Police Vehicles

Looking for a clean, late-model, one-owner used car? Don't mind a little mileage on it? OK, how about a lot of mileage on it--say, up to 120,000 miles or so on a car that's only a couple of years old? If you're still game, then California Highway Patrol Used Car Sales in Torrance may be just the place to look. There, $8,000 or less--a lot less in some cases--will buy you a 1- to 3-year-old Ford Mustang or Crown Victoria that until recently was chasing down speeders on the freeways.

A criminal court issued an arrest warrant Thursday for deposed Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed amid fear of further violence in the Indian Ocean nation after rioting the day before. It wasn't immediately clear what the charges against him were in the confusing and fast-evolving political crisis. Newly installed President Mohammed Waheed Hassan moved Thursday to assemble a Cabinet, naming defense and home ministers who have had differences with Nasheed. The jockeying and political upheaval come at a sensitive time for a country that held its first democratic election four years ago. The turmoil also provides a potential opening for China, which has been angling to expand its influence on India's doorstep, given the Maldives' strategic location astride Asia's main oil shipping lanes.

For many, the dirt track at the Los Angeles Police Academy marked the end of their attempts to become motorcycle patrol officers. For Joanna Brownell, it was the beginning. It was along this dusty course in Elysian Park that Brownell conquered such grueling motorcycle maneuvers as skidding the bike on its side and, without dismounting, setting it upright again.

An Alhambra officer was killed early Sunday when two police vehicles collided while responding to an emergency call. Officer Ryan Stringer, 26, was responding to a call of a possible robbery at 2:30 a.m. in the rear parking lot of 100 N. 1st Street when his vehicle and another police cruiser crashed at the intersection of Garfield Avenue and Main Street, police said. The officer in the other vehicle was also seriously injured. The two officers were taken to Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, where Stringer later died.

Police Department officials have announced that two department vehicles recently won awards during the Montclair Police Car Show. A second-place award went to the department's mobile command post motor home and a third-place award went to a sports car that is used for patrol work. The mobile command post is a 42-foot motor home, which was donated to the city by the Strawberry Festival Assn.

A motorcycle officer was injured Friday when he collided with a police car as both vehicles chased the driver of a stolen car. Officer Howard Eisenberg, 41, suffered facial cuts and a broken nose in the collision near West Coast Highway and Riverside Avenue about 3:30 p.m., police said. Another motorcycle officer had begun the chase after seeing the driver make an illegal U-turn on West Coast Highway near Newport Boulevard.

Hundreds of youths went on a rampage in Huntington Beach on Sunday afternoon, pelting police officers with rocks and bottles, storming a large lifeguard station and overturning and burning police vehicles. Police said at least 12 people were injured, including five Huntington Beach officers and one Orange County sheriff's deputy. Thirteen people were arrested but scores of youths who threw bottles at officers or took part in the destruction escaped in the confusion.

A criminal court issued an arrest warrant Thursday for deposed Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed amid fear of further violence in the Indian Ocean nation after rioting the day before. It wasn't immediately clear what the charges against him were in the confusing and fast-evolving political crisis. Newly installed President Mohammed Waheed Hassan moved Thursday to assemble a Cabinet, naming defense and home ministers who have had differences with Nasheed. The jockeying and political upheaval come at a sensitive time for a country that held its first democratic election four years ago. The turmoil also provides a potential opening for China, which has been angling to expand its influence on India's doorstep, given the Maldives' strategic location astride Asia's main oil shipping lanes.

Looking for a clean, late-model, one-owner used car? Don't mind a little mileage on it? OK, how about a lot of mileage on it--say, up to 120,000 miles or so on a car that is only a couple of years old? If you're still game, then California Highway Patrol Used Car Sales in Torrance may be just the place to look. There, $8,000 or less--a lot less in some cases--will buy you a 1- to 3-year-old Ford Mustang or Crown Victoria that until recently was chasing speeders on the freeways.

The Ford Crown Victoria police car, which for nearly three decades has been the star of high-speed chases and an unwelcome sight in rearview mirrors, is being phased out. Ford unveiled its new patrol car, the Police Interceptor, at an event Friday at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway attended by fleet buyers and law enforcement officials. The new car was designed to be faster, safer and stronger, and will come packed with advanced technology. But for some at the unveiling, it was a nostalgic occasion.

Six Glendale police officers were placed on paid administrative leave for a variety of alleged incidents, including using a police vehicle for a trip to Las Vegas and a case of off-duty road rage, sources told The Times. The Glendale Police Department would not provide details of the cases, saying they are prohibited from publicly speaking about internal administrative matters. But officials said the action is part of an effort by Glendale Police Chief Ronald De Pompa to enforce a zero-tolerance policy on police misconduct.

A Metro Blue Line train inexplicably ran a stop signal on Wednesday before it struck a Long Beach police car and injured an officer and 10 passengers, according to onboard videotapes reviewed by accident investigators. Two tapes indicate that the southbound train rolled through the red signal about 1 p.m. and collided with the patrol car in the intersection of Long Beach Boulevard and 16th Street, Long Beach police said Friday. Officials for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Blue Line's operator, said they could not comment on the videotapes or other specifics of the accident because investigations were pending.

The Ford Crown Victoria police car, which for nearly three decades has been the star of high-speed chases and an unwelcome sight in rearview mirrors, is being phased out. Ford unveiled its new patrol car, the Police Interceptor, at an event Friday at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway attended by fleet buyers and law enforcement officials. The new car was designed to be faster, safer and stronger, and will come packed with advanced technology. But for some at the unveiling, it was a nostalgic occasion.

Nearly two decades have passed since the Los Angeles Police Department was first called upon to outfit all its patrol cars with video cameras. Today, the number of vehicles with functioning cameras stands at zero. Over the years, while other law enforcement agencies around the country put cameras into wide use, various LAPD chiefs and mayors failed to acquire the technology, as pilot programs fizzled amid budget constraints and tepid political support. Despite having secured funding for hundreds of cameras, LAPD officials acknowledged this week that the project continues to founder because of technical malfunctions and poor planning.

Mexico has received eight armored vehicles as part of a U.S. aid package to help with its fight against drug cartels. The U.S. Embassy says the vehicles were given to federal police agents to use in counternarcotics operations. The U.S. has plans to deliver $39 million in inspection equipment as well as new forensic ballistics equipment in the next few weeks. It also has begun training programs. Congress has appropriated $700 million over the last two years for Mexico's drug war.

Police spent a little more than an hour Sunday trying to find one of their own cruisers after someone apparently took it for a joy ride and then stole two weapons inside before ditching the car. Lt. Brad Keller said the cruiser was stolen shortly after 3 a.m. when officers were dispatched to a party in the 6800 block of Forbes Avenue. Keller said he was not sure how the cruiser was stolen, but that it is "going to be under investigation." West Covina police found the vehicle about 12 miles away at 4:10 a.m. on Ballista Avenue in La Puente.

Fifteen policemen were injured and 18 police vehicles damaged in an attack by environmentalists opposing a controversial runway at Frankfurt International Airport, a police spokesman said.

The city will purchase six new police vehicles, replacing existing ones used for patrol. The 2000-01 budget designates $138,000 to purchase the vehicles. The old vehicles will be refurbished and prepared for staff administrative use.

A Los Angeles jury awarded $6.9 million to a Compton woman who suffered brain damage as a result of getting struck by a speeding police vehicle, attorneys said Tuesday. The jury delivered the unanimous verdict last week in the case of Sandra Griffin, 45, whose car was broadsided in 2006 on Imperial Highway in South L.A. by a police vehicle traveling 51 mph in a 35-mph zone without lights or sirens on.