LA County FD tried to force Christian lifeguard to fly LGBTQ flag, retaliated against him when he refused: Lawsuit



A man who has spent more than two decades with the Los Angeles County Fire Department is now suing the agency after its leadership allegedly tried to force him to raise an LGBTQ flag at his lifeguard stand at Will Rogers Beach in Pacific Palisades and then retaliated against him when he refused to comply.

In March 2023, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution that requires all county-controlled buildings to fly a "Progress Pride Flag" during the month of June, sometimes referred to as Pride Month. Three months later, Jeffrey Little, an LACoFD captain lifeguard who has been with the agency for 22 years, requested an exemption from having to raise the flag at his lifeguard station because he is a Christian who holds traditional beliefs regarding gender, marriage, and the equality of all persons regardless of race, the Christian Post reported.

'Just have someone else raise the flag.'

According to a statement from the Thomas More Society, a legal nonprofit representing Little, the LACoFD initially complied with Little's request, assuring him that he would not have to hoist the flag personally or ensure that someone else raised it during the month of June in accordance with the county resolution.

That assurance was short-lived. On June 21, 2023, just two days after granting Little's request, the department rescinded its agreement.

The department then allegedly subjected Little to harassment and retaliation because of his beliefs. One day after the accommodation was revoked, Division Chief Fernando Boiteux issued Little a direct order to raise the flag, according to a federal lawsuit filed on Little's behalf late last month. "You are an LA County employee, that’s the only thing that matters," Boiteux reportedly told Little. "Your religious beliefs do not matter."

When Little still refused, he was allegedly removed from a background investigation unit at the department and later allegedly threatened with termination. He and his daughters even received death threats after someone from the department leaked his accommodation request to an unauthorized person, the TMS statement said.

With the lawsuit, Little is seeking reinstatement with the department's investigation unit, compensation for lost wages and other damages, the removal of all negative statements on his permanent record in connection with the LGBTQ flag issue, and permanent assurance that he will never have to fly it.

TMS' Paul Jonna believes the case is fairly cut and dry. "For a devout Christian to ask for an accommodation not to have to personally raise the flag is such an easy accommodation, such a simple solution: just have someone else raise the flag," Jonna told the Christian Post. "Devout Christians need to have protections in place. There needs to be strong precedent in place protecting them, and the law already provides for that protection."

The fire department declined requests for comment from the Post and the National Desk.

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50 Cent suggests Los Angeles is doomed after city reinstates no-bail policy: 'Watch how bad it gets'



Curtis James Jackson III, better known as 50 Cent, denounced Los Angeles' recent decision to reinstate its zero-bail policy, noting the city will be adversely impacted.

The affluent musician and self-described "born-again Christian" shared a KTTV-TV report to Instagram Thursday, which detailed the immediate consequences of the May reinstatement of the zero-bail policy.

Los Angeles County Deputy DA John McKinney can be heard in the shared report noting that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will no longer "detain people for crimes such as theft, shoplifting, drug use, vandalism, battery, and a whole host of other non-serious, nonviolent crimes that affect the quality of life for people here in Los Angeles."

Additionally, McKinney indicated many suspected criminals would be released without posting bail.

50 Cent captioned the post, "LA is finished," adding, "Watch how bad it gets out there."

What's the background?

The policy was introduced during the pandemic to purportedly reduce crowding in city jails and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, reported KTTV.

Although scrapping bail for all detained suspects awaiting trial is popular with Democrat politicians and other radical leftists, Californians overwhelmingly rejected it when it was brought to a vote in the form of Proposition 25 in 2020.

The LAPD also took issue with the policy, noting that in the first 30 days of its enactment in 2020, police had arrested 213 individuals multiple times, with 23 being arrested three or more times, reported the Los Angeles times.

Although the pandemic-era policy came to an end last summer, Philip Urquidi — who sued the city, the Los Angeles Police Department, and others after being held in jail on $20,000 bail and a vandalism charge — was joined by other former detainees in a class action lawsuit seeking a permanent injunction to prohibit the LASD and LAPD "from enforcing the money bail schedules as the sole means of determining whether arrestees are or are not released before they are brought before a judge."

Despite an imploration by Superior Court Judge Lawrence Riff, LAPD Chief Michael Moore, LASD Sheriff Robert Luna, and Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon reportedly elected not to testify in opposition to the injunction.

"The Department is aware of the preliminary injunction regarding the cash bail system, and of course will comply with any court-ordered bail schedule. The County is also working with the court and other stakeholders to explore ways to reduce the number of people held before arraignment because they can't afford bail and to provide the Sheriff greater release options to safely reduce the jail population, while always prioritizing public safety," said the LASD in a statement about the ruling," reported KABC-TV.

The court ultimately granted the preliminary injunction, and the zero-bail policy went into effect again on May 24.

Riff said after issuing the injunction that holding a possible criminal in jail because they cannot pay likely violates their constitutional rights, calling the practice "a clear, pervasive and serious constitutional violation."

Salil Dudani, the lead attorney in the lawsuit, said, "We're supposed to have a presumption of innocence in this country. It's not much of a presumption of innocence when you're in a jail cell."

Fallout

A study published earlier this year comparing California repeat offenders who posted bail with those kicked loose without posting bail indicated that those in the latter camp reoffended more often, reoffended sooner after release, and committed 200 times more violent crimes, reported Fox News Digital.

Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig, whose office published the study, concluded that "zero bail is a completely failed policy. ... It's just going to make everything more dangerous."

The report revealed that suspects released without bail were "rearrested on 163% more charges than those who posted bail, and they reoffended 70% more often. These reoffenses resulted in felony charges 90% more often – and they were accused of three times as many crimes."

"We saw violent crime going up as soon as zero bail was implemented in our county by court order," Reisig told Fox News Digital. "And despite all of our best efforts to try and stop the practice, we were forced to continue to do the zero-bail system, and we saw our communities suffer as a result."

Sean Kennedy, the director of policy at the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, noted in a Chicago Sun-Times piece concerning the possible ruin in store for Illinois upon eliminating cash bail, "Money bail provides a strong incentive for the accused to comply — appear and stay out of trouble — on the pain of forfeiture. And in fact, most bailees don’t post the money themselves, instead relying on friends and family to pay the bond amount and bear the risk of forfeiture."

"These third parties are effectively vouching for the accused with their pocketbooks. It also creates a reinforcing system of accountability to comply with the court. If a defendant knows their grandparents might forfeit their life savings if he no-shows or re-offends, he might think twice," added Kennedy.

In addition to the Yolo study, Kennedy cited a Department of Justice study that found that a defendant's failure to appear to a hearing and/or trial was more likely among cases with a defendant released on recognizance than among cases with a defendant released on bail.

The study indicated that even "bail between $50 and $500 lowered the likelihood of [failure to appear] compared to the 17-percent predicted probability" of failure to appear for released on recognizance cases."

According to Neighborhood Scout, the likelihood of becoming a victim of a violent crime in Los Angeles is 1 in 135. The chance of becoming a victim of a property crime is 1 in 41.

These stats are liable to drastically change in short order if 50 Cent's prediction turns out to be true.

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Cities in LA County say they will not enforce a new indoor mask mandate



As Los Angeles County health officials are expected to announce Thursday whether an indoor mask-wearing mandate will go back into effect, several cities in the county have announced they will not enforce a new mask order.

The cities of Beverly Hills, El Segundo, Pasadena, and Long Beach have each announced they will not enforce an indoor mask mandate if one is implemented.

"My City Council colleagues and I strongly believe the decision to wear a mask should be the choice of the individual and should not be imposed by L.A. County," El Segundo Mayor Drew Boyles said in a statement Wednesday. "Individuals should review the data available and consider their own circumstances and make their own decisions about wearing a mask. Businesses need to consider the various agencies that regulate their businesses as part of deciding how they will react to a potential change to mask requirements."

The El Segundo City Council voted unanimously against enforcing a new mask mandate in a special meeting Tuesday night.

The Beverly Hills City Council held a similar vote Monday night, determining it would not enforce a mask order, KABC-TV reported. Interestingly, Beverly Hills was among the first cities in L.A. County to adopt an outdoor mask mandate in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Deadline noted.

The cities of Long Beach and Pasadena, which each operate their own independent health departments, also announced Tuesday they will not enforce a county-wide mask mandate.

Rising coronavirus cases in Los Angeles County prompted health officials to entertain the possibility of a renewed mask mandate. Los Angeles County Health Director Barbara Ferrer warned that an indoor mask mandate may be needed to slow the spread of the virus after the county entered the high COVID-19 community level on July 14, based on criteria from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

\u201cLA County enters High COVID-19 Community level & will require masking indoors if county remains high for two consecutive weeks (effective July 29). Wearing a high quality, well-fitted respirator helps limit the spread of the highly transmissible BA.5 variant.\u201d
— LA Public Health (@LA Public Health) 1657925525

But county government officials are on the record opposing a renewed mask mandate.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Monday she does not support a mandatory mask policy.

"I am not questioning the effectiveness of wearing a mask," Barger told KABC. "I'm questioning the effectiveness of making a mandate and telling people that they have to. I think it has an opposite effect and people will choose to defy."

At Tuesday's county board meeting, Supervisor Janice Han said a mask mandate would be "very divisive."

"I honestly believe there are a significant number of the population who are not willing to accept mask mandates at this point," Hahn said. "And many of them, the ones that have contacted me, pointed out that we do have more tools now than we had at the beginning of the pandemic."

On Wednesday, the county reported 7,316 new cases and 20 new deaths. There are currently 1,280 COVID-19 hospitalizations, and the county had a case positivity rate of 16.2%.

Former LA County district attorney says taxpayers will pay for funeral of cop killer. But current DA Gascón says that is not true.



Los Angeles County taxpayers could be on the hook to pay for the funeral of a man who allegedly killed two police officers, according to a former L.A. County district attorney.

But controversial Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón says the rumors are not true.

What is going on?

Gascón found himself at the center of controversy yet again this week after 35-year-old Justin Flores allegedly shot and killed two El Monte police officers on Tuesday night. Flores was also killed in the shootout.

Last year, prosecutors allowed Flores to avoid prison time after he was arrested for possession of a handgun and ammunition. The problem was that Flores was a convicted felon, having served two prison stints for non-violent offenses, and had been barred from possessing a firearm since 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Instead of going to prison, prosecutors allowed Flores to plead guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon. He was sentenced to probation and time served.

From the L.A. Times:

Though the gun conviction alone could have sent him to prison for three years, Flores was instead sentenced to two years’ probation and 20 days in jail, which he’d already served, a prosecutor said at a plea hearing. Flores was ordered not to possess any weapons, including guns, ammunition and knives, a transcript of the hearing shows. He was warned that if he breached these terms, he could be sent to prison for up to three years.

Despite Flores' criminal history, former L.A. County District Attorney Steve Cooley told the New York Post that taxpayers could be on the hook for Flores' funeral costs.

Cooley pointed to a directive that Gascón issued stating the Bureau of Victim Services, a department in the DA's office, will "contact the families of individuals killed by police and provide support services including funeral, burial and mental health services immediately following the death regardless of the state of the investigation or charging decision."

"Now it looks like Gascon will pay for the funeral of the man who murdered the the two El Monte officers," Cooley said. "He said his office, through the Victims’ Program, would pay for the cost of burial and counseling of the families of anyone killed by police officers."

What did Gascón say?

The L.A. County DA's office released a statement Thursday denying the charge, saying that Flores does not qualify for the benefit.

"There have been rumors surfacing today that the DA's office will pay for the funeral services for the person responsible for the murders of two El Monte police officers. Those rumors are unfounded and incredible disrespectful to the families and colleagues of the two fallen officers," the statement said.

"We also hope people will stop playing politics with trauma and that we can all get serious about how we prevent serious violence before it begins," the statement added.

Families of slain El Monte officers demand change www.youtube.com

Two California police officers slain after responding to stabbing report, officials say



Two California police officers were killed Tuesday night after responding to a report of a stabbing in the Los Angeles area, officials said.

The officers were fatally shot at around 5:10 p.m. local time after responding to a call at a motel, Capt. Andrew Meyer of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said at a press conference Tuesday evening. He confirmed that officers confronted a suspect in a motel room and fired their weapons, and the suspect fled the room into a parking lot, where the officers fired again, the Los Angels Times reported.

Two officers and the suspect were hit by gunfire during the exchange, Meyer said. The officers were transported by ambulance to a local hospital but died of their injuries. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

One of the officers was a 22-year veteran of the El Monte Police Department, according to KTLA-TV. The other had been with the police force for less than a year.

The names of the slain officers have not yet been released.

Police have not released specific details of the shooting because an investigation of the facts is ongoing.

The mayor of El Monte did say that the officers were "essentially ambushed," but Meyer did not provide more information.

"We don't have all the facts yet," he said.

The city of El Monte said in a statement it is "saddened and shocked" by the violent deaths of the officers.

\u201chttps://t.co/CCMTzYs1dg\u201d
— City of El Monte (@City of El Monte) 1655262222

“There are no words to describe our grief and devastation by this senseless act as we learned about the passing of two of our police officers. It weighs heavy on our hearts and we are sending our support to their families. We would also like to thank the El Monte community and our surrounding government agencies for the outpouring support we have received in the last few hours,” the City of El Monte and the El Monte Police Department said in a joint statement.

El Monte police captain Ben Lowry, the acting chief of the police department, told reporters Tuesday the officers were "heroes" who made the "ultimate sacrifice."

“These two men were loved. They were good men. They paid the ultimate sacrifice serving their community, trying to help somebody. … They were murdered by a coward,” Lowry said.

The fallen officers were honored by a procession of law enforcement vehicles on Interstate 10, which traveled from El Monte to the Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center, where the officers were pronounced dead. Flowers and candles have been placed outside the El Monte Police Department as a memorial to them.

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Los Angeles County requires that people keep masking on public transit



While a federal judge issued a ruling on Monday that struck down a federal mandate requiring people to wear face masks on public transportation and inside transportation hubs like airports, Los Angeles County will still require people to mask up in various transportation settings.

"Public Health is issuing Health Officer Order to note that masking in all public transit within LA County and in LA County indoor transportation hubs continues to be required," the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health noted in a press release.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the order will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday

"Per the revised Order, masking continues to be required to be worn by everyone, 2 years of age and older, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status, on public transit within the County. This includes wearing masks on commuter trains, subways, buses, taxis, and ride-shares. Masking continues to be also required in indoor transportation hubs including airport and bus terminals, train and subway stations, seaport or other indoor port terminals, or any other indoor area that serves as a transportation hub," the department noted.

The announcement shows a contrast between the county and the state, since the California Department of Public Health on Wednesday announced the end of required masking on public transit.

"In alignment with the CDC's announcement that its order requiring masking on public transportation and at transportation hubs is no longer in effect, effective immediately California's requirement for masking on public transit and in transportation hubs is terminated. CDPH strongly recommends that individuals in these settings continue to wear a mask," the state's department of public health noted.

Mask mandates have been controversial throughout the pandemic — while some Americans support masking requirements, others believe each individual should be allowed to make their own decision about whether to wear a face covering.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Wednesday that it had asked the U.S. Department of Justice to appeal the decision pertaining to the federal transportation-related mask requirement. "It is CDC’s continuing assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health," the agency noted.

"As soon as CDC determined that it was important to keep this masking requirement in place, we went ahead and aligned with the CDC," Los Angeles County Department of Public Health director Barbara Ferrer said, according to the Los Angeles Times.