Los Angeles Police

Heading home not long ago, Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates spotted a motorist slumped over his steering wheel at a stop sign, in an intoxicated stupor. Fearing that the drunk might lurch into traffic and kill someone, Gates and his driver pulled over, handcuffed the man and radioed for assistance. It did not matter that Gates identified himself as "Staff One"--radio code for the chief of police. An hour and 15 minutes elapsed before officers arrived to take the drunk away.

Los Angeles police are asking for the public's help in tracking down an SUV driver suspected of intentionally hitting a pedestrian who was thrown 60 feet, resulting in his death. The 50-year-old victim, who was not immediately identified, was standing in the street "near the west curb" of the 600 block of San Julian Street when the SUV, heading north, hit him around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday. Witnesses told police the driver appeared "to intentionally point" his vehicle at the victim and "accelerate at a high rate of speed.

Two of the three candidates for the Los Angeles Police Department's top job are veterans of the New York City Police Department, and they are promoting their experience as an advantage. To many LAPD loyalists, however, the East Coast experience of John F. Timoney and William Bratton doesn't count for much.

One person was killed and three were injured when their vehicles collided on Sepulveda Boulevard in Westwood, authorities said. The accident occurred about 6 p.m. Friday near the intersection of Sepulveda and Montana Avenue, Los Angeles police said. The driver of a 2010 Ford Focus southbound on Sepulveda made a U-turn and was struck by a 2007 Chervrolet Suburban, police said. A woman in the Ford Focus was killed and two other passengers injured; the driver of the other vehicle was also injured, police said.

A murder suspect facing his third strike under California's penal code barricaded himself inside a friend's apartment and killed himself Wednesday morning after Los Angeles police cornered him and evacuated the neighborhood, including a preschool. Police had an arrest warrant for 23-year-old Ronald Figueroa, wanted in connection with a May drive-by shooting of a 20-year-old woman who was riding in a car with rival gang members in Montecito Heights.

Police Chief Daryl F. Gates and three former and current aides testified under oath last month before the Christopher Commission. Their testimony provides an extraordinary glimpse into the attitudes and policies of the LAPD's leadership on issues ranging from excessive force to officer discipline. Following are excerpts of transcripts released Thursday: POLICE CHIEF DARYL F.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, whose president was chosen this week to be Mayor Riordan's deputy mayor for public safety, reacted to critics of that appointment Thursday by releasing a statement pledging the union's commitment to LAPD reform. Some department critics--including the local American Civil Liberties Union's legal director, Paul Hoffman--expressed concern over Riordan's appointing union President William C. Violante to the post.

A Los Angeles police captain who was accused of illegally using anabolic steroids has been cleared of wrongdoing, his attorney and a department spokesman said Wednesday. Capt. John P. Mutz, a 16-year veteran assigned to the Van Nuys Division, was found not guilty of two administrative charges--soliciting a doctor to commit a felony and improperly using anabolic steroids, said his attorney Barry Levin of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles police officers here may feel unappreciated, with the turmoil since the Rodney G. King beating and the fact that officers have not had a raise in two years. But somebody out there likes them--such as the Japanese company that donated $20,000 to the department, or the folks who gave police $250 for a fax machine, or the bank that pitched in 13 computers. In fact, the Los Angeles Police Department has become something of a charitable cause recently.

Police detonated a military-style device outside the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Museum of Tolerance on Tuesday, officials said, but it was not immediately clear if the object was a bomb. The incident at the museum followed the bombing deaths of more than 100 people in a building housing Jewish organizations in Buenos Aires, 21 people aboard a commuter plane in Panama and two other bombings in London that left 18 people injured last month. After staff members and visitors at the center at 9760 W.

A third suspect has been arrested in the fatal stabbing of an 18-year-old man at Cleveland High School in Reseda, Los Angeles police said. In addition to Michael Steven Carpio, 19, of Panorama City and the 16-year-old, police said they also arrested Michelle Pineda, 19, of Los Angeles. The three were arrested about 12:15 a.m. Thursday on suspicion of murder, police said. Kevin Orellano, an adult school student at West Valley Occupational Center in Woodland Hills, died from a stab wound he received in a fight just before 4 p.m. Wednesday at Cleveland High.

A Monday morning shooting in El Sereno appeared to be gang-related, Los Angeles police said. A man, described as Latino and in his 30s, was shot multiple times about 7:10 a.m. while in his pickup truck. The man managed to briefly continue driving until he crashed near Huntington Drive and Monterey Road. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. No suspects have been arrested and no one else was injured. Authorities closed the intersection while they investigated.

Los Angeles police cleared Cal State L.A. on Thursday afternoon after a bomb threat forced the evacuation and closure of the campus. The campus was cleared about 2:30 p.m., police said. However, it remained closed off more than an hour later, and a university tweet said classes were canceled for the remainder of the day. About 4 p.m., a bomb squad was examining a backpack left behind at a McDonald's at Eastern Avenue and Ramona Boulevard, near the main university entrance.

Los Angeles police are searching for the assailant who killed a security guard outside a strip mall in Panorama City Thursday night. Police said the guard was shot about 10 p.m. in the 15000 block of Roscoe Boulevard. The victim was described as a 48-year-old male who had patrolled the mini mall for 12 years, KTLA reported. The man was found on the pavement and pronounced dead at the scene. The guard was armed but still had his gun in his holster when he was discovered, a relative told KTLA.

In the early hours of April 10, 2012, police found Samuel Michel dead inside his Koreatown apartment with a knife in his back and stab wounds to his head. Despite a $50,000 reward, Los Angeles police homicide detectives have been unable to identify a suspect in the murder case. As the anniversary of Michel's death approaches, family and friends plan to hold a memorial celebration at his former apartment. They also plan to announce the increase of the $50,000 reward to $100,000 in hopes of generating leads.

The suspect in the abduction and sexual assault of a 10-year-old Northridge girl this week has a criminal history dating back to 2002 and includes arrests for kidnapping, robbery, explosives possession and petty theft, Los Angeles police said. Tobias Dustin Summers was released from custody in July 2012 because of a sweeping new law that transfers authority over some felons from state prisons to county jails and, on their release, from state parole to county probation departments.

The president of the union representing Los Angeles police officers said Thursday that contract talks with the city have broken off, leading the union to lay plans for escalating its job action. "We can't strike, but there are other things we can do," said David Zeigler, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents rank-and-file officers. "Our members are incredibly frustrated." The league's board met in an emergency session Thursday to discuss the options.

Police are searching for possible victims of sexual assault by a Los Angeles special education teacher now facing charges of molesting a student. William Goens, 54, who taught speech therapy for the Los Angeles Unified School District, was arraigned last week in Municipal Court.

Authorities are searching for a 10-year-old girl who disappeared from her Northridge home overnight. Los Angeles police Lt. Terri Brinkmeyer said officers went to the girl's home in the 8800 block of Oakdale Avenue after she was reported missing early Wednesday. Several police cars remained at the scene at mid-morning. Nicole Ryan's mother told authorities she had last seen her daughter inside her bedroom about 1 a.m., Los Angeles police Capt. Daryl Russell told KTTV . When the mother checked on her daughter about two hours later, Nicole was gone.

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details A 10-year-old girl who disappeared from her Northridge home overnight has been found alive and apparently healthy in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles police said. She was taken to a nearby hospital for an examination, police said. Nicole Ryan's mother told authorities that she saw her daughter in her bedroom about 1 a.m. Wednesday, but when she checked on her about two hours later, the girl was gone. Authorities searched the home in the 8800 block of Oakdale Avenue and canvassed the neighborhood but had not found the girl.