Officer

Nov 2 2011

Marcos Gonzalez, 28

GARDEN GROVE, Calif.—A Garden Grove police motorcycle officer suffered minor injuries today when a motorist he had stopped ran him over and fled the scene, setting off a countywide manhunt.

The officer had pulled over the motorist about 9:30 a.m. at 13321 Brookhurst St., near Trask Avenue, for not wearing a seatbelt, according to Garden Grove police Lt. Jeff Nightengale.

The suspect seemed “nervous,” so the officer requested backup and told the man to get out of his car, Nightengale said.

Oct 12 2010

Publicity stunt to blame

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—An apparent publicity stunt by a band snarled traffic on the southbound Hollywood (101) Freeway in Hollywood today, leaving thousands of motorists stuck in a miles-long backup.

The driver of a large black truck decorated with pictures and the name of a band turned the vehicle across several lanes of freeway traffic near Sunset Boulevard shortly after 11 a.m., leaving just one lane barely passable, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Jennifer Connelly.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Sep 30 2010

Day of exercise helps those in need

The Metropolitan Division of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) will sponsor the third annual Randy Simmons 5K Challenge Run in honor of their fallen comrade, SWAT Officer Randal Simmons, who was killed while trying to rescue civilians from a suicidal hostage-taker in Feb. 2008.

The Challenge Run will begin at 8 a.m. on Oct. 16, from the LAPD’s Elysian Park Police Academy and wind through the Elysian Park area, ending back at the academy.

Sep 20 2010

Reward offered

LOS ANGELES - Authorities announced a $50,000 reward for information that helps solve the killing of a 23-year-old Upland woman hit by apparent stray gunfire as she sat in a car in South Los Angeles.

Shaquana Denise Watson was shot about 9 p.m. July 27 in the 5300 block of South Broadway. She died at a hospital.

"She was a passenger in a car that was parked at the curb,'' Los Angeles police Officer Rosario Herrera said. "She was struck by gunfire that came from a passing white van.''

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Sep 16 2010

Becomes LAPD’s highest ranking Black woman

Growing up in inner city New Jersey, Regina Scott always saw police officers strolling into her community, but she never saw an African American female in uniform.

“Then I saw Christie Love, and knew I wanted to become a police officer,” recalls Scott, who chose that route even though people steadily told her it wouldn’t happen.

Undeterred, Scott began plotting a career course that would prepare her for that dream job.

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.