Sahra Sulaiman
Sahra is Communities Editor for Streetsblog L.A., covering the intersection of mobility with race, class, history, representation, policing, housing, health, culture, community, and access to the public space in Boyle Heights and South Central Los Angeles.
Notes on a scene: KDL gets schooled on how legislative process works as no-vending zones rescinded
Street vendors logged a key victory in the process, but the battle to be treated with dignity continues
Carefully Curated Footage of LAPD Officer Fatally Striking Pedestrian Raises More Questions than It Answers
LAPD's release of incident footage is not the same thing as transparency
Street Services asks CD8 stakeholders to weigh in on light poles for Western Ave. by December 27
Formal community engagement around the larger slate of improvements planned for Western will begin in February 2024
No City for Old Men: L.A. Police Commission finds lung-collapsing blow to chest of unarmed Black 60-year-old “in policy”
Although Officer Brian Kolke failed to voluntarily report the use of force and prolonged Earl Roots' agony for several hours, he only received a comment card on his personnel file
LAPD Admits Man Who Slept Thru 3-Hour Bus “Standoff” Was Carrying BB Gun Only after Hero Robot Dog Story Makes Rounds
LAPD lauded its controversial $280,000 robot dog for the role it played in resolving the standoff yesterday, but when questioned for specifics about how the standoff had unfolded, what the robot dog had actually done, and why it had not been deployed for three hours, the department declined to answer
No Cops with Lassos on Trains. Mayor Nixes LAPD Pilot at Metro Board Meeting.
LAPD got approval from the Police Commission to extend their BolaWrap pilot on Metro in August, but hadn't advised Metro of their plans until after the fact.
LAPD Officer Punched 60-year-old Black Man in Chest, Collapsing His Lung, during December Arrest
In an apparent effort to downgrade the incident to a non-categorical use of force, Chief Moore told the Police Commission that Earl Roots' hospitalization was "due to a complaint of having asthma," not the punch that collapsed Roots' lung.