Landslide closes northbound PCH near Santa Monica

The Pacific Coast Highway was closed to northbound traffic in Pacific Palisades on Thursday morning because of a landslide, according to traffic reports.

The northbound lanes between Sunset Boulevard and Temescal Canyon Road were closed after 4 a.m., forcing commuters to take alternative routes.

Los Angeles police responded to the scene as bulldozers worked to shove the mounds of dirt and rock off the road. Officials could not immediately say when the coastal road would be reopened.

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Photo: Work crews clear debris after a landslide closed Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

Lesbian LAPD officers settle harassment suit for $1.25 million

The Los Angeles City Council approved a $1.25-million payout Wednesday to a lesbian LAPD officer and a lesbian retired officer to settle claims by the women that they were subjected to repeated sexual harassment by a supervisor.

The agreement marks the latest in a long string of six- and seven-figure settlements and jury awards the city has had to pay in cases of discrimination, retaliation and other workplace strife that LAPD officers bring against one another with some frequency.

In a 11-1 vote, the council signed off on the payout to avoid a trial in a lawsuit filed in 2011 by now-retired Officer Linda Gotham and Officer Lynn Whitey.

The two women, both openly gay, were assigned to the department's Van Nuys Division in 2010, where they were supervised by Sgt. Randy Hoffmaster, a 25-year veteran of the force.

On several occasions over the course of the year, the women charged in court documents, Hoffmaster made vulgar sexual comments and propositions to them. Their repeated complaints about Hoffmaster to more senior officials led to nothing, the women said in the lawsuit.

Matthew McNicholas, the women's attorney, said Gotham had had to deal with uncomfortable, inappropriate comments and situations as a closeted sailor in the Navy.

"This woman does not have thin skin, and so it means something that she finally said, 'Enough, is enough, is enough,' " McNicholas said.

After the officers filed their lawsuit, department officials opened an internal investigation into their claims against Hoffmaster, McNicholas said. The findings have not been made public, but according to McNicholas, Hoffmaster resigned at the conclusion of the inquiry.

Hoffmaster could not be reached for comment. Lt. Andy Neiman, a spokesman for the department, confirmed that Hoffmaster no longer works for the LAPD, but declined to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit.

Along with the findings of the LAPD's investigation, the women's claims were supported by other officers who witnessed the abuse and who were prepared to testify against Hoffmaster at a trial, McNicholas said.

The apparent failure of department officials to address the women's complaints until after a lawsuit was filed underscores an ongoing struggle within the LAPD. For the past year, top police officials and the civilian board that oversees the force have come under increasing pressure to improve the department's ability to quickly and effectively resolve workplace conflicts before they result in costly litigation.

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$40,000 check given to women mistakenly shot at in Dorner manhunt

A $40,000 check for a new vehicle was delivered Monday to an attorney representing the women whose truck was riddled with bullets by LAPD officers during last month's manhunt for fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner, city officials said.

City Atty. Carmen Trutanich said in a statement the tax-free payment would cover the cost of the pickup and other property. The deal was announced Thursday — several weeks after the women were promised a new truck, and two days after they publicly complained through Jonas that they had not received a new vehicle.

"I am thankful that this matter could be resolved in a quick and efficient manner," Trutanich said in a statement Monday. “The settlement negotiated by my office for the damage done to the truck was the legal and morally right thing to do both for the individuals involved and the taxpayers of this city."

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Officials stressed that this deal was to compensate the women for the loss of the truck and is separate from any discussions regarding potential litigation involving the LAPD shooting incident in Torrance.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck had pledged to provide the truck to Margie Carranza, 47, and her mother, Emma Hernandez, 71, who were delivering newspapers in Torrance on Feb. 7 when LAPD officers fired repeatedly on their blue Toyota Tacoma.

Hernandez was shot twice in the back, and Carranza was injured by broken glass.

The officers were protecting the home of a high-ranking LAPD official named in a threatening manifesto authorities said was written by Dorner, and they believed that official could have been a potential target. Dorner at the time had already killed the daughter of an LAPD captain, her fiance — a USC police officer — and a Riverside police officer, officials said.

Dorner was believed to be driving a gray Nissan Titan and there was a crime broadcast preceding the shooting that said a truck matching Dorner's was in the area.

Beck called the shooting "a tragic misinterpretation" by officers working under "incredible tension" hours after Dorner allegedly shot police officers. He promised to provide a truck from a donor regardless of potential litigation by the women.

The women's attorney, Glen Jonas, said last week the women were first offered a used truck, then a non-four-wheel-drive Ford to replace their four-wheel-drive Toyota. The women also had to agree not to sell it for a year. His clients agreed to that truck, he said.

But then the dealership and LAPD officials said the truck would be considered a prize for tax purposes, Jonas said. "Essentially, they'd have to pay taxes like they won it on a game show."

Jonas said the situation has been compounded by the fact that the women haven't been able to work since being injured.

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Photo: Police officers protecting a high-ranking LAPD official from fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner fired on this blue Toyota Tacoma, injuring two women delivering newspapers. Credit: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times

Man with gun is shot by police officers in Echo Park

A man wielding a gun was shot by police officers in Echo Park shortly after midnight Tuesday and was in stable condition at a hospital, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Police received multiple reports about 12:15 a.m. of a man with a gun at West Sunset Boulevard and Echo Park Avenue, near the Echo and Echoplex music club. After a short foot pursuit, the man turned around holding an object, and the officers fired on him, said officer Alex Martinez.

A report on KTLA-TV contains cellphone video from witnesses who were sitting in a car and observed the shooting. The video shows a man rounding a corner with several police officers in pursuit before multiple gunshots ring out.

One witness, who gave his name as Carlos, told the TV station officers ordered the man to get down on the ground and drop what he was holding. According to the witness, the man shot at the officers first before they fired back.

“He ran, and we saw him open fire to the cops, and they shot back. We saw him hit the floor,” the witness said.

Driver in crash that killed USC student to be arrested

The driver of a Ford Explorer involved in a collision that killed a USC honors student will be arrested on suspicion of drunk driving when she is released from the hospital, a Los Angeles Police Department detective said Monday.

The woman, in her 20s, whose name was not released, was driving an Explorer that smashed into the right side of a Ford Mustang carrying Xinhai Huang, 22, about 3:30 a.m. Sunday, killing him, police said.

It appeared that the woman had been drinking, said Los Angeles police Det. Jimmy Render.

The crash occurred at Hyde Park and West boulevards, about six miles southwest of USC. Huang, a junior, was an honor student and on the dean’s list at the school, university officials confirmed. He was majoring in electrical engineering.

 "We grieve for a promising life cut short, and for his parents who have lost their son," the statement read.

The suspect was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and is in stable condition, Render said. She will be arrested upon release, police said.

“This gives us some time to build a case,” Render said.

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Reputed MS-13 gang members arrested in food-truck extortion racket

A grand jury indictment was scheduled to be unsealed Monday for about two dozen reputed members of the notorious MS-13 gang in connection with a violent extortion racket that targeted food-truck operators.

The victims of the alleged organized shakedown were not four-wheeled foodie cuisine servers, such as the Kogi BBQ truck, but those who serve blue collar workers at construction sites, according to several law enforcement sources familiar with the case.

Those arrested were reputed Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang members but the sources, who did not want to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the case before details were revealed in court, said the arrests were the culmination of a year-long investigation centered in the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood Division.

The arrests took place early Friday morning, and the charges against the suspects and the nature of the alleged shakedown will be detailed in a grand jury indictment that will be unsealed Monday in a downtown courtroom, the sources said.

Police searching for gunman in fatal Panorama City shooting

A 35-year-old man was shot and killed Saturday night in Panorama City, and police are asking the public's help in finding the gunman, according to Los Angeles police.

Several people called police about 10:35 p.m. to report gunfire in the 14700 block of Parthenia Street, just east of Cedros Avenue. Police officers found the victim on the sidewalk "bleeding badly," said Capt. Todd Chamberlain, commanding officer of LAPD's Mission Area police station.

The victim was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he later died, Chamberlain said. The man, whose name was not immediately released, lived nearby and had no documented gang affiliation.

Homicide detectives have interviewed several people in the neighborhood, but so far they have not been able to identify the suspect or suspects, nor have they determined a motive for the shooting, Chamberlain said.

"We're asking the public's help in solving this murder," he said. "Detectives suspect the 911 callers might have seen more than they reported and would like them to come forward with any information."

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Det. Efren Gutierrez at (818) 838-9948. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

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Authorities search for suspect in fatal Panorama City shooting

Authorities on Sunday were searching for a suspect involved in the fatal shooting of a 35-year-old male pedestrian in the San Fernando Valley.

Officers responded to reports of gunfire Saturday about 10:30 p.m. near the intersection of Parthenia Street and Cedros Avenue in the Panorama City neighborhood, Los Angeles Police Sgt. Robert Gasior said.

The victim sustained one gunshot wound and was transported to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills where he was pronounced dead, Gasior said. He was believed to have been standing on the sidewalk before he was approached. It was not known if the suspect had been on foot or in a vehicle.

The shooting was not believed to be gang-related. No other information was given.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call detectives with the Mission Community Police Station at (818) 838-9810.

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Map shows location of a fatal shooting in Panorama City. Source: Google Maps

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Los Angeles police shot and critically wounded a robbery suspect in the Pico-Union neighborhood early Saturday after he allegedly attempted to rob a sandwich shop at gunpoint, authorities said.

Police received a call just before 2 a.m. that a gunman was demanding money inside the Subway shop at West Pico Boulevard and Albany Street, LAPD Officer Norma Eisenman said.  When officers arrived, they saw the armed suspect leaving the shop.

The suspect pointed the gun at the officers, who fired at him, Eisenman said. The man was taken to a hospital in critical condition. No officers were injured, and the incident remains under investigation.

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‘Onion Field’ killers focus of LAPD Chief Beck’s ‘Southland’ cameo

Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck took his place behind the podium. Cameras flashed. Reporters stood at the ready.

But Beck's news conference in front of Parker Center, the old LAPD headquarters, wasn't a typical meeting with the media. For one, it wasn't real.

The chief and other LAPD officials filmed a cameo Friday for the season finale of TNT's L.A.-based police drama, "Southland." Beck declined to talk about details, but said the episode will relate to the so-called "Onion Field" killers who in 1963 kidnapped two LAPD officers and killed one outside Bakersfield.

"They asked me to play the chief of police, and I figured I could do that," Beck said.

The shoot took five takes to wrap and lasted about 20 minutes, Cmdr. Andrew Smith said.

"It worked out great, and the chief was a natural," Smith said.

Smith said the real LAPD officers would probably have just a few quick spots in the finale, but said it would be a "very powerful and moving scene and very powerful and moving episode."

But, as is often the case, reality intruded somewhat on the shoot. The scene was supposed to be filmed at the new police headquarters, but an unscripted anti-police protest required that it be moved to Parker Center. Smith said a permit for the demonstration indicated 500 people would be there, but only four showed up, causing no problems for the television crews.

The LAPD officials involved had the day off, Smith said. Beck said he planned to donate his check from the show to Homeboy Industries, a job placement program for ex-gang members..

"Southland" has drawn praise from critics -- and law enforcement – for its gritty portrayal of L.A.'s streets. Both Beck and Smith said they were fans.

"A lot of what I like about the show and what a lot of other cops like about the show is that they weave real events and real issues into the story line," Smith said.

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Photo: A film crew shoots a scene from the season finale of TNT's 'Southland' in which LAPD Chief Charlie Beck is seen addressing a news conference in front of Parker Center. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times