Welcome to L.A. TACO’s daily news briefs, where we bring our loyal members, readers, and supporters the latest headlines about Los Angeles politics and culture. Stay informed and look closely.
—Los Angeles: More than 1,110 unhoused people died in the City of L.A. in 2022, according to preliminary data from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner. An analysis of the data by Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia's office found that nearly 3/4 of unhoused deaths occurred on the streets "or areas without proper utilities." Twenty percent of all murders city-wide involved an unhoused victim. Despite making up less than 10 percent of the city's population, 30 percent of unhoused deaths were of Black people. "We made this map to bring visibility to the approximately 1,167 unhoused deaths in 2022 in the City of LA that otherwise happen quietly with little attention," Mejia's office said in a statement. View the map here.
—An independent investigation found that gang members hold some of the "highest levels" of power in the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. "The Department currently contains several active groups that have been, and still are engaged in harmful, dangerous, and often illegal behavior," the report reads. The report found that deputy gangs operate much like the mafia and street gangs. The civilian oversight commission, a board of civilians that monitors the sheriff's department recommends that joining and participating in deputy gangs should be prohibited. "The COC urges Sheriff Luna to adopt a policy that prohibits deputies from being members of Deputy Cliques and thereby ending Deputy Gangs," the report reads. Read the report here. [Rolling Stone]
—Ukrainian World Congress, a non-governmental organization, sent a letter to the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences, asking the group to reject films funded by “Russian oligarchs or other enablers of Russia’s genocidal war on Ukraine.” The letter comes two months after The L.A. Times reported on a lawsuit alleging Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev played a major role in funding Top Gun: Maverick. Ukrainian World Congress is asking The Academy to reconsider Top Gun's nominations. [LAT]
—DTLA: A DTLA jury awarded $1.5 million in damages to a deputy district attorney who alleged she was denied important positions in retaliation for complaining about directives set forth after the 2020 election of District Attorney George Gascón. [City News Services]