Wow, I see some prison time in a cop’s future.  Incredible.  I had remarked privately to friends the day of the shooting that even if the incident was real, which I had assumed it was at the time, the ridiculously long ‘lock down’ of the area was absurd being that I’m sure the assailant was long gone by the time back up would have arrived.  What kind of elaborate scam was this officer trying to pull off?

LA Times Blog writes:

A Los Angeles school police officer who was wounded last week in a shooting that prompted authorities to shut down a large swath of Woodland Hills concocted a story that he was the victim of the shooting, authorities said Thursday night.

The startling revelation came at a hastily called news conference by Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck, who said detectives became suspicious about the officer’s story as they investigated the case.

Police earlier had said that Los Angeles Unified School District Officer Jeff Stenroos was shot in the chest after he was confronted by a man Jan. 19 as he was attempting to break into vehicles in Woodland Hills, near the eastern boundary of the El Camino Real High School campus.

The incident generated a massive police response that inconvenienced thousands of people for the day as officers blocked roads, shutdown schools and refuse to let people in or out of a 7-square-mile area.

More than 300 officers swarmed the west San Fernando Valley, locking down nine schools and setting up the dragnet as they looked for a suspect described as a white man in his 40s, wearing a bomber or black hooded jacket and blue jeans.

While many expressed frustration and anger at the inconvenience caused by the size and length of the operation, LAPD officials defended the decision as necessary to protect the public. They noted that the incident was especially serious because it involved an attack against a fellow law enforcement officer.

Authorities had even offered a $100,000 reward for information of the case and compiled a composite of the shooting suspect.

West Valley Crime Alert

A pattern of four street robberies have been identified over the holiday weekend, all with the suspects seen driving a black Toyota 4-Runner. The male Hispanic suspects were seen wearing various colored (blue, black, and white) bandanas to cover their faces. The suspects used various weapons, including a knife, a gun, and a crow bar to rush the victims and demand property. In two of the cases the victim had just parked their vehicle, and the victims were walking on the street in the other two crimes when they were confronted by the suspect(s).

In two of the cases, a female Hispanic with spiked hair wore a white (and in one case a blue colored) bandana over her face. The female suspect had a chrome handgun and drove the getaway vehicle. These robberies occurred in the early morning hours while the victims were returning home from work. The crimes occurred in the areas of Strathern and Reseda, Corbin and Oxnard, and Reseda and Vanowen.

The suspects are described as male Hispanics, ages 20 to 30 years, and the female Hispanic suspect was the driver of the Toyota 4-Runner in two of the street robberies. The suspect’s vehicle is further described as a 1991 to 1999 black Toyota 4-Runner, unknown plates. The vehicle has brush guards on the front grille and has a raised suspension, and chrome (possibly stock) rims on the wheels.

Your local policing agency is requesting that you be observant and if you observe any suspicious activity or the possible suspect vehicle to immediately report the information to West Valley Community Police Station or your local police agency. Or if you wish to remain anonymous, call “Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477); texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637); or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org

On Friday night LAPD sent out this message via Nixle:

Police activity @ on schoenborn btwn topanga cyn and canoga. Avoid area.

Topanga is currently involved in a police activity.

Please avoid this area for the next several hours. Avoid schoenborn btwn Topanga Cyn and Canoga.

As it turns out, someone decided to bring a hand grenade to the station so the LAPD could dispose of it.

On Saturday, LAPD wrote:

Man drops off grenade at Topanga Station

Last night (June 11, 2010) around 9:15 p.m. a man came into Topanga Station and advised that he wanted to turn in a grenade which he had in his car. Officers immediately shut down Schoenborn Street between Topanga Canyon and Canoga and conducted some limited evacuations in the area around the man’s car. The bomb squad responded and determined that the grenade was a “practice” grenade with a live training fuse. Bomb Squad personnel removed the training fuse and detonated it in the alley next to the station.

Police are occasionally called out when someone is cleaning out their garage and finds an old grenade. The best thing to do is not to touch the grenade, just call 911. If the grenade is live, it should not be handled by anyone other than a trained expert. LAPD’s bomb squad will respond out to the house to dispose of the grenade.

If you have an old firearm that you want to turn in to the police station, you can put it in the trunk of your car, take it to the police station, and have an officer remove it from your car. DO NOT take the firearm into the police station. We have curbside service and will take the firearm from your car for you.

Be safe out there.

I think, one could argue, that if you find yourself in the possession of a grenade you are going to have to endure high drama when disposing of it – well, that is if you decide to dispose of it safely and responsibly.  Ultimately, this means that the LAPD is going to swarm your house and shut down your entire neighborhood.  Alternatively, putting it in your trunk and taking it adjacent to the police station means that at least your neighbors won’t have to witness the drama.  Then again, in that scenario you could blow yourself up.  So, I guess it might be best to endure the public humiliation and call 9-1-1.

They have definitely amped up the use of Nixle recently, haven’t they?  Very good.  This situation with burglars is super depressing and scary as I’m sure many of you will agree.

Topanga Station sent out this notification on Wednesday via Nixle:

Woodland Hills burglary suspects arrested

Two burglary suspects were arrested in Woodland Hills shortly after breaking into a house. A diligent neighbor saw the two suspects entering the home in the 21000 block of Avenue San Luis and called 911. The police helicopter spotted the suspects’ car as they were fleeing the scene and directed officers to a shopping center on Ventura Boulevard, where the suspects were arrested. Due to the quick thinking of the neighbor in calling 911, the suspects did not get away with any property; police found that they had dropped the property they were intending to steal inside the house as they fled.

People are afraid and this is very real.  Monday’s arrests are not the end.

LAPD Topanga Station Writes on Wednesday:

Numerous residential burglaries occurred today in Chatsworth, Canoga Park & West Hills. Lock your doors and windows when you leave home. Be aware of strangers in your neighborhood and report suspicious activity immediately 8187564800 or in emergency call 911.

They also sent out these tips:

Burglary Prevention Tips

Lock all windows and doors – even if you live on the second floor of an apartment building. Lock sliding glass doors. Two-story residences – lock upstairs windows, sliding glass doors, and French doors. Remember suspects can climb onto a balcony.

Alarms: Use it! Add additional window security (example – pins in the window or wooden dowels in sliders)

Install motion detectors on all levels of the residence.

Never leave a ladder outside and accessible to a burglar.

Relocate valuables. Most burglars take property from the master bedroom.

Photograph and make a list of your valuables. Include serial numbers.

Vacation Strategies:
Let a trustworthy neighbor know that you are away. Ask that person to keep a lookout for your residence. Leave on one (1) light inside your home.

Mail and newspapers should be picked up or stopped.

Have a neighbor or friend park their vehicle in your driveway or parking slot.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Detective Theresa Gordon at 27033@lapd.lacity.org

Tip-A-Cop at Friday's in Woodland Hills 'til 10pm.

LAPD’s Tip-A-Cop charity fundraiser is going on now at TGI Friday’s in Woodland Hills until 10pm.  Proceeds benefit the Special Olympics.

LAPD Topanga Station writes:

The Los Angeles Police Department Topanga Division police officers will be participating jointly with the West Valley California Highway Patrol in a “TIP-A-COP” fundraiser event to benefit the Special Olympics. It will be held at the TGI Friday’s at 5919 Canoga Avenue tonight (May 27th) between 6 pm and 10 pm. Bring the whole family and be “waited” on by uniformed LAPD and CHP officers and help raise money for this worthy cause! You might even be waited on by the Commanding Officer of Topanga Division, Captain John Sherman!!

A reader writes in:

First off I really like reading your blog.  It is informative and gives a good sense of community.

I’m writing because this morning I got a ticket for playing ball with my dog in Warner Park.   I guess that it is a misdemeanor to have your dog off leash there.  I was completely unaware of this. The police woman said that there have been a lot of community complaints and it has made its way all the way up to the council. They have a zero tolerance policy so they are not issuing warnings. I usually take my dog to play ball very early when not many people are there because I don’t want my dog interfering with other people’s park business.  There are often many dogs off the leash at the park though later in the morning and after work (some well behaved and others not).  I just thought I would let you know if you wanted to look into this further and/or to let others know about this so they can hopefully avoid getting a ticket!   Thanks!

I let a friend of mine who lives adjacent to the park and owns three dogs know about this and he responded:

I walk my dogs there all the time, on the leash! I’m glad they’re giving tickets.  So many loose dogs, running up to ours, drives me nuts!

I wrote back to the reader to get a little more information, she writes:

I am trying to not be upset about it because I know that some off leash dogs can be a hazard and you can’t always count on people to appropriately control their dogs.  The policewoman did say that there are two off leash dog parks in the valley. I have not been to the dog parks because i hear really bad things about them.  Out of control dogs, bad owners, just all around mayhem.  Plus my dog just loves catch and if you introduce a ball or toy into a large group of dogs things don’t always go so well.  So i stay away from the dog parks.  This is why i like going early morning when no one is around to interfere with us nor us with them.

The ticket is only 25 bucks.  She said she would just issue a citation now but that it could be a misdemeanor.

I think at the end of the day all dog owners take some liberties with their dogs with regards to leashes when they know there are not likely to be other dogs around.  However, in public spaces I’d say that leashes make everyone’s lives easier.  I also agree with her that the dog parks are a scary nightmare and probably an insurance company’s nightmare.  But, be forewarned if you take your dog to Warner Park that LAPD is watching!

Many of you observed and were possibly inconvenienced by the insane amount of police activity in West Hills yesterday afternoon/evening, but it looks like there was a big payoff for it.  LAPD Topanga Area SLO Brent Rygh took the time to write me this morning to let my readers know what happened.

Police responded to a call for service of burglary suspects in the area of 6400 Bobbyboyar Ave.  Officers were able to immediately locate and detain one suspect.  Officers closed off the surrounding streets to set up a perimeter around the area and search for a second suspect.  A second suspect was captured inside the perimeter.  Rygh explained that they ultimately connected these two suspects to 3 additional suspects that were stopped a few blocks away.   A total of 5 suspects were arrested and discovered to be in possession of property from several burglaries in the area.

Obviously, LAPD’s warnings to be vigilant about the security of your home and vehicles needs to be heeded because degenerates like these guys are clearly on the prowl in our area.

Thanks to Brent Rygh and other Topanga Area officers for their hard work and a special thanks to he and others who are clearly working diligently to keep the public informed and to get the Nixle alerts back on track.

Sent out this morning via Nixle:

Advisory Message has been issued by the LAPD – Topanga.

Tuesday May 25, 2010 5:58 AM PDT

UPDATE Elderly Couple Found Dead-Identities Released

***UPDATE***
The identities of the two people involved in this incident have been identified as 77-year-old Anne Ward and her husband 77-year-old James Ward of West Hills.

Daily News writes:

An elderly couple found dead in their West Hills home in an apparent murder-suicide were identified as Anne and James Ward, both 77, the coroner’s office announced today.

The two were found inside their home in the 7200 block of Cirrus Way on Thursday morning with single gunshot wounds to the head, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

There were no signs of a struggle and there did not seem to be any problems between the two, police said.

Just received this newsletter from LAPD Topanga Station’s commanding officer Captain John A. Sherman detailing some recent violent events in our area.

He writes:

Dear Topanga Community Members,

Recently, the communities policed by the LAPD’s Topanga Community Police Station have been rocked by several violent incidents. As community leaders and police partners, I want to give you an overview of these incidents. There is not a lot of detail here, but it gives you a general idea of what has occurred in your neighborhoods.

First, on April 30, 2010, a violent domestic related double homicide occurred on the 7000 block of Eton Avenue in Canoga Park. This was a terrible tragedy for this long-time Canoga Park family. A family member was arrested and has been charged with both murders. On May 10, 2010, an officer involved shooting occurred at the Best Buy at Victory Boulevard and Owensmouth Avenue in Canoga Park. This incident closed down surrounding major intersection for several hours. Your Topanga police officers did an outstanding job ensuring that no innocent bystanders were injured. No officers were injured during the incident. The suspect was wanted in a domestic homicide that occurred in Long Beach. The suspect involved endangered the public by having a loaded firearm and ultimately he succumbed to his injuries as a result of the officer involved shooting.

On May 14, 2010, your community was rocked by yet another double murder, this time on the 6900 block of Remmet Avenue in Canoga Park. A young woman and her child were murdered. This investigation continues and we are working diligently to identify and arrest the suspect(s).

Clearly these three incidents are tragic and horrific acts of violence. They are shocking to your community. Please know that we do not believe these are at all related, or a series or trend of violence in any way. In two of the cases, the suspect will not be free to interact with society again. In the third case, we have many resources working on the case to solve the crime and bring the perpetrator or perpetrators to justice. If you or anyone you know has any information on this crime, please contact the Topanga Homicide Detectives at 818-756-4820.

The purpose of this email is to give you a brief overview of these significant events that have occurred in your community. I also want you to know that your officers and detectives assigned to Topanga have, and will continue, to work diligently and heroically to keep your community safe and to investigate these crimes to the fullest extent.

In fact, as of May 15, 2010, our total Part I crime is down 17.9 percent this year with 397 fewer crime victims than last year at this time.

As always please contact your Senior Lead Officer or me should you have any questions.

Captain John A. Sherman

Commanding Officer

Topanga Community Police Station