Los Angeles Times - 02.10.2019

CALIFORNIA

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2019:: LATIMES.COM/CALIFORNIA

B

A woman’s melodious, operatic

voice soared through the depths of

the nearly vacant Wilshire/Nor-

mandie Metro station as she belted

out Puccini while stepping off the Pur-

ple Line.

A Los Angeles police officer,

moved by the beauty of the perform-

ance, approached the petite woman

and asked whether he could record

her singing.

“I told him, ‘Please don’t do it.’ I felt

intimidated,” she said. “What do you

expect with a police officer taking a

picture of you?”

The officer pressed, and eventu-

ally she agreed — but asked for the

clip to not be posted online. With her

light hair pulled back in pigtails, the

subway songstress started singing

again. The video, posted on the

LAPD’s Twitter account, has been

viewed more than 870,000 times.

“4 million people call LA home. 4

million stories. 4 million voices ...

sometimes you just have to stop and

listen to one, to hear something beau-

EMILY ZAMOURKAsings in the Wilshire/Normandie station, where she was recorded by a police offi-
cer days earlier. The 52-year-old says she became homeless after years of financial and health problems.

Photographs by Robert GauthierLos Angeles Times

Uplift from deep down

After a homeless woman’s operatic performance in the subway goes

viral, plaudits and offers of help pour in — along with a singing gig

By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

ZAMOURKAsays she learned to sing by imitating opera stars on TV
when she was a child in Russia. She also plays the violin and piano. [SeeSinger,B4]

The Los Angeles County

Board of Supervisors on

Tuesday rebuked Sheriff Al-

ex Villanueva over his fiscal

stewardship, taking the ex-

traordinary step of freezing

a portion of his depart-

ment’s budget to force the

county’s top cop to address

spending.

The supervisors ex-

pressed their concerns

about the Sheriff ’s Depart-

ment’s $63-million budget

shortfall and what they see

as Villanueva’s failure to ad-

dress those concerns when

they were first raised in De-

cember and at least twice

since then. The board voted

unanimously to require the

sheriff to submit to a “pay-

ment plan” to reimburse the

county before he can regain

full control of his resources.

The vote is the latest de-

velopment in a long-running

power struggle between su-

pervisors and the county’s

independently elected sher-

iff over his management of

the department.

The board’s motion re-

quires new spending con-

trols at the department

without lowering the num-

ber of deputies patrolling

the unincorporated commu-

nities and cities that pay for

policing services.

Supervisor Hilda Solis,

the motion’s author, said she

did so not to attack the sher-

iff but to address his “bal-

looning deficit,” which has

the potential to drain funds

from other county pro-

grams. She called the deficit

“staggering.”

“The last thing I want to

see is we are not providing

the needed security and

sworn officers on the

ground,” she said. “This is

Supervisors

deal a rebuke

to Villanueva

over deficit

L.A. County freezes

part of department’s

budget to compel

sheriff to address

‘staggering’ shortfall.

SHERIFF Alex Villanueva, left, pushed back on

criticism of his department’s $63-million shortfall.

Al SeibLos Angeles Times

By Matt Stiles and

Alene Tchekmedyian

[SeeSheriff,B6]

Evidence from body-
worn cameras shows many
more false allegations made
by the public against LAPD
officers than confirmed mis-
conduct cases last year, ac-
cording to a department re-
port.
In 2018, recordings from
the cameras helped deter-
mine that Los Angeles Po-
lice Department officers
committed infractions in 56
cases. But department lead-
ers found that 264 com-
plaints against officers were
“demonstrably false” or re-
sulted in complete exonera-
tion, according to an annual
report presented Tuesday to
the Los Angeles Board of Po-
lice Commissioners. Both of
those figures rose signifi-
cantly from five and 79, re-
spectively, the prior year.
The use of body-worn
cameras has been contro-
versial as law enforcement
agencies continue to deploy
them across the country.
While the cameras cost mil-
lions to buy and maintain,
citizens and many police
leaders say the devices pro-
vide transparency in the

LAPD

calls

cameras

effective

Body cams showed 56

officer infractions in

2018 but 264 false

reports, officials say.

By Mark Puente

[SeeCameras,B2]

against the policy in April,

but a three-judge panel of

the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of

Appeals decided the follow-

ing month to put a hold on

the order.

Since then, according to a

report by The Times, more

than 37,000 migrants have

been ordered to remain in

Mexico, in cities that the U.S.

State Department consid-

ers some of the most danger-

ous in the world. Migrants

have been attacked, sexually

assaulted and extorted, and

some have died while wait-

ing, The Times found.

During Tuesday’s hear-

ing, a different three-judge

9th Circuit panel appeared

A federal appeals court

expressed concerns during a

hearing Tuesday about a

Trump administration pol-

icy that requires Central

American migrants to re-

main in Mexico while their

asylum requests are proc-

essed.

A federal judge issued

a nationwide injunction

critical of the policy.

Judge William A. Fletch-

er, an appointee of President

Clinton, noted that the new

rule does not require asylum

officers to ask migrants “a

key question” before requir-

ing them to wait in Mexico.

“You don’t even ask if

they have any kind of fear”

about remaining in Mexico,

Fletcher told a lawyer for the

federal government.

Richard A. Paez, also a

Clinton appointee, sug-

gested the panel might have

to allow the injunction to

take effect to ensure that ref-

ugees without lawyers are

asked whether they fear

MIGRANTSseeking U.S. asylum camp in Juarez, Mexico. Central American

refugees have been ordered to stay in Mexico while asylum requests are processed.

Gary CoronadoLos Angeles Times

Appeals court questions

Trump’s refugee policy

Two 9th Circuit judges

voice concerns about

forcing asylum seekers

to remain in Mexico.

By Maura Dolan

[SeeAsylum,B4]

day in federal court. He has

agreed to cooperate with the

government and testify at

trial, if called. Melissa Wein-

berger, an attorney for

Dvorskiy, declined to com-

ment.

In signing a plea deal,

Dvorskiy, a resident of Sher-

man Oaks, acknowledged he

took bribes from Singer, the

Newport Beach consultant

at the heart of the admis-

sions scandal, and in turn al-

lowed a test-fixing fraud to

be perpetrated for years at

his school.

Singer would direct his

clients — wealthy parents

The head of a West Holly-

wood private school where

dozens of wealthy parents

allegedly had their children’s

SAT and ACT exams fixed

signaled on Tuesday that he

would plead guilty and coop-

erate with investigators, a

blow to parents who have

maintained their innocence

in the college admissions

scandal.

The plea is a coup for

prosecutors, who are likely

to use the administrator to

support their argument that

William “Rick” Singer and

his clients were entwined in

a criminal conspiracy to get

their children into elite col-

leges.

Igor Dvorskiy, director of

the West Hollywood College

Preparatory School, will

plead guilty to conspiracy to

commit racketeering no lat-

er than Nov. 20, according to

a plea agreement filed Tues-

Key admissions

scandal figure

to plead guilty

West Hollywood prep

school head is accused

of helping consultant,

parents fix test scores.

By Matthew Ormseth

IGOR DVORSKIY will

cooperate with the gov-

ernment in the case.

Nathan KlimaBoston Globe

[SeeAdmissions, B5]

Operator of dive

boat suspends

fleet operations

As the probe into the

deadly fire aboard the

Conception continues,

its owner puts the

business on hold. B

Suspect flees

into corn maze

Police in the air and on

land search for two

hours before finding

the man in a Petaluma

chicken coop. B

Lottery.........................B