Recent Streetsblog LA posts about defunding police

During Tuesday's press briefing, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he would be sending Metro boardmembers helpful graphics like the one he is pointing at so they could learn the difference between transportation and housing.

As Election Nears, Embattled Sheriff Announces Plan to Expel 5700 Unhoused from Metro System, Acts Like April Ultimatum Never Happened

By Sahra Sulaiman | Jun 2, 2022 | No Comments

Step #1 of the "multi-layered" plan to remove unhoused people from trains and platforms is removing unhoused people from trains and platforms.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva points at a slide on his power point presentation during a press conference Wednesday, April 13.

Villanueva Threatens to Pull LASD Out of Metro’s Multi-Agency Policing Contract this July in Grievance-Laced Press Conference

By Joe Linton and Sahra Sulaiman | Apr 14, 2022 | No Comments

In which the sheriff neglected to explain why Metro had moved to a multi-agency contract in the first place

Although LAPD claims they shot 22-year-old Margarito "Junior" López because he "advanced" toward officers while holding a knife, an examination of the body cam footage shows the standby warning for a "less lethal" projectile went unheeded, resulting in contagious fire. The warning (in green) is added by Streetsblog; LAPD elected not to include it in their transcription.

Officers Who Killed Margarito López Didn’t Heed Standby Warning for “Less Lethal” Fire

By Sahra Sulaiman | Jan 26, 2022 | No Comments

Half a second after the projectile is fired at López – who is in the midst of turning away from officers – a burst of contagious fire erupts.

Despite having given press statements regarding the imminent detonation at 716 E. 27th St., called in the fire department to be on standby, placed the last of the explosive materials in the TCV ten minutes prior to detonation as helicopters from local TV stations hovered overhead, and yelled “Fire in the hole!” to warn observers they were about to set off the counter charges, LAPD’s very first public step after the blast was to take to twitter and launch an active disinformation campaign.

Anatomy of an Officer-Involved Explosion: a Post-Mortem on LAPD’s E. 27th Street Fireworks Blast

By Sahra Sulaiman | Aug 11, 2021 | No Comments

A year ago, a councilmember co-authored a motion to shift $150mil from LAPD's budget. A month ago, LAPD called everyone but his office to watch them detonate fireworks in his district. The botched operation rocked the city.

The 911 call made by Isaias Cervantes sister: she immediately announces the emergency is a mental health crisis but a Mental Evaluation Team is not dispatched nor do the responding deputies call one to the scene.

Autistic Man Shot Within 83 Seconds of First Contact by LASD: Why Is this Still Happening?

By Sahra Sulaiman | May 7, 2021 | No Comments

Eighty-three seconds. That’s how much time passed between the moment deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) first stood at the door of the Cudahy home of Isaias Cervantes, a 25-year-old autistic man who is hard of hearing and suffering from depression and anxiety, and the firing of the shot that may have […]

John Weber, the father of Anthony "A.J." Weber, the unarmed 16-year-old who was killed by sheriff's deputies in 2018, speaks on the ongoing harassment of his family during the recent "Stop L.A. Sheriffs Attacks" forum organized by BLM-LA and Centro CSO. BLM-LA's Paula Minor moderated the second half of the forum. Interpretation was provided by Pro Bono ASL.

Families of Those Killed by LASD Describe Ongoing Harassment by Deputies as Part of a “Triple Assault”

By Sahra Sulaiman | Apr 13, 2021 | No Comments

"I don't have another life to give. I don't have any more breaths to take. I don't have any more hashtags. I don't have any more energy to be marching with my fist up in the air [only] to come back to the same thing," declared Khadijah Shabazz. "Right now, it needs to be all broken down, torn down, and started all over again."

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