# LAPD taking on additional role of fire duty as Los Angeles continues to burn
* by:
  Jenna Curren
* 2025-01-19
* Source: [Law Enforcement Today
  News
  !
* 01/18/2025
!
LOS ANGELES, CA- With fires raging in various parts of Los Angeles county over the last few weeks, officers with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) find themselves taking on a new role to help keep their community safe: fire duty.
According to , the ** published an article where experts discussed their predictions for law enforcement taking on a greater role with new climate-related challenges. Since the outbreak of the devastating fires, officers have found themselves in unfamiliar yet pivotal roles in helping firefighters save their neighborhoods.
For decades, police across the country have been thrown into crisis response duty during wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Now, some experts are saying that officers will be faced with more of those challenges. For the last few weeks, the LAPD has been grappling with how and when to enforce evacuation orders, and how to do their regular work investigating crimes and responding to 911 calls while being short-staffed.
The department has deployed about 750 officers to the fire zones while still facing its own staffing shortage with leaders saying the department is operating well below its optimum staffing levels due to long-standing issues with turnover and recruitment.
Each of the LAPD's 21 patrol divisions has been expected to send extra bodies, including patrol officers, supervisors, and detectives to the front lines of the fires. As a result, most low-level calls such as burglaries or other incidents where a suspect has already fled the scene are not receiving immediate attention.
LAPD officials instead are being pressured to focus on opportunistic thieves suspected of using the chaos of the fires to burglarize the homes of people who have fled the area. Within one week, prosecutors charged nine people with looting in areas devastated by two major fires, including a trio suspected of stealing $200,000 worth of valuables from a home.
Officers in Pacific Palisades enforcing the evacuation zone perimeter have faced criticism from frustrated homeowners who just want to return to their homes. LAPD is part of a new state and federal task force to help combat wildfire-related crimes, including home break-ins, arson and flying drones over restricted airspace.
Chuck Wexter of the Police Executive Research Forum said law enforcement agencies across the country are taking notice of the LAPD's performance. He said, "Whether you believe it's climate change or not, Los Angeles will be a wake-up call for everybody."  reported that on Wednesday, January 15th, LAPD announced that two more people were arrested for allegedly setting small fires in Los Angeles.
Police responded to Glenoaks and Van Nuys boulevards around 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, January 14th and found a suspect detained by a resident for allegedly setting a tree on fire. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said the resident was able to douse the fire and call the police. He said when officers arrived, the suspect admitted to setting the fire, saying, "he liked the smell of burning leaves."
At 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, officers responded to Santa Monica Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, where a suspect was setting fire to piles of rubbish and trash. McDonnell said officers were able to douse the fire and arrest the suspect who told officers that she "enjoyed causing chaos and destruction." McDonnell said, "There are people out there who, this is what they do."
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James
**2025-01-20T00:37-0500** | Comment by: **James**
About time they did something useful for a change ....
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# No war on cops? Man arrested after attacking off-duty sergeant with meat cleaver and knife
BURLINGTON, VT- On Tuesday morning, January 14th, an off-duty police sergeant getting ready to begin his shift was attacked by a man with a meat cleaver in the lobby of the police department.
According to , authorities with the Burlington Police Department (BPD) said that the incident happened around 5:30 p.m. when the off-duty sergeant arrived to the station on North Avenue. He was in plain clothes as he entered the lobby to begin his shift. When the sergeant entered the lobby, he saw a man standing in the lobby and immediately recognized him from prior police interactions. The man was identified as 34-year-old Eric Jones of Burlington.
Without comment, the man held up a meat cleaver, pointed it towards the sergeant and raised it over his head. A struggle ensued and the sergeant was able to eventually remove the meat cleaver from Jones' hand. However, Jones then took out a second weapon, a kitchen knife, from his coat pocket and attempted to stab the sergeant in the stomach.
The sergeant was able to wrestle the second weapon away from Jones as well and threw both of the weapons outside of the lobby into the parking lot as he continued to struggle with Jones. Eventually, the sergeant was able to separate himself from Jones, leave the lobby with him trapped inside, and call for assistance. Responding officers then took him into custody.
Jones, who has prior misdemeanor assault charges, is now facing a charge of aggravated assault in connection with what happened on Tuesday in the lobby of the police station. The off-duty sergeant was not injured in the incident.  reported that while the off-duty sergeant was not injured, Chief Jon Murad said that the incident highlights the need for increased security measures at the BPD station.
Murad said, "This is an incredibly alarming, frightening, terrible incident. It happened in our facility in a place where, you know, employees are frankly sort of expecting to feel safe and secure. It was by the grace of a lack of aggression and of a well-trained capable sergeant that there was no harm or physical harm that came from this."
Murad said the station has already begun enhancing the employee entrance with new safety features. He said, "We have to have a facility that is secure and is safe and not just for our police employees, but for the very many employees here who are not trained in the same way this sergeant was."
After the incident, a police officer when to Jones' home, where he lives with his mother, Charlotte Moore. The  says that the officer reported that Jones appeared to have exited the house after breaking screen out of a window.  Police said Moore confirmed that the knives used in the alleged attack came from her home. Jones was released into the custody of his mother with a citation to appear in court on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The Burlington Police Officers' Association (BPOA) also responded to the incident, saying in part, "No one, including police officers, should be fearful of assault, injury and potentially death merely coming and going from their place of employment." In their statement, BPOA said that this is not the first time this type of incident has taken place in the police station. A similar incident reportedly happened in 2023 when an officer in plain clothes was assaulted in the parking lot leading to the employee entrance.
natalie
**2025-01-19T17:56-0500** | Comment by: **natalie**
This has happened before and still no cameras or any type of security, what are they waiting for, for someone to be seriously injured or worse?
**2025-01-20T00:35-0500** | Comment by: **James**
So what did the pig do to provoke the incident ????
> thomas
>
> **2025-01-20T11:16-0500** | Reply by: **thomas**
> Get out of here. Go renew your membership with Antifa moron
> James
> **2025-01-20T21:14-0500** | Reply by: **James**
> Come and make me, punk .........
# Ex-girlfriend of suspect who stole a car and injured seven people, slams the court for letting him out on bail in her DV case
* 2025-01-18
NEW YORK CITY, NY - On Thursday, January 16th, while in a courtroom at the Manhattan Supreme Court, the emotional former girlfriend of suspected car thief Kyle Fernandez, was seen quietly crying as Manhattan ADA Meaghan Dunigan read her victim impact statement against Fernandez in a domestic violence case.
According to the , in the statement, she slammed the court for letting him out on bail in her domestic violence case. The statement read, in part, "Two years ago, I experienced one of the most traumatic days of my life. Kyle Fernandez, someone I once trusted, assaulted me — pushing, punching, and breaking my phone — in an act of violence that left me scared and vulnerable."
The criminal complaint states that the incident took place on January 16, 2023, when Fernandez punched the victim, ripping her neckless and smashing her phone before cutting her wrist with the cracked screen. At the time, Fernandez was 20-years-old and was let out on bail. While out on bail, he allegedly stole a car and drove it intoxicated wounding seven people as he evading police during a pursuit on August 1, 2023.
On Thursday, January 16th, Fernandez was sentenced to two and a half years in both the domestic violence case and the drunk driving case. The girlfriend, who does not want her identity revealed, slammed the court for letting him out on bail in the first place, allowing him to drunkenly plow his car through pedestrians, including children.
The victim impact statement added, "I lived with the knowledge that the person who harmed me and others was given multiple changes despite his threat to public safety. This experience highlighted how this system often delays justice for victims of domestic violence, and in doing so, risks the safety of others."
Fernandez posted bail in both cases, $7,500 on the assault charges and $50,000 in the drunk driving case. The ex-girlfriend added that Fernandez had "repeatedly demonstrated he lacks the empathy and understanding necessary to be a safe and responsible member of society." She urged the court and the justice system to "reflect on this case" and called for faster action in all domestic violence cases.
When given the chance to speak in court, Fernandez did not both apologizing to his ex-girlfriend. He did, however, whine about how the case had been "dragging on," leading the judge to cut him off. Judge Althea Drysdale said, "You have two indictments before the court, and you're telling me the case is dragging on?"
During a previous hearing, Dunigan said Fernandez had displayed "extremely egregious conduct" when he drove up on a sidewalk during evening rush hour while trying to evade a police stop. She noted that he had admitted to being high on drugs when he allegedly sped off in a stolen car, running a red light, and turning the wrong way down a one-way street close to Grand Central, striking a bicyclist.
Fernandez then allegedly drove onto the sidewalk at the intersection of Lexington and East 42nd Street, hitting a vehicle and ramming multiple pedestrians. When asked why he did it, Fernandez mumbled "stuff happens, man."
Dean
**2025-01-19T12:08-0500** | Comment by: **Dean**
Stuff happens is a reply given by a criminal who is given a slap on the wrist over and over.This guy should have received 20years.This is why I could never be a judge or da or cop because I would take the trash out back and shoot it!!Scumbag
# Traffic stop in Texas ends in driver fleeing and running over woman, killing her
SAN ANTONIO, TX- A man has been accused of killing a female pedestrian after he evaded policing during a traffic stop. According to , the suspect, 19-year-old Leo Xavier Pinero, was convicted of evading arrest and aggravated assault against a peace officer two years prior to Tuesday morning's incident.
A woman was killed just after midnight on Tuesday, January 14th, on the South Side after being struck by a car driven by Pinero. After striking the woman, he fled the scene, prompting a police pursuit that led to his arrest. The deadly incident happened off West Pyron Avenue near Pleasanton Road.
Police said that the incident started as an undercover narcotics operation. Detectives believed that Pinero was carrying a large quantity of narcotics and a surveillance team was set up to follow him. They sent a marked patrol vehicle to try to stop him, but Pinero and his female passenger refused to stop. Police used a chopper to help locate Pinero as the car sped down the street.
He lost control of the vehicle, striking several trash cans and a concrete guardrail before hitting a woman who was walking on the sidewalk. She was pinned under the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Pinero and his female passenger were able to get out of the vehicle and the fled the scene on foot. Police were able to catch up only a few blocks away from the crash. As of this writing, his female passenger remains on the run. Pinero was arrested on the spot and has been charged with murder and evading arrest. He was booked into the Bexar County Jail with bonds set at a combined amount of $200,000.
This was not Pinero's first run-in with police. Almost two years ago he was involved in an evading arrest incident on January 1, 2023. Police records show that he led police on a wild and dangerous pursuit through residential neighborhoods in a stolen truck.
One patrol vehicle rolled over as officers tried to stop Pinero. Two officers were injured in that crash. Pinero was charged with evading arrest, aggravated assault against a peace officer, unauthorized use of a vehicle, and resisting arrest. He was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading no contest to the evading arrest charge.
Online court records show that Pinero was sentenced in June of 2023 and transferred to prison to serve a three-year sentence with 157 day of jail credit. At the time of this incident, he was 17-years-old.
In a separate incident, a 19-year-old from Bridgeport, Connecticut, who was out on bond after being charged with a motor vehicle theft less than two weeks ago, was arrested on Thursday, January 16th, while driving a stolen vehicle in Southington, Connecticut. According to , upon his arrest, police also found a loaded handgun in a bush near where the arrest took place.
The suspect, Gionnie Canady has been charged with second-degree larceny of a motor vehicle, possession of a high-capacity magazine, violation of probation, and engaging police in a pursuit. Police were alerted by an automatic license plate reader to a stolen white Honda Accord traveling into Southington and found Canady and the car at the Holiday Inn on Knotter Drive. Police said Canady saw them and tried to flee the parking lot on foot as patrol officers approached him.
A K9 was deployed and Canady was safely arrested a short distance away. Police said a search of the area turned up a Glock .40 caliber handgun with an extended high-capacity magazine loaded with 33 rounds. It has been discarded in the bush near where Canady was found.
Canady was also charged with second-degree criminal trover, interfering with an officer, third-degree criminal mischief, criminal possession of a firearm, weapons in a vehicle, carrying a pistol without a permit, first-degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving, evading responsibility, possession of a stolen plate, and failure to maintain lane.
He is being held on a $600,000 bond, which included an additional outstanding violation of probation warrant. Canady had been arrested by police in Bridgeport on January 6th and faces multiple charges, including larceny of a motor vehicle. He was released from custody in that case on a $50,000 bond.