Culver City Police Department

A federal judge this week cleared the way for a constitutional challenge to a Culver City Police Department policy that limits the ability of citizens to register complaints of police brutality or misconduct. U.S. District Court Judge David Kenyon ruled Monday that he would hear a lawsuit alleging that the Police Department has an unconstitutional policy of refusing to take charges of misconduct if the incident has been described in police reports.

About 35 people gathered in Culver City on Saturday afternoon to decry the fatal police shooting of a robbery suspect in Palms in April. The killing of Lejoy Grissom drew attention after an eyewitness disputed the police account that the 27-year-old reached for his waist, saying instead that he was shot with his arms held high. Culver City police stopped Grissom's car because he matched the description of an armed man who had just robbed an electronics store. Grissom and his sister, who was driving, were ordered to get out. Despite commands to keep his hands up, authorities said, Grissom reached for his waist, prompting police to shoot.

About 35 people gathered in Culver City on Saturday afternoon to decry the fatal police shooting of a robbery suspect in Palms in April. The killing of Lejoy Grissom drew attention after an eyewitness disputed the police account that the 27-year-old reached for his waist, saying instead that he was shot with his arms held high. Culver City police stopped Grissom's car because he matched the description of an armed man who had just robbed an electronics store. Grissom and his sister, who was driving, were ordered to get out. Despite commands to keep his hands up, authorities said, Grissom reached for his waist, prompting police to shoot.

Federal authorities and local police agencies raided two Westside marijuana dispensaries Wednesday as well as the residences of the owners. The raids occurred at a facility on Washington Boulevard in Culver City and on Overland Avenue in Los Angeles. Authorities seized undisclosed items and are continuing their investigation, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman. The names of the owners whose homes were searched were not immediately available. During one of the raids, officers shot a dog believed to be a pit bull, but the circumstances of the shooting remain unclear, a law enforcement spokesman said.

Jan Michael Vincent, the blue-eyed leading man who was once one of the highest paid stars on television, is now serving time at the Culver City Police Department--as a janitor. The only inmate to do his time by swabbing up, Vincent is performing the menial tasks to trim about a month from his sentence for several alcohol-related convictions.

Construction will begin this week on expansion and renovation of the Culver City Police Department's headquarters, city officials said. Completion of a 9,900-square-foot addition and renovation of the existing building at 4040 Duquesne Ave. will take about 18 months, said John Fisanotti, redevelopment project specialist. The expansion is necessary to relieve overcrowding, he said. The $3.3-million project is being funded jointly by the city and its redevelopment agency.

On his last day as Culver City's police chief, Ted Cooke shook a few hands, made a couple of last jokes and quietly slipped out of department headquarters. The longest-serving, still-active police chief in California at the time -- with 27 years as head of the Culver City Police Department -- was ending his career. There would be no group pictures. No long speeches. No tearful goodbyes. No one expected anything more.

A small earthquake rumbled through Los Angeles' Westside early Sunday morning, apparently breaking nothing but a good night's sleep. The jolt, which seismologists at Caltech in Pasadena recorded at magnitude 3.4, hit at 1:15 a.m., and was centered two miles southeast of Culver City. The Culver City Police Department received numerous calls, said Sgt. John Dodt, who felt the shaker but received no reports of damage or injuries.

Violent crime and theft dropped 14% last year in Culver City, the second consecutive year of record crime reduction in the city. Since 1980, Culver City has seen those crimes drop 58%. The Culver City Police Department attributed the drop to the high level of community involvement in public safety issues and the strong relationship between residents and police officers. "The morale of the department is really high," said Lt. Ellis Smith, crime prevention specialist.

Detectives are investigating the fatal shooting of a man whose body was found at a construction site. The victim, described by police as a man in his 40s, was discovered at dawn Saturday in the 6000 block of Bristol Parkway. In a statement, police referred to the shooting as a crime and said they were probing possible motives. "All I can say is it's an ongoing investigation and we are working all leads," Det. Ryan Thompson said. The man was not identified, pending the notification of relatives.

Police were searching Tuesday evening for a man who allegedly inflicted serious injuries on a Culver City councilman during an early morning attack. Councilman Mehaul O'Leary was assaulted with a deadly weapon about 2 a.m. Sunday at Joxer Daly's Pub, which he owns, police said. The bar is at Washington and Sepulveda boulevards near the city's trendy downtown area. "His injuries were considered serious," said Capt. Dave Tankenson of the Culver City Police Department. O'Leary was taken to a local hospital.

A Los Angeles County judge has dismissed a felony gun possession charge against a parolee after a police radio recording contradicted testimony by a Culver City police officer who arrested him. Defense attorneys accused Officer Derek Brown of falsely testifying so that he could justify a search of the suspect's motel room, where a semiautomatic pistol was found.

Re "2 die in head-on collision," Jan. 29 We never think it will happen to someone we know. But on Jan. 28 it did, when a young man with a death wish decided to drive the wrong way on the 10 Freeway and Sgt. Curtis Massey of the Culver City Police Department was killed in a head-on collision. In 1970, my family moved to Pacific Palisades when the middle class could still afford to live there. The Masseys were our neighbors. I baby-sat Curt and his little brother, Brett. Curt grew up to be a man any mother would be proud of. He wasn't just a cop -- he served our community in and out of uniform.

A Culver City police officer and a 21-year-old Van Nuys man were killed Wednesday in a head-on collision that closed several lanes of the 10 Freeway for hours during the morning commute. Sgt. Curtis Massey, 41, was driving east on his way to work when he was struck about 5 a.m. just west of National Boulevard by a silver Toyota Camry traveling the wrong way, said Officer Miguel Luevano of the California Highway Patrol.

Detectives are investigating the fatal shooting of a man whose body was found at a construction site. The victim, described by police as a man in his 40s, was discovered at dawn Saturday in the 6000 block of Bristol Parkway. In a statement, police referred to the shooting as a crime and said they were probing possible motives. "All I can say is it's an ongoing investigation and we are working all leads," Det. Ryan Thompson said. The man was not identified, pending the notification of relatives.

Culver City police officer Harvey Bailey returned home from his office early on Christmas Eve 1992 to find his wife strangled and bludgeoned to death in the bedroom of their South Los Angeles bungalow. Not long after, the police sergeant and two-time officer of the year became the main suspect in the slaying. Los Angeles Police Department homicide detectives repeatedly questioned him, and prosecutors convened a grand jury to examine the case. In the end, he was never charged in his wife's death.

Police were searching Tuesday evening for a man who allegedly inflicted serious injuries on a Culver City councilman during an early morning attack. Councilman Mehaul O'Leary was assaulted with a deadly weapon about 2 a.m. Sunday at Joxer Daly's Pub, which he owns, police said. The bar is at Washington and Sepulveda boulevards near the city's trendy downtown area. "His injuries were considered serious," said Capt. Dave Tankenson of the Culver City Police Department. O'Leary was taken to a local hospital.

Federal authorities and local police agencies raided two Westside marijuana dispensaries Wednesday as well as the residences of the owners. The raids occurred at a facility on Washington Boulevard in Culver City and on Overland Avenue in Los Angeles. Authorities seized undisclosed items and are continuing their investigation, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman. The names of the owners whose homes were searched were not immediately available. During one of the raids, officers shot a dog believed to be a pit bull, but the circumstances of the shooting remain unclear, a law enforcement spokesman said.

Culver City Councilman Albert Vera Sr. has publicly apologized for suggesting that local police planted narcotics on his son. "I apologize for statements made by me that drugs were planted on my son or in my vehicle by members of the department," Vera wrote in a letter Tuesday addressed to the Culver City Police Department. "I know that was not the case." Vera's apology concerned the Aug. 7 traffic stop of his son, Albert P. Vera Jr., who was later charged with misdemeanor drug possession.

On his last day as Culver City's police chief, Ted Cooke shook a few hands, made a couple of last jokes and quietly slipped out of department headquarters. The longest-serving, still-active police chief in California at the time -- with 27 years as head of the Culver City Police Department -- was ending his career. There would be no group pictures. No long speeches. No tearful goodbyes. No one expected anything more.