaotic week that saw two smash-and-grab robberies by large groups in the Los Angeles area.
Over the weekend, a mob of nearly 50 people in hoodies and masks stole up to $100,000 in luxury merchandise from a Nordstrom in Los Angeles. The thieves also attacked security guards with bear mace.
Last week, a group of 30 to 40 thieves robbed an Yves Saint Laurent store in southern California in broad daylight on Tuesday, absconding with an estimated $300,000 worth of merchandise, police said.
<a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/video-shows-wild-scene-at-americana-as-thieves-ransack-yves-saint-laurent-store/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Footage</a> from the incident shows over a dozen people mostly dressed in dark clothes, hoods, and masks dashing into the store and running out again, their arms full of the expensive merchandise.
The brazen smash-and-grab robbery was caught on video just before 5 p.m. The store is located at the Americana at Brand mall in Glendale, just north of Los Angeles. The Glendale police chief joined the Los Angeles officials in announcing the task force.
Police said Thursday that they had <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/crime/los-angeles-moves-crack-down-retail-theft-epidemic-task-force" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> the first suspect in the robbery. A 23-year-old man was charged with organized retail theft, burglary, grand theft, and conspiracy.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Thursday, “What we’ve seen over just the past week in the City of Los Angeles and in surrounding regions is unacceptable, which is why today we are here announcing action.”
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“These are not victimless crimes – especially in the case where Angelenos were attacked – through force or fear – as they did their jobs or ran errands,&#8221; she said, adding that the task force will &#8220;aggressively investigate&#8221; these incidents and hold the perpetrators &#8220;fully accountable.&#8221;
LAPD Assistant Chief Dominic Choi said retail theft not only affects businesses financially, but also has a broader impact on the &#8220;overall well-being of our community.&#8221;
&#8220;Together, we can create an environment where our streets and businesses are safe from the scourge of retail theft,&#8221; Choi said.
Los Angeles has been plagued by rampant retail and personal theft in recent months.
Most types of violent crime are down in Los Angeles except theft, which is up 15% to more than 20,409 thefts compared to this time last year, <a href="https://lapdonlinestrgeacc.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/lapdonlinemedia/cityprof.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to police data.
Since the fall of 2021, Los Angeles County has seen at least 170 organized retail thefts, including the smash-and-grab trend, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/crime/los-angeles-moves-crack-down-retail-theft-epidemic-task-force" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s Office.
Late last month, police <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/california-jewelry-store-smash-grab-robbers-snatched-900000-merchandise" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> another group of masked thieves stole $900,000 worth of merchandise from a jewelry store in Irvine just south of Los Angeles and Glendale.
Organized retail theft is on the rise nationally as well. 
Incidents like the ones Los Angeles has seen increased by about 27% in 2021, according to the National Retail Federation.
The top ten cities with the most retail crime include New York, Houston, Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, and Dallas.
Critics argue that the thieves are emboldened by California’s progressive prosecutors, who rarely force the shoplifters to face significant criminal consequences.

CA: LAPD Gang Unit

Los Angeles Launches Task Force To Combat Smash And Grab Robberies

Police

Theft

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles">Los Angeles</a> Mayor Karen Bass is trying to “diversify” the LAPD, and she wants to make it easier for recruits who fail to qualify for training to make the grade in order to do so.
A summary of Bass’  public safety goals indicates Bass wants to remove “obstacles,” while one provision of her program states a deputy mayor will work with a “third party” to &#8220;evaluate the personnel process and identify obstacles to entry for recruits who fail to qualify for training,” Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/la-mayor-bass-calls-root-out-right-wing-extremist-police-signals-lowering-bar-new-recruits">reported</a>. Recommendations for getting rid of said obstacles will get special consideration if they relate to “ethnic groups disproportionately left out of new officer training.”
“We think that particular provision or that goal or that idea is dangerous,” Tom Saggau, the spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said, adding, “If you have police officers that can&#8217;t make minimum qualifications or attained minimum standards, for instance, there are recruits that have been in the academy that just can&#8217;t score the minimum requirements for a physical fitness test. One hundred is the maximum score, 50 is acceptable. There are folks that are scoring under 10. That&#8217;s just dangerous.”
The provision states that recommendations to remove any obstacles will be taken into consideration, especially with those related to &#8220;ethnic groups disproportionately left out of new officer training.&#8221;
Saggau noted that recruits failing training might not “possess the mental fitness or the physical fitness ability to be a police officer.”
“That&#8217;s just a recipe for disaster,” he declared. “So we think lowering standards is a dangerous precedent.”
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Bass <a href="https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/mayor-karen-bass-turns-to-chapter-two-the-lapd/">stated</a> last week at a graduation at the Police Academy, “As your mayor, I want you to know I have committed to ensuring that you have the tools and the resources you need to be effective, and that includes making sure graduations like these have more graduates in those seats. I have committed to hiring more officers.”
When in Congress, Bass authored the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which intended to give funds to the NAACP, ACLU, and National Urban League in order to study “management and operations standards for law enforcement agencies, including standards relating to administrative due process, residency requirements, compensation and benefits, use of force, racial profiling, early warning and intervention systems, youth justice, school safety&#8230;”
That act also assumed that a disparate impact by race or sex among traffic stops by policemen would be considered evidence of racial profiling.

Hate Crime Arrest

L.A. Mayor Wants To Lower Standards To Help Diversify LAPD

LA Mayor Wants To Lower Standards To Help Diversify LAPD

Karen Bass

Black Lives Matter is a very effective slogan that elicits sympathy and empathy. It suggests many people outside the black community don’t believe black lives matter. While I agree with that assumption, I have a very different opinion about who the uncaring culprits might be.
<a href="https://blacklivesmatter.com/transparency/#bod">BLM’s vision statement</a> says: 
<blockquote>&#8220;Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation imagines a world where Black people across the diaspora thrive, experience joy, and are not defined by their struggles. By achieving liberation, we envision a future that is fully divested from police, prisons, and all punishment paradigms to be replaced with investment into justice, joy, and culture.&#8221;</blockquote>
Sounds like a noble mission. But that mission becomes confusing when you recall the violent protests we all watched leading up to the 2020 election. In some cases they were looting and rioting while calling for the murder of police officers.
It becomes even more confusing when you read the organization’s <a href="https://blacklivesmatter.com/blm-demands/">list of demands</a> on the same website:
<ol>
<li>Convict and ban Trump from future political office</li>
<li>Expel Republican members of Congress who attempted to overturn the election and incited a white supremacist attack</li>
<li>Launch a full investigation into the ties between white supremacy and the Capitol Police, law enforcement, and the military</li>
<li>Permanently ban Trump from all digital media platforms</li>
<li>Defund the police</li>
<li>Don’t let the coup be used as an excuse to crack down on our movement</li>
<li>Pass the BREATHE Act</li>
</ol>
So, BLM has identified Donald Trump, the racist police, and other &#8216;white supremacists&#8217; as the imminent threat to black lives in our country. Those villains line up nicely and not by accident with President Biden’s April, 2021, proclamation that white supremacy “is the most lethal threat to the homeland today.&#8221; 
It’s not climate change, the threat of nuclear war, not the thousands of unvetted, unvaccinated people illegally pouring into our country, or the Mexican drug cartels funneling deadly amounts of fentanyl and other drugs over our open border — killing over 100,000 Americans a year.
It’s also not the mentally ill and violent criminals living in tents on your streets, or the rising tide of violent crime and failing education.
It’s not even out-of-control inflation, the 31 trillion in national debt, or reckless government spending.
No, it’s none of that. It’s &#8216;white supremacy&#8217; that threatens our lives, but most especially black lives.
During my police career with the NYPD, I was involved in the investigation of hundreds of homicide cases. The majority of those cases involved the tragic death of a young black or Hispanic man murdered by another young black or Hispanic man. That is a fact. Not one of them involved a white supremacist.
I worked with and for hundreds of police officers of all different ethnicities. I’ve never met a white supremacist. I don’t know anyone who is a white supremacist. I don’t even know someone who knows someone who’s a white supremacist.
In 2018, the leading cause of death among black males from age 1-44 was homicide. In line with my own experience, the suspects in the majority of those cases were other young black men. That is a sad and tragic statistic and a national disgrace.
The data is readily available for those who choose to see it, though it might not comport with the white supremacist narrative our woeful president and dishonest BLM leaders are trying to feed you.
Every week the headlines scream at us:
“38 shot, 6 killed during weekend in Mayor Lightfoot’s Chicago.”
“New York City weekend bloodshed leaves 31 people shot, 6 killed…”
Why is this allowed to go on? Why do the people who support BLM ignore what is clearly the biggest threat to black lives in this moment — a threat happening right before our eyes, every single day?
Last night, tonight, and tomorrow night, as sure as the sun rises and sets, dozens more young black and brown men will be slaughtered on the streets of our cities by other young black and brown men. It’s no mystery where, why or how these killings are happening.
For the most part it’s in the same economically challenged, minority populated areas, where liberal democrat politicians have been in control for decades making empty promises and delivering nothing.
Where is the outrage about this daily massacre? Perhaps these political hacks are too busy screaming for bail reform, defunding the police or emptying our prisons — which inevitably leads to the loss of many more black lives.
To me, and the people I served with, every homicide victim’s life mattered. Regardless of the circumstances, every one of them was someone’s son or daughter, brother or sister, mother or father. The hearts of those families break like any other hearts.
Why isn’t this being treated like the national emergency it is? Why do the corrupt media, politicians and celebrities across the entertainment and sports world want you to believe the real threat is systemic racism inside police forces? Why do they say police officers are running amok, murdering unarmed young black men and women everyday when, with very few exceptions, there is no evidence to support it?
The CDC reports there were <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/homicide.htm">24,576 homicides in America in 2020</a>. Roughly 10,000 of those victims were African American or black. On average, police fatally shoot about 1,000 people per year. That number includes people who were using deadly force against the police or someone else when they were killed. About 6% of those <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/">police shootings</a> involve an unarmed suspect.  A very small fraction of those involved some accusation of misconduct by the police officer.
In a country with a general population of over <a href="https://www.census.gov/popclock/">333,000,000</a>, that doesn’t seem like an epidemic. But it is among these few cases that the race hustlers and their partners in the propaganda media find their ammunition to create and peddle this dangerous false narrative of white supremacy.
The New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles police departments are the <a href="https://policeteststudyguide.com/largest-police-departments-in-the-united-states/">three largest departments</a> in the country. They each serve a very significant minority population.
According to 2021 Census figures, of the <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/about/about-nypd/about-nypd-landing.page">36,000 plus members of the NYPD</a>, 43% are White, 31% Hispanic, <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/ccrb/policy/data-transparency-initiative-mos.page">16% Black, 10% Asian</a>.
In Chicago’s <a href="https://informationportal.igchicago.org/chicago-police-department-active-sworn-officer-overview/">11,000 plus member department</a>, 45% of the officers are White, 31% Hispanic, 20% Black and 3% Asian.
And of the roughly <a href="https://www.lapdonline.org/">10,000 officers serving in the LAPD</a>, 50% are Hispanic, 30% White, 9% Black, 8% Asian, 2% Filipino and .3% Native American — hardly a bastion of white supremacy.
Having done the job for over 2 decades in New York City, in a very violent era, I can’t think of a worse job for a white supremacist. Not only are you likely to be working side by side with or for a minority colleague, the vast majority of your duties are risking your life in dangerous neighborhoods while serving, protecting and coming to the aid of mostly minority residents.
In 1994, when Republican NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani came into office, the city would suffer <a href="https://www.disastercenter.com/crime/nycrime.htm">more than 2,000 homicides that year</a>. He implemented smart, sensible strategies that helped the men and women of the NYPD save tens of thousands of mostly black lives over the next two decades, in many cases risking and sometimes giving their own lives to do so.
After giving their blood sweat and tears to make the city a safe place, I can think of no greater insult than to be labeled a racist or white supremacist.
If BLM, the clueless social justice warriors like LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, and the lemmings who blindly support them truly believed black lives matter, their fight for justice and equity would be away from the cameras. They would be on the violent, inner city street corners standing side-by-side with the police calling out the real problems, imploring these young people to stop killing each other, uniting not dividing. They would demand the crony politicians fix the failing schools and make the streets safe for the good people who live there. But don’t hold your breath.
BLM was founded by self proclaimed Marxists who have long ago forgotten the spirit of their optimistic mission statement. And as long as these phonies continue to peddle the false narrative that police departments are full of white supremacists and not well intentioned, honest, hard working police officers, many more black lives will be lost and that should matter to everyone.
John Dove is a retired NYPD Detective Lieutenant and the former co-executive producer of CSI-NY.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Funeral Held For NYPD Detective Killed During Attempted Robbery In Queens

‘I Can’t Think Of A Worse Job For A White Supremacist’: Career NYPD Cop Breaks Down BLM Claims

Black Lives Matter

Chicago Police

NYPD

Readers Pass

A case out of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles</a> is garnering attention as a deceased police officer’s family is claiming foul play in the death of the officer.
Los Angeles Police Department (<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lapd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LAPD</a>) Officer Houston Tipping died during an exercise, all while he was acting as a whistleblower in a case of alleged <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sexual-assault" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sexual</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/assault" target="_blank" rel="noopener">assault</a> of other members of law enforcement.
On Monday, Tipping’s family’s lawyer, Brad Gage, said Tipping was carrying out an investigation of an alleged gang rape by four LAPD members in July of last year. At least one of the officers was at the training where Tipping died.
“Our investigation has uncovered claims that one of the officers accused of sexual assault was at the training where officer Houston Tipping eventually died,” he <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7bnm3/houston-tipping-lapd-beaten-to-death" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “We have a witness that claimed that this occurred. We have documents that claim this occurred. And we also know from his family that officer Tipping, after spending a few years happy at LAPD, following these events, was searching for a job outside of the LAPD. [They say] he did not say why, but he clearly was distraught over something.”
The Los Angeles County Coroner <a href="https://abc7.com/lapd-officer-houston-tipping-autopsy/12079891/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> earlier this year that Tipping passed away when he fell while gripping another officer in a “bear hug” during a class instruction he was conducting. However, a recent medical report noted that Tipping was “possibly dropped” on his head, according to <a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/new-claim-filed-lapd-officer-houston-tipping-death" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox</a> LA.
The police department’s account of what happened has differed from what the family and Gage are claiming.
The department said Tipping’s fall caused a spinal cord injury. While other officers tried to give him CPR and called Los Angeles Fire Department teams, he passed away after being transported to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center.
Tipping’s mother, Shirley Huffman, brought a wrongful death claim against the police department earlier this year, claiming that her son was beaten.
In July, Gage <a href="https://twitter.com/liborjany/status/1544407656865021952?s=20&amp;t=zTfIUYcuf24kuzLy8x7PhA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Tipping was paralyzed and couldn’t breathe on his own, and “had a collapsed lung, he had a broken rib, and he had [a] liver so badly damaged they were not sure if he would be a suitable…organ donor.”
“When you look at all these horrific injuries, the truth is something went seriously wrong here,” he said. “I cannot fathom anything other than a severe beating. This raises a number of questions that the family would like to have answered.”
This <a href="https://twitter.com/DrRJKavanagh/status/1577104442444238848?s=20&amp;t=TAD70GbfLmBfne6d6FQAmw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">week</a>, Gage <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/lawyer-claims-lapd-officer-was-targeted-for-being-a-potential-whistleblower/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cited</a> several issues with the autopsy report and the department’s account of what happened.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
LAPD officer Houston Tipping died after a training exercise during which he was beaten &amp; slammed to the ground by other cops. Now his lawyer says at the time he died he was investigating a gang rape by 4 cops, at least one of whom was part of the exercise. <a href="https://t.co/hah4hztyx2">pic.twitter.com/hah4hztyx2</a>
&mdash; Rebecca Kavanagh (@DrRJKavanagh) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrRJKavanagh/status/1577104442444238848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Gage also said his team has been informed by the LAPD that there is no video of the training, but he and the family don’t believe this is true. In addition, his team has medical documents that show a CPR device was never used on Tipping, which would have explained the officer’s broken ribs.
LAPD Police Chief Michael Moore refuted the family’s allegations in June.
“We also grieve his tragic death and I’m committed to ensuring that the investigation is comprehensive in understanding how this accident occurred and what added safeguards or other steps can be taken to ensure that it’s never experienced again,” Moore <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7bnm3/houston-tipping-lapd-beaten-to-death" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Los Angeles Daily News.

Close up of a Los Angeles Police Officer Badge

Family Lawyer Claims LAPD Officer Was Beaten To Death By Officer He Was Investigating For Gang Rape

Family Lawyer Claims Los Angeles Police Officer Houston Tipping Was Beaten To Death By Officer He Was Investigating For Gang Rape

Assault

Sexual Assault

Los Angeles is scrambling to combat a surge in crime in some of its most popular celebrity haunts and tourist destinations, including Hollywood.
Amid spiking homicides, flash mobs of looters, and “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cars-will-start-disappearing-really-soon-lapd-pledges-to-crack-down-on-street-takeovers">street takeovers</a>,” crime has risen across the city, but now it’s seeping into some of the areas known for nightlife and tourism.
In Hollywood, homicides have <a href="https://lapdonlinestrgeacc.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/lapdonlinemedia/2022/08/hwdprof.pdf">spiked</a> 100% since last year, and shootings have risen by a third. Robberies have risen 16% to over 400 robberies so far this year, burglaries are up almost 5% to nearly 400, and car theft is up 11% to over 600 incidents. Since 2020, violent crime overall has risen 35% in the Hollywood area.
Across Los Angeles County, homicides have risen 30% since 2020 to more than 200 homicides so far this year, as of the end of July. Shootings are up 43% since 2020 to nearly 800. 
To combat the rising crime, the LAPD is sending hundreds more officers to neighborhoods like Hollywood that have seen significant crime surges.
In August, the Los Angeles City Council responded to citizens&#8217; concerns by approving an extra $216,000 for more police officers to patrol the Hollywood area. 
Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who represents the Hollywood area and introduced the motion for more police funding, said his message is that, “If you plan to come to Hollywood to commit crime, you are not welcome” and those who do will be arrested, prosecuted, and jailed. 
It remains to be seen whether O’Farrell can back up that threat though as criminal justice enforcement has been a challenge in Los Angeles in recent years. 
The culture of lawlessness in the city has led to some eye-popping crime sprees.
This month, a flash mob of about 100 looters swarmed a 7-11 convenience store and made off with whatever they could carry, including snacks, cigarettes, and lottery tickets. Those suspects are still at large. The incident happened just after midnight during a so-called &#8220;street takeover.&#8221; The same group allegedly blocked a nearby intersection so they could do donuts with their cars.
A similar incident happened several weeks prior when a mob of looters overran a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ChXJuXhlWEQ/?hl=en">liquor</a> store in the city, filling duffle bags with bottles of alcohol before fleeing. A similar scene happened at the Nordstrom store in Century City Mall where 14 people rushed into the store around 8 p.m., stealing armloads of high-end purses and other items. 
Police officials have said they want to crack down on these types of group theft incidents.
&#8220;We really want to prevent this from becoming a new trend, where they think that they show up and take over a street or a freeway, or any part of the city that they’re just going to be able do whatever they want, come into a store and take what they want, and we’re here to basically say that’s not going to happen,&#8221; LAPD detective, Ryan Moreno said at a press conference in August.
Earlier this summer, the LAPD issued a community alert due to an increase in violent street robberies. Police reported a string of crimes in which victims were followed home after leaving trendy shopping areas or nightclubs and restaurants and then were held up at gunpoint.
At least one man was shot in the chest after an armed robber demanded his phone and wallet.
This sense of lawlessness is what led to the recall effort against Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon, which so far has not been successful.
The recall effort submitted more than 715,000 signatures, but nearly 200,000 of them were ruled invalid, about a 28% rejection rate, so the recall will not be on the ballot.
A source from within the district attorney&#8217;s office said the recall committee is attempting to get a review of those rejected signatures, but for now the recall effort has failed. 
Gascon avoided the recall by about 40,000 signatures. 
Recent polling from UC Berkeley and the Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-08-26/california-election-2022-bass-leads-caruso-poll">suggests</a> Gascon would likely have been recalled if the measure made the ballot. In that poll, 41% of respondents supported the recall, compared to just 20% who opposed it. 
The 28% signature rejection rate for Gascon&#8217;s recall campaign is the highest on record compared to past recalls. When Governor Gavin Newsom faced a recall in 2021, the rejection rate for those signatures was about 20%. Back in 2003, California Governor Gray Davis was successfully recalled, the first in U.S. history. The rejection rate for that signature drive was about 15%. 
However, an <a href="https://redstate.com/jenvanlaar/2022/08/18/exclusive-recall-gascon-committee-failed-to-pre-validate-signatures-hired-incompetent-vendors-n614367">investigation</a> by RedState showed there were serious concerns about the contractor charged with collecting the signatures in the first place, which may account for the high rejection rate.
San Francisco residents voted overwhelmingly in June to recall progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin over his failure to control crime in the city. Other cities that also have progressive district attorneys such as Philadelphia, which is struggling with gun violence, have <a href="https://billypenn.com/2022/07/08/krasner-impeachment-philadelphia-district-attorney-harrisburg-republicans/">floated</a> ousting them as well.

Readers Pass – Elordi – Crime Sprees in Los Angeles16x9

Homicides Hit Hollywood As Los Angeles Scrambles To Control Crime

Violent Crime

A store in Beverly Hills is banning masks due to increased <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/crime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crime</a> and theft. 
On Sunday, Kitson, a fashion and lifestyle boutique with multiple shops in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles</a> area, announced it would no longer allow mask-wearing patrons at its Beverly Hills location on Robertson Boulevard. The decision comes after a recent increase in masked thefts in the region.
Fraser Ross, the owner of Kitson, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/kitson-beverly-grove-store-announces-mask-ban-due-to-rise-in-robbery-crime/?taid=630368bbb596c200013261b8">told</a> CBSLA that it posted signs about the new mask rule last Wednesday. 
In a statement, Ross said, “At Kitson we prioritize the safety of our staff and customers. We noticed a disturbing trend of individuals wearing masks to avoid identification in various situations including, but not limited to, shoplifting, verbal harassment, and physical assault.”
“The mask mandate may have begun as a health precaution, but we believe it is now being used by some people for nefarious purposes. To that end, we enacted our own mandate of sorts,” the statement continued. “We do not allow wearing of masks in the Robertson store during regular business hours. Those people who wish to wear masks are free to set up an appointment for a person shopping experience or visit our website. We also offer curbside pickup.”
Crime in Los Angeles has spiked this year, leading the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to advise the public on how to <a href="https://abc7.com/smash-and-grab-robbery-los-angeles-chanel/12064067/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">protect</a> themselves from being robbed. In July, the LAPD released information informing citizens how to avoid “follow-home robberies.”
“Suspects have been locating victims in Los Angeles, following them, and then committing the robberies as the victim arrives home or at their business,” the LAPD <a href="https://twitter.com/LAPDHQ/status/1548458190680887297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1548458190680887297%7Ctwgr%5Eb3425efbbb3a2ca0d3791f5131ba2b1682e2c8ac%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https://abc7.com/smash-and-grab-robbery-los-angeles-chanel/12064067/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We are sharing this community alert in an effort to increase awareness of a series of robberies occurring in the City of Los Angeles. <a href="https://t.co/qRyyB9ZT9n">pic.twitter.com/qRyyB9ZT9n</a>
&mdash; LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/LAPDHQ/status/1548458190680887297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The increase in robberies <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/armed-robbery-up-44-percent-in-los-angeles-compared-to-same-period-last-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">involving</a> a weapon is also concerning. 
In March, the department <a href="https://www.lapdonline.org/newsroom/lapd-chief-moore-addresses-spike-in-citywide-robberies-nr22081mc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that it “has experienced an increase in robberies taking place in various communities in the City of Los Angeles” over the year, adding that “most concerning is that there has been an increase in the levels of violence used during these robberies and the frequency in which a firearm was used.”
As of March, citywide robberies were up 18% compared to 2021, while robberies with a firearm were up 44%, according to the <a href="https://www.lapdonline.org/newsroom/lapd-chief-moore-addresses-spike-in-citywide-robberies-nr22081mc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LAPD</a>.
This week, the LAPD is <a href="https://www.lapdonline.org/newsroom/los-angeles-police-department-to-discuss-car-break-ins-targeting-tourists-and-visitors-at-griffith-park-na22068ti/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">set</a> to hold a press conference discussing “vehicle break-ins&#8221; targeting tourists and visitors in Griffith Park. 
Burglaries aren’t the only concern. During the first half of the year, the LAPD recorded the highest number of homicides in more than ten years. 
&#8220;181 murder victims. We&#8217;re on pace for a 15 year high. This is very, very scary for our city and it&#8217;s scary for the residents that we are supposed to protect,&#8221; Sgt. Jerretta Sandoz with the Los Angeles Police Protective League <a href="https://abc7.com/los-angeles-homicides-crime-report/12046605/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> ABC 7.
During the first six <a href="https://data.lacity.org/Public-Safety/Crime-Data-from-2020-to-Present/2nrs-mtv8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">months</a> of 2021, there were 180 homicides, compared to 181 in the first six months of this year. However, the numbers are a 29% jump from 2020 and a 34% spike from the average over the same time span between 2015 and 2019. 
A recent effort to recall Los Angeles County District Attorney <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/george-gascon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">George Gascón</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/george-gascon-recall-effort-fails" target="_blank" rel="noopener">failed</a>. &#8220;As soon as he was sworn into office, District Attorney George Gascon began issuing directives to his prosecutors, instructing them to go soft on crime, coddle criminals, and trample upon the dignity and rights of crime victims,&#8221; the recall campaign <a href="https://www.recalldageorgegascon.com/why-recall-da-george-gascon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a>.

Daily Life In Los Angeles Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Beverly Hills Store Issues Mask Ban Due To Masked Robberies

Beverly Hills, California, Clothing Store Issues Mask Ban Due To Masked Robberies In The Area

Beverly Hills

Face Masks

masks

Robbery

With <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/portland-police-officers-fleeing-in-unprecedented-numbers-a-win-for-defund-the-police-movement">departures</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/11/us/police-retirements-resignations-recruits.html">happening</a> against the backdrop of rising crime rates in major American cities and activists calling for defunding the police, departments across the country are now experiencing staff shortages. Now, as officers continue retiring en masse, police departments are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-suffering-officer-shortage-cant-find-recruits-people-dont-want-to-be-the-police">struggling</a> to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/philadelphia-sees-looming-police-shortage-as-officers-file-for-retirement-and-young-people-arent-signing-up">attract</a> enough new recruits, and some are even being <a href="https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_d7a5d976-0ddb-11ed-8000-4b7a72191d9c.html">forced</a> to restructure in order to respond to 911 calls.
While <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/politics/philadelphia/philadelphia-police-shortage-worsening-hundreds-retiring-20220819.html">Philadelphia</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-than-200-seattle-police-officers-quit-citing-anti-police-climate">Seattle</a>, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lapd-detective-compares-city-to-the-purge-we-dont-think-we-can-keep-you-safe">Los Angeles</a>, and <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/chicago-police-crime-statistics-staffing-resignation-retirements">Chicago</a> stand out as cities hit the hardest by this mass exodus, nearly every major American city has experienced similar shortages. If you threw a dart at a map of the United States, you’d likely land close to a city dealing with short-staffed police departments and rising crime rates.
In response, police departments across the country are paying out <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fund-the-police-portland-unrest-leads-to-record-overtime-for-more-than-a-dozen-cops">more overtime</a> to make up for staffing shortages and <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-police-911-calls-response-time-20220215.html">restructuring</a> to keep response times up while <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-police-no-longer-allowed-to-chase-criminals-over-minor-offenses">prioritizing</a> violent crime over other offenses such as drugs or theft. Cold case investigators and officers who typically work in outreach and community programs are being <a href="https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/syracuse-police-temporarily-reassign-officers-to-patrol-division-due-to-historically-low-staffing-numbers/">reassigned</a> and placed back on the streets.
High trafficked and high crime areas are, of course, prioritized, and officers are kept in those areas; however, criminals are still taking advantage of law enforcement being stretched thin. Despite their best efforts, crime is <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/six-cities-pace-pass-violent-crime-2022">continuing to rise</a> in major cities across the U.S.
A catastrophic <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/06/24/1009578809/cops-say-low-morale-and-department-scrutiny-are-driving-them-away-from-the-job">drop in morale</a> seems to be the biggest driver of the police exodus. After the COVID pandemic began in March 2020, many state and local governments adopted policies that put criminals back on the street within days of being arrested in order for jails to <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/pandemic-inspires-new-push-shrink-jails-and-prisons">remain less crowded</a>. Police in New York City were <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/08/04/meet-the-shoplifter-with-101-arrests-and-let-go-almost-every-time/">arresting</a> the <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/08/03/career-criminals-rack-up-nearly-500-arrests-since-ny-bail-reform-began/">same criminals</a> for different crimes within weeks – or sometimes even days – of each other in extremely frustrating cycles.
Then, in May of that year, almost every single major city in America was rocked by protests and riots over the death of George Floyd. Black Lives Matter activists led massive demonstrations that sparked hundreds of violent riots and gave momentum to a movement for defunding the police.
Progressive leaders in cities such as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-minneapolis-plan-to-defund-the-police-collapses-city-council-members-regret-making-pledge">Minneapolis</a>, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/portland-among-u-s-cities-adding-funds-to-police-departments">Portland</a>, and <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/0b1ade8e-18cd-43a1-967f-5328ba2053dc">Los Angeles</a> initially embraced the reforms and cut police department funding. These funding cuts and the Defund the Police messaging signaled to many officers that their elected leaders no longer supported them.
This loss of hope in elected officials has produced a startling shortage in police departments across America. The <a href="https://www.policeforum.org/workforcesurveyjune2021">Police Executive Research Forum</a> conducted a study of nearly 200 police departments last year and measured the changes in hiring, resignations, and retirements. Researchers polled police departments on how those statistics changed in the year following the onset of the pandemic compared to the year before, and found that hiring across those police departments fell by a relatively modest 5%. Resignations, on the other hand, increased 18%. Retirements, though, were the biggest blow of all, jumping a staggering 45%. The study acknowledged that smaller departments may have skewed the previously noted statistic, but, even if all the departments with less than 500 officers were excluded, the retirement rate still jumped 27%.
The police shortage, paired with a rise in crime, seems to be feeding a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Miv_ti5KR9U">snowball effect</a>:
<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/put-the-guns-down-activists-call-for-peace-as-philadelphias-homicide-rate-continues-to-outpace-deadliest-year-on-record/">Philadelphia, Pennsylvania</a> hit a record number of homicides last year, and it’s on pace to break that record again this year. Additionally, the city is <a href="https://metrophiladelphia.com/cops-combat-violent-crime-as-ranks-dwindle/">down about</a> 550 officers under pre-pandemic levels, and over 800 more officers are on medical leave or restricted duty.
In <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10908921/NYPD-staffing-crisis-city-jeopardy-union-officials-say.html">New York City</a>, the crime rate has jumped nearly 40% this year, and the city’s police officers are leaving en masse. About 1,600 have left the force already this year, well over 400 more than the number that left the police department in all of last year.
In <a href="https://www.nola.com/news/article_5ffa853c-0a04-11ed-9285-6be02e4e976d.html">New Orleans, Louisiana</a>, “fewer than 1,000 officers remain after a <a href="https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_0aca501e-8b98-11ec-93fe-c73c3ae4ff61.html">net loss of one in six officers</a> since the start of last year. More than 90 have left the force this year as of early July, according to police officer groups. That’s about the same number who resigned, retired or were fired in all of 2020.” New Orleans police officials and Mayor LaToya Cantrell <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0kmZIG3fEg">admonished the media</a> for making their police recruitment more difficult and stated that their priorities are “retention, recruitment, resources.”
<a href="https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/2022/05/05/chief-responds-las-cruces-police-officers-association-releases-scathing-letter/9661087002/">Las Cruces, New Mexico</a> was down to 77% of its max operating forces as of June 2021.
In <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2022/01/push-to-hire-retired-portland-police-officers-falls-short-only-2-of-81-express-interest.html">Portland, Oregon</a>, only two recently retired officers, among the 81 contacted by Police Chief Chuck Lovell, have expressed interest in helping fill vacancies for Portland police under the city-approved <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2021/09/mayor-calls-for-more-money-this-fall-to-rehire-police-officers-expand-portland-street-response-prepare-for-body-cameras.html">retire-rehire program</a>. Chief Lovell urged retired officers to consider returning in a letter, acknowledging that those who have retired since August 2020 left “at a time of great despair for the Bureau and the City of Portland.”
In <a href="https://wlos.com/news/local/asheville-police-departments-staffing-deficit-has-cost-246m-overtime-pay-since-2020-taxpayers-chief-david-zack">Asheville, North Carolina</a>, Police Chief David Zack stated, “We really saw this towards the middle and end of 2020 when we started to see the mass exodus of officers.” He continued: “It’s been pretty steady on a monthly basis where we’re about 40% down of our sworn staff.”
According to <a href="https://www.fox9.com/news/court-orders-minneapolis-to-employ-a-minimum-of-731-police-officers">Minneapolis, Minnesota’s</a> city records, “MPD’s sworn ranks reached a low of 614 officers in early May, down from more than 900 in early 2020.”
In the city of <a href="https://abc7news.com/san-francisco-police-department-shortage-staffing-sfpd-chief-william-scott/12094352/">San Francisco, California</a>, police are down by about 300 officers, “meaning fewer police on the streets, longer response times for critical crimes and little or no time to interact with the public.”
In <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicago-police-department-officer-shortage-crime-spike/">Chicago, Illinois</a>, according to police, “There are 296 academy recruits right now – with a new class of about 85 to 90 starting June 1. They are not making up for the numbers lost quite yet.” Chairman of the Chicago Police Foundation Board of Directors Richard Simon, in defense of officers, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCPYOxnywoI">stated</a>, “These are every mother’s son and daughter that put on the uniform of our country. These aren’t bad people; these are great people. These are American heroes.”
There is a heightened need for cities to get a handle on police officer shortages before things become much worse.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Police Shortages Across The Country

‘Catastrophic Drop In Morale’: How Progressives Created An Unprecedented Police Exodus

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