Tag Archives: South Los Angeles

Curren Price

Curren Price Faces Court Over Public Corruption Charges in Los Angeles

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Los Angeles City Councilman Curren Price is set to face a crucial court hearing on November 3 to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for him to stand trial in a high-profile public corruption case. The 74-year-old councilman from the Ninth District appeared Tuesday in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, confronting multiple felony charges, including grand theft by embezzlement of public funds, conflict of interest, and perjury by declaration.

The November hearing, which is expected to span several days, follows a rejection by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sean D. Coen of a defense challenge to the legal sufficiency of the complaint. That challenge, if successful, could have resulted in the dismissal of the case against Price. The councilman, first charged in June 2023 with ten felony counts, now faces twelve charges after prosecutors added two more in August.

Story Highlights:

  • Curren Price faces 12 felony counts including embezzlement, conflict of interest, and perjury.

  • Alleged misuse of city funds to benefit his wife’s company, Del Richardson & Associates.

  • Subpoenas revealed additional evidence of public corruption.

  • Potential prison sentence of over 11 years if convicted.

  • Defense maintains Price acted without knowledge of any conflicts and votes were unanimous.

In a statement following the court’s decision, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman emphasized the importance of accountability.

“Public officials will not violate the public trust on my watch. The District Attorney’s Office, by law, is mandated to serve as a watchdog against public corruption,” Hochman said.
“Politicians are entrusted with immense power and control over vast sums of money and are accordingly bound to act in the interests of the public, not their pocketbook. Our Public Integrity Division will continue to hold politicians accountable. We look forward to moving forward with the criminal justice process in this case.”

Defense attorney Michael Schafler, representing Price, responded by criticizing the newly added charges.

“These additional charges are nothing more than an attempt to pile on to a weak case,” Schafler said.
“They have gone back as far as six years, combing through thousands and thousands of votes, to find a couple more allegedly conflicted votes. The evidence will show that Councilman Price had no knowledge of any alleged conflicts at the time he cast those votes. The fact is that every one of those votes was passed unanimously and by consent.”

Schafler added that Price is committed to fighting the charges.

“The councilman will continue to fight these charges until his name is cleared and his innocence is proven,” he stated.

Curren Price’s Political Career and Allegations

Price has represented South Los Angeles and Exposition Park since 2013, following earlier service in the California Assembly and State Senate. Prosecutors allege that Del Richardson & Associates, a company solely owned by Price’s wife, received payments totaling more than $150,000 from developers between 2019 and 2021, coinciding with votes Price cast to approve related projects.

Price is also accused of embezzling nearly $33,800 in city funds from 2013 to 2017 to provide medical benefits for Richardson, falsely claiming she was his wife while still married to Lynn Suzette Price.

Subpoenas issued during the investigation yielded further evidence, prompting prosecutors to file an amended complaint adding two more counts of conflict of interest. The complaint includes 39 exhibits documenting payments to Richardson’s company and Price’s voting history.

Between October 2019 and June 2020, the Housing Authority of the city of Los Angeles allegedly paid Del Richardson & Associates nearly $609,600. During this period, Price voted to support a $35 million federal grant and a $252 million state grant application for the agency.

Between October 2020 and October 2021, LA Metro paid Del Richardson & Associates about $219,500, while Price introduced and voted for a motion to award $30 million to the agency. In both cases, prosecutors say Price’s staff flagged the potential conflicts prior to the votes.

Additionally, prosecutors claim Price leveraged his position to direct city lease agreements and over $2 million in federal COVID-19 grants to the nonprofit Home at Last, which operated as a tenant of the Urban Healthcare Project, where Price served as CEO.

Curren Price and the Broader Context of Los Angeles Politics

Price is the latest Los Angeles city official to face legal scrutiny. Former council members Jose Huizar and Mitch Englander have pleaded guilty to federal charges in recent years. Mark Ridley-Thomas was convicted in 2023 for trading votes in exchange for personal benefits. Former City Council President Nury Martinez resigned in 2022 following a leaked tape of a racially charged conversation regarding the city’s redistricting process.

If convicted of the charges, Price could face up to 11 years and four months in custody, including over nine years in state prison and up to two years in county jail, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Price has consistently maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to the original 10 counts in December 2023.

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Los Angeles Police Face Civil Rights Lawsuit Over Teen’s Alleged Racial Profiling

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An 18-year-old Black man has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles, claiming he was racially profiled and violently detained by police officers while still a minor. The complaint, lodged in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, names the city as defendant and seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Lawsuit Alleges Pattern of Profiling

The plaintiff, Jeramiah Burge, states in his filing that officers targeted him because of his age and race. “Burge was racially profiled as a criminal and a gang member based on being a teenager, young and Black,” the suit alleges.

Burge contends that what began as an ordinary evening visit to family in South Los Angeles turned into a traumatic confrontation with law enforcement.

Story Highlights

  • Plaintiff: 18-year-old Jeramiah Burge

  • Filed: Civil rights lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court

  • Defendant: City of Los Angeles

  • Key Allegations: Racial profiling, assault, battery, negligence, excessive force

  • Incident: June 30, 2024, South Los Angeles

  • Main Claims: Officers questioned Burge about gang ties and weapons, then used force

  • Relief Sought: Unspecified compensatory and punitive damages

Evening in South Los Angeles Turns Into Detention

According to the lawsuit, Burge and his mother were visiting friends on the evening of June 30, 2024. When his mother went into a store, he waited in the passenger seat of a friend’s car and spoke on the phone.

At that point, the complaint states, two Los Angeles police officers — one male and one female — approached the car. One allegedly asked him, “Are you a gang banger?” Another followed up by asking whether he had a gun in the vehicle.

Burge says he replied “no” to both questions. The filing claims that despite his answers, the officers ordered him to exit the car, pushed him against the hood, and repeatedly told him to stop resisting. The lawsuit asserts that he was not resisting at any time.

Use of Force Detailed in Complaint

The court filing goes on to describe a series of actions Burge says were unprovoked. According to the lawsuit, the officers kicked his feet out from under him, causing him to fall. He had a recently fractured shoulder at the time and says the officers denied his request to call his mother.

The complaint further alleges that additional officers arrived at the scene, threw him to the ground again, threatened to shoot him with a stun gun, slapped him multiple times in the face, used the stun gun on his chest several times, and placed him in a chokehold, making it hard for him to breathe.

He was hospitalized with injuries, the suit states, and when his mother returned about 30 minutes later, officers allegedly refused to tell her what had happened.

Possible Video Evidence and Continuing Impact

Burge’s lawsuit says he believes body-worn camera footage and nearby surveillance cameras recorded the incident. He maintains he had done nothing wrong to justify being detained, arrested or subjected to excessive force.

The complaint also details ongoing harm, including loss of past and future income, fear, anxiety, headaches, sleep disturbance and difficulty concentrating.

City Response Pending

A representative for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the civil rights lawsuit.

The case highlights ongoing public debates in Los Angeles about racial profiling, use of force, and police accountability — topics that have drawn national attention and legal action in recent years.

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