Bass orders independent review of LAPD’s mental crisis response
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued Executive Directive No. 21 this morning, ordering an independent, comprehensive evaluation of the LAPD’s policies, training and practices for responding to people experiencing mental and behavioral health crises.
The directive follows two deadly LAPD encounters caught on video that Bass called incredibly difficult to watch when she first announced plans for the review last month.
One involved Jose Carlos Hoyos-Munoz, 59, who died following an eight-hour standoff in Chatsworth after he allegedly attacked his mother and brother with a weapon and barricaded himself inside a home. The other involved Alejandro Lopez Garcia, who died after allegedly swinging a baseball bat at people and occupied cars beneath the 10 Freeway in South Los Angeles.
The directive requires the Board of Police Commissioners to retain an outside firm with expertise in constitutional policing and behavioral health crisis response. That firm will examine LAPD uses of force and custodial arrests resulting in death or serious injury over the past five years, assess officer training and available tools, and evaluate the department’s mental wellness resources for personnel who respond to these incidents.
“There is a severe shortage of mental and behavioral health care, and too many people in crisis have nowhere to turn,” said Bass. “People cycle between the streets, emergency rooms, and detention facilities, and too often come into contact with law enforcement. That’s why I’m ordering an independent review of how the LAPD responds to people in crisis so we can ensure officers have the training and tools they need to respond safely and save lives.”
The evaluation will specifically look at how officers identify people in crisis, including people with intellectual or physical disabilities such as autism or deafness, and those under the influence of illegal substances, reviewing both incidents that ended in force and those resolved without it. It will also examine custodial and detention-facility protocols, including restraint practices and procedures for transferring detainees to medical care.
Recommendations are due to the mayor’s office and the Police Commission within six months of the firm’s hiring.
Barger monitors La Verne battery fire as evacuations continue
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger (R-Palmdale, Lancaster, Santa Clarita, San Marino, Pasadena, La Cañada Flintridge, portions of San Gabriel Valley) is continuing to monitor a hazardous lithium-ion battery fire at the Metropolitan Water District’s Weymouth Water Treatment Plant in La Verne, which reignited overnight and has kept roughly 200 homes under evacuation orders into a second day.
The fire broke out Tuesday at a battery energy storage system near a solar panel field on the facility’s northeast side, producing a significant explosion when La Verne and county fire crews arrived. One civilian was injured and hospitalized. Crews stopped active cooling early Wednesday morning after temperatures appeared to stabilize overnight, but temperatures rose again from roughly 70 to 90 degrees, forcing firefighters to resume spraying water and using drones and infrared equipment to monitor the batteries. Grace Miller Elementary School and Bonita High School were placed under shelter-in-place orders, and the water district said the region’s drinking water supply has not been affected.
“My office has been in close contact with the City of La Verne throughout this incident to assess what needs remain outstanding and what additional support may be needed for residents,” said Barger. “I also commend the first responders who are working hard to contain this fire and keep the community safe.”
“With schools and homes in the surrounding area, I urge everyone to take this situation seriously and follow all instructions from local authorities, including any shelter-in-place orders,” she added. “Please stay away from the area and do not interfere with emergency operations. The safest thing people can do right now is follow the guidance of first responders and rely on official sources for updates.”
Durazo makes final push for Newsom to sign Lineage Fire accountability bill
State Sen. María Elena Durazo (D-Boyle Heights, Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, Echo Park, Highland Park, Chinatown) is making a final push for Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign SB 716 ahead of his deadline to act, as Friday marks 100 days since a fire broke out at the Lineage Logistics cold storage warehouse in Boyle Heights.
The fire left residents living with toxic smoke, an estimated 88 million pounds of rotting food, and severe pest infestations for months afterward. SB 716 would raise the cap on fines for large companies whose violations threaten public health and safety, a cap that has not been updated since 1983, to as much as $50,000 per violation when tied to a declared state or federal emergency. The bill passed the Legislature with broad support, including from the City of Los Angeles, LA County and the League of California Cities, and now awaits Newsom’s signature.
“For months, residents lived through the unimaginable, exposed to smoke and toxic chemicals, living beside 88 million pounds of rotting food and the overwhelming stench that came with it, and battling infestations of rats and flies during the hottest time of the year,” said Durazo. “The fines on the books were not a deterrent for a multi-billion-dollar corporation dragging out a slow cleanup. The fines were a rounding error to them.”
“That is why I introduced SB 716, to let cities and counties impose fines that actually scale with the harm and prevent a crisis like this from happening again,” she added. “As we approach 100 days since this crisis began, residents, advocates, and community organizations are making their voices heard. I join them in urging Governor Newsom to sign SB 716 without delay.”
Menjivar secures $19 million in state funding for Senate District 20
State Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-Burbank, San Fernando, Van Nuys, Reseda, Northridge) announced $19 million in state funding for projects across the San Fernando Valley, following what she described as a challenging year of budget negotiations.
The largest allocation, $12 million, will advance the long-awaited Rory M. Shaw Wetlands Park in Sun Valley, a project residents have pushed for since the early 2000s; the county is still seeking more than $212 million to complete it.
Other funding includes $1.25 million for a new LAFD fire station in high-fire-risk Sylmar, $1.2 million for Burbank water infrastructure and firefighter protective equipment storage, $1.8 million for a Discovery Cube coastal education exhibit, $1.7 million for Sheldon Arleta Park streetscape improvements, $500,000 for a Van Nuys foster-youth filmmaking program, $350,000 for transitional housing for homeless young adults, and $200,000 for a Valley community and food-access organization.
“Our community deserves these investments,” said Menjivar. “Even before I was elected to office, I worked directly with our San Fernando Valley communities and saw firsthand how much investment Senate District 20 was lacking, from Sun Valley, where families have lived next to a vacant landfill for over a decade, asking for Rory M. Shaw Wetlands Park to finally break ground, to Sylmar, where residents know too well the troubles of high-fire-risk living and the need for stronger emergency response.”
Menjivar said she will join community partners for individual check presentation events in the coming weeks to celebrate each investment.
