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Lexis-Olivier Ray

Lexis-Olivier Ray is an award-winning staff investigative reporter for L.A. TACO known for holding powerful people in Los Angeles accountable and his reporting on Los Angeles culture. As well as an artist and filmmaker. In 2022, the Society of Professional Journalists’ Los Angeles chapter named Ray one of their “distinguished journalists.” This year, Ray won a second place Anthem Award in their Health Innovation category for a texting service geared towards the unhoused community and service providers that he launched in 2021 with L.A. TACO and Subtext. Ray was a 2020 USC Center For Health Journalism (CHJ) Data Fellow. As well as a 2022 CHJ Impact Fellow. As a freelancer, Ray has contributed to the L.A. Times, Men’s Health Magazine, KCET and SFGATE.

A Family Called 911 To Help a Suicidal Loved One, They Got a ‘Nightmare a Thousand Times Worse’

It’s an increasingly common dilemma facing the families of citizens in crisis—whether contacting the authorities in the midst of a mental health crisis could cause the situation to get worse, such as in the well-known case of Takar Smith.

December 13, 2023

Two LAPD Helicopters Are Flying Around For 20 Hours Almost Every Single Day of The Year, According to New Audit

LAPD helicopters burn through more than 760,000 gallons of gasoline each year, according to the audit. By comparison, a car would have to be driven for more than 19 million miles to burn that much fuel.

December 11, 2023

L.A. Mayor Warns Unhoused Not to Sleep Alone As Police Seek Killer of Three Sleeping Homeless Men

Los Angeles police are searching for a man suspected of walking up to three unhoused people this week while they slept during the early hours of the morning and shooting them to death.

December 2, 2023

A$AP Rocky’s ‘Assault with a Firearm’ Case Will Likely Go To Trial Next Year

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón's office filed charges against the rapper in August 2022 for allegedly shooting A$AP Relli, a high school friend and collaborator, during a “heated” confrontation in Hollywood in 2021.

November 21, 2023

Three Pedestrians Were Hit by Drivers in Arlington Heights on Tuesday, Leaving Two Dead

Of the roughly 260 traffic collision fatalities that have occurred in the city of L.A. as of late October, 138 involved pedestrians being struck by a driver, Crosstown L.A. reported. That’s a 14 percent increase compared to the same time-period last year.

November 15, 2023

Metro Wants You To Rename Its New Rail Line That Will Connect 10 Southeast L.A. Cities

Choose between "Tongva," Southeast," "Califa," "Los Rios" and eight other names. Voting ends on December 17. The new name will remain in place until construction is completed.

November 15, 2023

1 Out of 6 City Jobs in L.A. Still Vacant, According to City Controller Report

The controller’s analysis found that the workforce shortage is putting more pressure on existing workers to carry heavier workloads to make up for staffing shortages, “leading to an increase in overtime costs, labor tension, stress and potential increases in worker compensations costs over the long run.”

November 14, 2023

New Rip City Skates Documentary Looks Into Survival of Santa Monica’s Oldest Skate Shop

It's "one of the only places in Santa Monica that hasn’t been rearranged and decimated,” Dogtown legend Tony Alva says in ‘Kinda Crazy,’ a new short documentary film exploring the legacy of Rip City Skates and the cousins responsible for the iconic skate shop.

November 13, 2023

LAPD SWAT Deploys Robot Police Dog During Standoff With Man Sleeping Next to BB Gun

Early media reports and a tweet from the LAPD suggested that the man on the bus had a “firearm” at his feet. However, this afternoon, an LAPD spokesperson confirmed with L.A. TACO that only a “BB gun” was recovered from the scene.

November 8, 2023

Video: Veteran LAPD Officer Chokes Handcuffed R&B Producer After He Spits At Him During Mental Health Crisis

Body-worn camera footage captured LAPD Officer Oswaldo Pedemonte choking a suicidal music producer who was handcuffed to a gurney in North Hollywood last month, after the producer appeared to spit in the officer’s direction.

November 6, 2023