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Monterey Park & Half Moon Bay: Thoughts of Shock, Grief, Fury, & Trauma
We’ll go back to our regular reporting with our next story. But, in the meantime, here is a quick interweave of tweets pertaining the heart-shredding events of the last few days. Many of those commenting are authors, journalists, or public officials. Most have a direct personal connection with the...
After mass shooting at Monterey Park Lunar New Year celebration left 10 dead & more injured, the search for the shooter continued
Here’s what we know of the devastating mass shooting that took place in Monterey Park this weekend. It is a story that continues to unfold. Last night, Saturday, January 21, at approximately 10:22 pm, officers from the Monterey Park Police Department responded to a shots fired call at 100 block of West Garvey Avenue in the city of Monterey Park.
San Francisco Police Commission Moves to Reduce Racially Biased Traffic Stops
On January 11, the San Francisco Police Commission banned local police from pulling drivers over for breaking one of 18 low-level traffic rules, which police have historically used to justify searching drivers and vehicles they find suspicious. “Reducing the number of stops made for low-level offenses,”the commission explained in their...
Battling fentanyl inside LA County’s youth lock-ups
On Tuesday of this week, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion directing LA County Probation Chief Adolfo Gonzales, along with the county CEO, plus the departments of Public Health and Health Services, to report back to the board in 60 days with a “detailed plan” to make the drug NARCAN accessible in probation’s youth camps and its two remaining juvenile halls.
Pregnant People Say Arizona Prisons Forced Them Into Early Labor
Arizona state prison medical providers are inducing labor without consent, according to three incarcerated women who had their labor induced before their due dates. The women, incarcerated at the Arizona State Prison Complex – Perryville, in Buckeye, AZ, told The Arizona Republic that the state’s privately contracted prison healthcare providers said that inducing labor for all imprisoned pregnant people was a matter of state prison policy. In other words, they were not being induced because it was medically necessary for the health of the mother or baby.
The Official Who Investigates Suspicious Deaths in Your Town May Be a Doctor — Or Not
Editor’s Note: In many of California’s 58 counties, non-medically trained elected officials — usually sheriffs — preside over the county coroner’s office. California is one of just three states that allows sheriffs to serve as coroners. This setup presents a serious conflict of interest when...
For Many Rural Californians Abortion Isn’t Accessible, a problem that is particularly difficult for those experiencing domestic violence.
One day this spring, after an intense day at work, Megan packed an overnight bag and got in the car with her boyfriend. She needed a medical procedure. But because the procedure was an abortion, she would need to drive for four hours to the nearest clinic with an appointment that month.
Seven 2023 investigations, stories & series your (TRIPLED) $$ will support if you donate to WitnessLA before midnight, 12/31
You have until midnight, December 31, 2022 — New Year’s Eve — to triple any (tax-deductible) donation you make to help WitnessLA, so we’ve got our fingers crossed that you will do so!. To help inspire you, below you’ll find seven examples of the investigations, soon-to-launch...
Governor Newsom Grants 10 Holiday Pardons
On December 23, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued ten pardons for convictions between 1973 and 2008. Most convictions involved drug-related crimes, including possessing, transporting, and selling substances. Two pardons went to people with convictions for marijuana offenses. Between 2000 and 2004, one clemency recipient, Santiago Lopez, was sentenced to 113-days...
Op-Ed: Thoughts of Tookie Williams, executions, & other end-of-the-year contemplations
Seventeen years ago, Stanley Tookie Williams died on my birthday. Executed on December 13, 2005, Tookie Williams, the so-called godfather of LA’s infamous Crip gang, was the second to last person to be given a lethal injection by the state of California. Thirteen plus years later, on March 13,...
The newest disturbing chapter in the struggle to get pepper spray out of LA’s Juvenile Halls
A little over a month ago, Los Angeles County’s Probation Oversight Commission (POC) issued a report that took a deep dive into the use of Oleoresin Capsicum or OC spray in LA County’s two main youth lock-ups, namely Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall and Central Juvenile Hall. The...
New study looks at relationship between Reformist DA’s & Crime Rates…& finds that facts matter
In 2020, the increase in homicides in dozens of American cities was record-breaking. This unexpected climb was made worse by the fact that, those living in the cities hardest hit by the crime spike were, like everyone else, already reeling from the life-altering effects of COVID. The sudden rise in...
A Look at Recent Research Shows That Youth Incarceration Continues to Fail Kids and Their Communities, While Negatively Impacting Public Safety
While counties and states have significantly reduced the rate at which kids and teens are removed from their families and locked away in juvenile facilities over the last 20 years, young people across the country were still incarcerated more than 240,000 times in 2019, and racial disparities have hardly declined.
Op-ed: Kids With Trauma Need Support Sooner
I don’t remember my mother and father ever being together. My nana was the primary caregiver for me and my older brother. My mom would get her stuff together long enough that my nana would let us go back and live with her, but it never lasted very long. After witnessing poverty, domestic violence and drug addiction, we eventually lived with my nana for good.
Prisons increasingly offer incarcerated people photo copies of letters instead of the real thing
Prison systems in at least 14 states take all incoming mail and scan it before giving incarcerated recipients photocopies — of letters, cards, drawings from their children, and any other personal mail sent from friends and loved ones — and destroying the originals, according to a report from Prison Policy Initiative (PPI).
Lawsuit Challenges “Unconstitutional” LA County Bail Practices
At least ten people who could not afford to post bail died in Los Angeles jails without having been charged with a crime, according to a class-action lawsuit challenging the incarceration of people simply because they cannot afford to post bail amounts set by the LA County’s bail schedule.
Why the death of the LASD K-9 named Spike still matters
Two years ago, on Oct 29, 2020, a K-9 dog named Spike who worked for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department died after being left on a hot day inside a department-owned 2013 Chevy Tahoe, under circumstances that are still unclear. Spike was a six-year-old black Labrador Retriever who,...
A look at how mass shootings harm the health & well-being of communities
Editor’s note:This month there has been a mass shooting in our nation every few days. This is not just the way things feel, it’s factually what we’ve been living through. 2022 is likely to be the second-highest year for mass shootings in the United States on record,...
Fatal shootings: California’s bid to police its police is lagging
Editor’s Note: The Los Angeles Police Department has four open police shooting cases before the California Department of Justice for review under AB 1506. The LA County Sheriff’s Department has just one — the shooting of Pedro Morales Lopez, a 67-year-old bystander shot during a standoff. (It’s not clear whether it was actually a member of the sheriff’s department who shot Morales Lopez.)
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