A year ago, I asked this question: Why does the
LAPD have to send waves of officers to calls in South L.A. no matter how seemingly trivial the complaint? A year later, I still ask that question. Here’s the latest case in point. On Monday, May 17, I approach the intersection of a side street near Slauson and Crenshaw. It is nearly blocked off. There are multiple LAPD cruisers and a small platoon of officers hovering on the sidewalk at the intersection.
There was no bank nearby, so there wasn’t a bank robbery in progress or a hostage siege. There was no mass of marching, jeering, object-tossing demonstrators nearby. There was no apparent injured party standing or laying on the sidewalk. And there was absolutely no indication there was any gunplay. Then what brought the cavalry to the scene?
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GOP Governors Cutoff of COVID Benefits Hits Hard in Rural America
Crystal Dvorak shops at a grocery store in Billings, Montana, for ingredients to make a soup with potatoes and onions she got from a food bank after losing her job as an audiologist. Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte announced this month that his state will no longer accept the $300 federal unemployment benefits put in place during the pandemic.
Matthew Brown
The Associated Press
After Lisa Wilkinson, 54, got laid off from her factory job in December 2019, she knew it would be difficult to replace it. She s older and lives in rural Tennessee, where work is scarce.
Kevin Riley was working security at the Willow Grove Park Mall. He didn t know what he wanted to do in life,. He just needed a job.
The Cheltenham native got to know many of the Abington police officers who frequented the mall as part of their daily patrols. He saw how they interacted with the kids. How they knew a lot of them by name.
“I ve seen the impact a lot of the officers had on the community, he said. Policing’s not just about kicking in doors. It is about community relations.
Several years later, Riley is a Bucks County Park Ranger and a part-time officer in Bristol Borough. He is the only Black officer on the borough s force, and one of just a few in the county.
First Published: 2:58 PM PDT, May 24, 2021
More than 7,500 people have died from gun violence in the United States so far this year.
It was a violent weekend in America, with reports of at least a dozen mass shootings across eight states, including one at a house party where hundreds gathered for a birthday party. Gunfire erupted from the woods surrounding the home in Southern New Jersey, killing two and wounding 14.
Gov. Phil Murphy expressed outrage Monday over the killings.
“This was a birthday party. A birthday party is supposed to be a joyous event, not a target for those hell bent on inflicting harm on a community,” Murphy said.