The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-largest municipal police department in the United States, after the New York City Police Department and the Chicago Police Department.
KFI is a radio station in Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It began operations in 1922 and became one of the first high-powered, clear-channel Class A stations. It was the first U.S. station west of Chicago to broadcast at 50,000 watts.
Daryl Francis Gates was an American police officer who served as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992. His length of tenure in this position was second only to that of William H. Parker. Gates is credited with the creation of SWAT teams alongside fellow Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer John Nelson, who others claim was the originator of SWAT in 1965. Gates also co-founded the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.
The John and Ken Show was an American talk radio show, hosted by John Chester Kobylt and Kenneth Robertson Chiampou. The show aired Monday thru Friday, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific Time on KFI AM 640, a local Southern California talk radio station. The program is one of the most listened to local talk radio programs in the United States and draws an estimated weekly audience of approximately 1.2 million listeners.
The 1992 Los Angeles riots were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, United States, during April and May 1992. Unrest began in South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after a jury acquitted four officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) charged with using excessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King. The incident had been videotaped by George Holliday, who was a bystander to the incident, and was heavily broadcast in various news and media outlets.
Frederick Madison Roberts was an American newspaper owner and editor, educator and business owner; he became a politician, the first known man of African American descent elected to the California State Assembly. He served there for 16 years and became known as "dean of the assembly." He has been honored as the first person of African-American descent to be elected to public office among the states on the West Coast.
Terri-Rae Elmer is an American radio personality. Elmer was a radio news announcer for KFI AM 640 from 1983 to 2011. Following KFI Terri-rae became the co-host of the morning show on KABC 790 with Doug McIntyre. Cumulus Media did not renew her contract for 2017 and she is no longer on KABC-790AM. She was born in Brooklyn, Wisconsin.
Brian S. Bentley is an author and a former Los Angeles Police Department officer. His first book, One Time: The Story of a South Central Los Angeles Police Officer, Bentley graphically depicts his involvement in suspect beatings and describes in detail the gratification he and his partners received from their actions. Bentley says some officers are addicted to violence and can't stop on their own. One Time lets readers see first hand how police brutality is accepted and encouraged in law enforcement. "One Time" is an urban slang term for "the Police."
B. Kwaku Duren is a controversial African American former lawyer, educator, writer, editor, Black Panther, long-time social, political and community activist; and a former convict who now lives and practices law in South Central Los Angeles. He has run for the United States Congress three times and once for Vice President of the United States. As a young man, he spent nearly five years in California prisons for armed robbery. He began reading extensively and taking college classes while incarcerated and after his parole in the fall of 1970, he founded and chaired the National Poor People's Congress. A couple of years later, he and his younger sister, Betty Scott, along with Mary Blackburn and other community activists, founded an alternative school – the Intercommunal Youth Institute (1972–1975) – in Long Beach, California.
At The Beach, Los Angeles (ATBLA) is the organization that promotes and administers the Los Angeles Black gay pride event that occurs every summer. At The Beach is an annual beach party/Pride celebration which exists as the focal point for the black gay pride events, is the largest black gay pride event on the West Coast.
Charles Lloyd Beck is a retired American police officer, formerly serving as the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and subsequently as the Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. A veteran of the department with over four decades as an officer, he is known for commanding and rehabilitating the Rampart Division after the Rampart scandal; and for technology enhancements during his time as Chief of Detectives. He agreed to be interim Superintendent of Police in Chicago in late 2019 while the city searches nationwide for a replacement for retiring Eddie Johnson. Beck took the helm of the Chicago Police Department on December 2, 2019, after Johnson was fired. On April 15, 2020, Beck stepped down and was replaced by former Dallas Police Department Chief David Brown, who had been nominated by Lightfoot to serve as permanent Superintendent. After his retirement he rejoined the Reserve Corps as a Reserve Police Officer and is assigned to the Office Of The Chief Of Police.
Torie Osborn is a community organizer, activist, and author.
Jacquelyn Phillips Lacey is an American politician who served as the District Attorney of Los Angeles County from December 3, 2012 to December 7, 2020. Lacey was the first woman, and first African-American, to serve as LA District Attorney since the office was created in 1850.
The history of African Americans in Los Angeles includes participation in the culture, education, and politics of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States.
Although often characterized as apolitical, “Los Angeles has provided the setting for many important chapters in the struggle for gay and lesbian community, visibility, and civil rights." Moreover, Los Angeles' LGBTQ community has historically played a significant role in the development of the entertainment industry.
James McDonnell is an American law enforcement officer who has been the 59th Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department since November 8, 2024.
Ezell Ford, a 25-year-old African-American man, died from multiple gunshot wounds after being shot by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers in Florence, Los Angeles, California on August 11, 2014. In the weeks and months that followed, Ford's shooting triggered multiple demonstrations and a lawsuit by Ford's family claiming $75 million in damages.
Edward Bernard Peter Buck is an American convicted felon, Democratic Party donor, former founder of the Mecham Recall Committee, and businessman. He also was a former model and actor and he made a significant amount of money running and selling the data service company Gopher Courier. He became involved in politics after the election of Evan Mecham as Governor of Arizona in 1986; Buck, an Arizona resident, led the effort to recall him from the governorship of Arizona, accusing him of racism and corruption. The experience led Buck to change his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, and he has since donated heavily to Democratic politicians. In 2007, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for the city council of West Hollywood, California.
Melina Reimann Abdullah is an American academic and civic leader. She is the former chair of the department of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, and is a co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter Grassroots, for which she also serves as co-director.
