Los Angeles police amp up resources after 3 officers shot, killed in Baton Rouge

Los Angeles police have stepped up their resources while other agencies vowed to remain vigilant after three law enforcement officers were killed and three more were injured Sunday in a shooting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city added resources Sunday to ensure the Los Angeles Police Department, along with other public safety agencies, are better supported.

“This includes doubling our (helicopters patrolling the city), shifting Metropolitan Division officers. ... To help back up patrol officers responding to calls for service, and adding additional resources to help screen our 911 calls,” Garcetti said in a statement.

The Metropolitan Division, which is based downtown, is an elite division of officers that includes LAPD’s SWAT team.

Garcetti’s words were echoed by LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, who said they were “closely monitoring” the events in Baton Rouge while implementing other “special procedures” and operational enhancements.

There were no specific or credible threats received by law enforcement for the greater Los Angeles area, local authorities said, but the public was reminded to report any suspicious behavior or incidents.

• Related Story: 3 Baton Rouge police officers shot and killed, 3 others wounded

Shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday, two Baton Rouge police officers and one East Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputy were fatally shot in Louisiana’s capital less than a mile from police headquarters. Three other law enforcement officers were wounded, including one critically. The suspect was shot and killed at the scene, according to local police.

The incident comes less than two weeks after 37-year-old Alton Sterling, an African American man, was fatally shot by white Baton Rouge police officers during a confrontation, igniting daily protests in the city.

Lt. Richard Tompkins of LAPD’s West Valley Division said their station was refraining from sending out any single person units to take reports on Sunday. Instead, they were doubling officers up to do that when needed.

“It’s just a safety precaution for the time being to ensure we don’t have any issues out here in Southe Califoia,” Tompkins said.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Guillermina Saldana said they were remaining vigilant and aware of their surroundings.

But “nothing has been said about anything being tactically different in our stations,” the sheriff’s spokeswoman added.

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Following the killing of five police officers by a sniper in Dallas on July 7, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDoell instructed deputies to double up in their patrol cars for at least one day following that incident, she said.

Noting it was “deeply saddened” by the events in Baton Rouge, the Sheriff’s Department asked the public to report any information about potential incidents to their local law enforcement agencies.

Pasadena police Chief Phillip L. Sanchez, said in a Twitter post that his agency was also monitoring the situation in Louisiana.

President Barack Obama, in a statement, strongly condemned Sunday’s deadly attack on law enforcement.

Obama said he’s offered his “full support” to federal, state and local political representatives in Louisiana as well as the Baton Rouge Police Department.

“And make no mistake — justice will be done,” he said in a statement.

But some union officials took national and local civic leaders to task Sunday, arguing that concrete actions need to replace “rhetorical support” to better protect police.

“Now that ten law enforcement officers have been murdered in 10 days, what will you do to keep our communities safe?” the Los Angeles Police Protective League said in a statement Sunday. “We need your actions, not your words.”

Meanwhile, Beck said the “cowardly attacks” on officers will not resolve the conces some have within society.

“Communication is key,” Beck said, “and the reprehensible violence and unspeakable crimes that we have seen in Dallas and Baton Rouge will only serve to divide rather than unite us all.”

Staff writer Brian Day and the Associated Press contributed to this report.