Recent Streetsblog LA posts about race relations

In a screengrab from the body cam footage released by the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, rapper Feezy Lebron is taunted by deputy Justin Sabatine as he is put in the back of a patrol vehicle. Sabatine had threatened to blow a hole in Feezy's chest just two minutes earlier. Upper right corner: Feezy at the press conference announcing the $10M tort filing.

Deputy’s Traffic Stop Power Trip on Rapper Sheds Light on Department Culture, Leaves Trauma, Upheaval in its Wake

By Sahra Sulaiman | Feb 3, 2023 | No Comments

Feezy Lebron filed a $10M Civil Rights Tort Claim on Jan. 18, but he and his family fear retribution

Disgraced L.A. City Councilmember Kevin de León speaks to CNN's Kate Bolduan. Footage of his assault on protester Jason Reedy is seen in the background.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like KDL?

By Sahra Sulaiman | Dec 20, 2022 | No Comments

KDL's latest defense for not resigning is that “millions of Americans go to work every single day with folks that they don't like.”

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 February 9 encounter near Manchester and Figueroa began with officers telling Travis Elster he was illegally parked in a private parking lot, but the placement of the officer's hand inside the vehicle was one of several forms of escalation. Elster ultimately fled the scene and was shot at eight times by LAPD officer Carlos Tovar. Tovar managed to hit Elster's vehicle as well as the vehicle of a passing Lyft driver, but thankfully no one was injured. Screenshot from the critical incident video released by LAPD.

Officer Fires 8 Wildly Out-of-Policy Shots at Man Fleeing Pretextual Stop; Evolving LAPD Statements Attempt to Pin Blame on Driver

By Sahra Sulaiman | Mar 17, 2021 | No Comments

LAPD is accusing 30yo Travis Elster of assault with a deadly weapon to justify the shooting.

Twenty-five-year old Fred Williams III was killed in Willowbrook by Los Angeles County Sheriffs on October 16. A medical examiner's inquest into his death was held January 28, 2021. Photo source: family gofundme.

LASD Won’t Name Deputies Involved in Killing of Fred Williams III at Otherwise Uninformative Inquest

By Sahra Sulaiman | Feb 1, 2021 | No Comments

LASD once again proves unwilling to cooperate in an inquest into a questionable shooting by a deputy.

A view of the courtyard of the SEED school looking northward. The lots the project will rise on stood vacant for nearly 30 years. It will open its doors to students in the fall of 2022.

Metro’s Transportation Boarding School Breaks Ground at Vermont/Manchester

By Sahra Sulaiman | Oct 28, 2020 | No Comments

"Groundbreaking celebrated without construction to follow had been the norm at a certain point," said Ridley-Thomas. "But no more."

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