LAPD

Dec 9 2011

Suspect was screaming “Kill me ... I’m gonna die!”

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—Police shot and killed a suspect who was firing at vehicles in Hollywood, and at least one other person was wounded.

Officers were sent to the area of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street about 10:20 a.m., said Los Angeles Police Officer Cleon Joseph of the Media Relations office. The suspect, who was not immediately identified, died at the scene.

Dec 8 2011

Stabbed with a broomstick

A South Los Angeles man has pleaded not guilty to murdering his 87-year-old grandmother at the home they shared.

Brent Lamont Thomas, 43, was charged in the Nov. 29 slaying of Ethel Porter, who was apparently stabbed to death with a broom handle.

A vigil was planned for Tuesday, Dec. 6, for Porter at the scene of her death at 911 W. 41st St. to support the family, remember the victim, and “bring attention and awareness to the ill effects of drugs and pain in our communities.”

Dec 7 2011

Anonymous published website

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Police are investigating the publication of personal information about more than two dozen LAPD captains and some command staff.

A website published anonymously obtained officers’ property records, campaign contributions, biographical information and some names of family members, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The department is conducting a risk analysis that will determine whether police or their families need extra security, LAPD Lt. Andrew Neiman told City News Service.

Dec 4 2011

Leaves one wouded

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—There were two non-fatal shootings in the Los Angeles Police Department's 77th Station area overnight, including one between gang sets, authorities said.

Around 12:30 a.m., at a dance hall at Western Avenue and 89th Street, one victim was grazed in the head and thigh, and shot in the stomach, said Sgt. A. McGee, watch commander at the LAPD's 77th Street Station.

Dec 2 2011

Ethel Porter

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A man pleaded not guilty today to murdering his 87-year-old grandmother at the South Los Angeles home he shared with her.

Brent Lamont Thomas, 43, is charged in Tuesday's slaying of Ethel Porter.

The criminal complaint alleges that Thomas used a deadly and dangerous weapon—a broomstick—in the commission of the crime.

He is also charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon against his mother.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.