Police don’t want to hand you their records
Tomo Chien
March 28, 2024
Good morning. It’s Thursday, and I’m reading about the best places to eat before a Dodgers game. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
California police are dodging transparency laws to avoid handing potentially embarrassing documents to the public. Key pieces of state legislation were supposed to open certain records related to police misconduct — including shootings, unlawful searches, discrimination and sexual assault — to anybody who requests them. But in practice, police often simply deny records requests and hope the requester won’t take them to court; keep cases marked as “pending” so they can’t be touched; and destroy documents as soon as they’re legally permitted.
2.
USC’s law school named its first Black dean: Franita Tolson, who’s filled the post in an interim capacity since last summer. She’ll formally assume the permanent mantle next week. Tolson, who’s only the second woman ever to hold the law school’s deanship, is a national leader in election law. She’s taught at USC since 2017 and earned her law degree at the University of Chicago, where she studied under then-professor Barack Obama.
3.
A jury found LA’s former deputy mayor guilty of orchestrating a pay-to-play corruption scheme. Prosecutors said that Raymond Chan, whose case covered the period between 2013 to 2018, helped a former City Council member shake down Chinese developers for illicit bribes in order to approve their projects. In one particular scheme, prosecutors said Chan arranged for a developer to send the councilmember $600,000 to secretly settle a sexual harassment lawsuit against him — then the councilmember later approved one of the developer’s major projects.
4.
California is trying to Trump-proof its climate policies. The former president — who could very well serve a second term — made a habit out of attacking California’s environmental regulations during his first four years. So Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is shoring up its policies by doing things like securing voluntary commitments from automakers to follow emissions standards even if they’re repealed and prepping legislation for potential lawsuits.
5.
The hot new thing in the Bay Area tech scene could be penile enlargement. Plastic surgeons say they’re treating a growing number of men — mostly tech workers in their 30s — to a number of the following treatments: The traditional extension (“Bocox”). Scrotal botox (“Scrocox”). Penile platelet-rich plasma injections (exactly what it sounds like). And penile shockwave therapy (yikes!). “I have so much confidence in myself now,” one patient texted his doctor. “I like seeing it even when I shower. Man, it’s awesome. 😊”
