“I don’t intend on doing anything different,” Beck said in a story posted on the Los Angeles Times website. “We are not going to engage in law enforcement activities solely based on somebody’s immigration status. We are not going to work in conjunction with Homeland Security on deportation efforts. That is not our job, nor will I make it our job.”

The LAPD has had a policy — known as Special Order 40 — since 1979 that bars officers from initiating contact with anyone for the sole purpose of determining if they are in the country illegally. In recent years, the department has also stopped referring low-level arrestees to federal immigration authorities for possible deportation.

Trump made immigration a major issue during his presidential campaign, saying he would build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and round up people living in the country illegally and deport them. Those pledges have sparked concerns among immigrant communities in the days since Trump was elected, and contributed to protests that have been held across the country over the past week.

According to The Times, Mayor Eric Garcetti echoed Beck’s immigration stance Nov. 11 while speaking to members of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, telling the group Special Order 40 will remain in place.

“Our law enforcement officers and LAPD don’t go around asking people for their papers, nor should they,” Garcetti said. “That’s not the role of local law enforcement.”

Beck told The Times members of his command staff have been meeting with community leaders to discuss concerns over immigration enforcement.

“This is the same LAPD you had a week ago,” he said. “We have not changed because of the election. We have the same principles. We have the same values. This is not going to change the way that the Los Angeles Police Department enforces the law.”

The post Beck says LAPD won’t change immigration policies appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

John Horton, 22, was found hanging in his cell in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility on March 30, 2009.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California said Horton’s death may have been an example of negligence inside an overcrowded and troubled jail.

Lawyers for Horton’s mother, Helen Jones, said her son could have been beaten to death while in solitary confinement and that the only people who had access to him during his month in a section of the jail known as “the hole” were the deputies responsible for him.

“The hastily staged suicide scene does not shroud the simple fact that Mr. John Horton died from internal hemorrhaging caused by defendant jailers who also refused him medical and psychological care,” Jones’ attorneys alleged in their court papers.

The lawyers maintained that injuries on Horton’s neck were not the type associated with a hanging, though the county coroner found the cause of death to be “hanging and other undetermined factors.”

Horton was placed in solitary confinement after a scuffle with at least one deputy in early March 2009, according to Jones’ lawyers.

His mother said her son was incarcerated for failing to show up for his court-ordered drug program.

Attorney Anthony Luti, on behalf of Jones, said deputies failed to properly monitor Horton, who may have been suffering from mental illness after use of the hallucinogenic drug PCP.

The board agreed to pay Jones $2 million to settle the lawsuit.

In an unrelated suit with similar allegations, Earl Lee Johnson’s mother, Avean Edwards of South Los Angeles, claimed deputies beat her son nearly to death in his cell and then hung him from a bed sheet in an attempt to make it appear to be a suicide.

Earl Lee Johnson, 24, died Oct. 18, 2014, in a hospital where he lingered for three weeks after the alleged beating and hanging, according to attorney James Orland.

On the day of the alleged attack, deputies “for no justified reason, and for no lawful justification, physically assaulted and struck decedent in the head multiple times to the point where decedent was unconscious … then in an effort to cover up the unprovoked and malicious attack, hung decedent in his cell with a bed sheet,” the lawsuit alleged.

The defendants “intentionally conspired to conceal, and did conceal” the facts surrounding Johnson’s death, the complaint alleged.

Orland said his client’s son, who had been arrested in connection with a family dispute, was not convicted of any charges and had been expected to be released from jail within a few months.

The attorney said the family commissioned a private autopsy, which found the cause of death to be “blunt force trauma to the head, not strangulation.”

The board agreed to pay out $1.25 million to Edwards to settle the case.

County lawyers noted the risks of litigation in recommending settlement in both instances.

No summary of the facts was provided with the recommendation to settle in either case.

Corrective action plans — designed to prevent similar future incidents — were also not provided with the board agenda and any discussion of such plans was postponed to Dec. 6.

The post County pays $3.25 million to settle jail death lawsuits appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

Rams owners Stan Kroenke said the project will bring the former site of Hollywood Park racetrack the “most unique and fan-friendly stadium in the world.”

It is also being billed as the world’s most expensive stadium.

“We’re going to give you something to be proud of, that’s our goal,” Kroenke said. “We want to make citizens of the area, certainly the NFL and the residents of Inglewood proud of what we’re doing here. We’re gonna build a global destination. That’s what we think we can do in the entertainment capital of the world. We think people from all over the world will seek this location out.”

The stadium, with an estimated capacity of about 80,000 — expandable to as much as 100,000 for major events, is expected to include 275 luxury suites, more than 16,000 premium seats and have nearly 3 million square feet of usable space. The overall project has a price tag estimated at about $2.6 billion.

According to contractors, the stadium construction will provide more than 3,500 on-site construction jobs in Inglewood and more than 10,000 jobs by the time it is completed.

The stadium is expected to be the centerpiece of an entertainment and commercial center spanning roughly 300 acres. The district is envisioned to include a roughly 6,000-seat arena, nearly 1.5 million square feet of  retail and office space, 2,500 residential units and possibly a 300-room hotel, along with 25 acres of parks and open space.

National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league worked for 20 years to get a team back in Los Angeles, understanding that “we had to get it right.”

“And this is getting it right,” he said. “So 20 years later we got it right. And it’s really due to a tremendous amount of people. It starts with the vision of Stan Kroenke.

“He knew this was the right site. He knew in coming back to Los Angeles we had to do it big and we had to do it better than ever. And he’s got that vision. To the mayor and to all the other officials, you just have to look around and see the complexity of trying to pull off a project this big. And it takes teamwork, something we value very much in football. Teamwork is what it’s all about and that is something that we have here.

“We at the NFL couldn’t be more excited. We are confident this is going to be the place to be in 2019 and beyond, not just for football but for entertainment, events, for eating, for living, for working. That’s what’s going to come to Inglewood in the Hollywood Park area, and we couldn’t be more excited to have the NFL part of that,” Goodell said.

The post Rams break ground on new Inglewood stadium appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

“This is a good time to step back and remember our country’s strengths and those who died to give us the right to vote,” said State Sen. Tony Mendoza, D-Cerritos.

He noted recent state legislation offering disabled veterans up to 96 days sick time for treatment of their ailments and urged veterans to contact officials and learn of their benefits.

“It is our pledge to offer our gratitude to all veterans,” Mendoza said.

Sgt. Frankie DeGuzman, an Air Force veteran involved in Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s, spoke on “Americanism” and noted the “difficult changing of the guard,” saying the military will “stand fast and at the ready and embrace the new president while respecting those with different opinions.”

“Americanism means all people are created equal. We are trained to protect all people,” she said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell speaks during the Veterans Day program Nov. 11 on the north lawn of Norwalk City Hall. (Photo by Arnold Adler)

Keynote speaker, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell, said law enforcement, with close ties to veterans, will work to uphold the Constitution under the new administration.

Acknowledging their right to voice their opinions, McDonnell criticized the protests over the election of Donald Trump and said police officers are under pressure to maintain the law.

He lamented the recent wave of police officer deaths and called for leadership from those who support the Constitution.

A law enforcement officer for 35 years, McDonnell served on the Los Angeles Police Department and was police chief in Long Beach before being elected sheriff in 2014.

“This is a very difficult time in our history, with divisiveness, conflict and demonstrations,” McDonnell said. “Too many police officers have been shot. We must rise above our combative culture.”

McDonnell noted that the Sheriff’s Department has established a military and veterans affairs unit, which works with veterans groups such as the American Legion to aid veterans and advise them of benefits. He said about 350 veterans are in the county jail system and that many have mental problems. Such prisoners are given access to counseling and other services, he said.

He noted that unemployment is a problem facing many veterans and said those with military experience often make good law enforcement officers as they are familiar with self-discipline and team work.

Concerning those worried about the future, McDonnell said “the American dream is still alive to those who will work for it.”

Also participating in the program were Mayor Mike Mendez, Bradley Schoep, head of Sons of the American Legion Post No. 359; post commander Wayne Carrigan; and Becky Bullard, head of the post’s ladies’ auxiliary.

Music was provided by the Norwalk All City Youth Band, directed by Frank Hinojoz.

The post Norwalk honors veterans at ceremony appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

The fire, which started at a local warehouse, destroyed two separate facilities on the Fruitland Avenue property — Panda International Trading (PIT), a scrap metal recycling business, and SOKOR Metals, an electronics recycling business.

“First, we want to get the debris sorted, and then see if there are areas where contamination could have spread into the soil,” said Nahal Mogharabi of the EPA.

But she said that looks “unlikely” as there is a concrete base underneath the fire site.

The process, which began with site preparation on Oct. 17, will take about eight weeks to complete. It may cost up to $3 million. Removal trucks will avoid residential neighborhoods, and will not travel through East 52nd Street, according to the EPA.

The lingering smell was the biggest concern among residents after they returned to their homes, according to Jason Musante, an EPA federal on-scene coordinator.

“It smells like burned-up stuff, like being next to a campfire,” he said. “Removing the material will get rid of it.”

The EPA also is concerned about arsenic, cadmium, chromium and lead and mercury. The agency stated that they have put protective measures in place to guard nearby residents against dust and debris.

Among the measures are installing a debris curtain along the boundary between the facility and the neighboring residential properties, as well as applying a soil sealant that acts like glue on the dirt.

The agency also installed erosion controls around the site’s perimeter to prevent rain from spreading ash or soil offsite.

And finally, five temporary air monitor stations, placed both upwind and downwind from the site, will collect samples and measure the total dust in the air. The agency will review those in real time.

The stations are supposed to check for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), materials that easily become vapors or gases. They can cause health problems such as eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches, loss of coordination and nausea. So far, none have been detected in the air.

The fire, which took place June 14, caused an evacuation of about 300 residents.

When fire crews began pouring water on the flames, the oxygen from the water caused a chemical reaction with the burning magnesium, one of the metals being stored at the warehouse. The effect produced strong explosions and what one fire official described as “fireballs.”

The county Board of Supervisors declared a local emergency June 21, due to hazardous levels of magnesium found in the fire ash. Supervisor Hilda Solis reached out to Gov. Jerry Brown, asking that he declare a state emergency. Both motions were unanimously approved.

The post EPA removing waste from Maywood fire site appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

“The ordinance is not written in stone,” Mayor Dan Koops said. “Your concerns will be considered. This is a work in progress.”

The council hired the legal firm of Fairbank, Maslin, Maulin, Metz and Associates, based in Los Angeles, to conduct a survey of residents and propose a ballot issue for the March 7 municipal election as to how much of a tax could or should be placed on marijuana operations if council goes ahead with the ordinance.

City estimates have ranged from $3 to $4 million a year in fees and tax revenue. The amount of the tax would be decided March 7.

Final action Nov. 14 was delayed because of the absence of Mayor Pro Tem Ron Schnablegger, who supported the item Oct. 10 along with Councilmen Ray Dunton and Sonny Santa Ines. Koops and Councilman Juan Garza did not support the law at that time, saying they needed to study it more.

Koops said the two have reviewed the ordinance since then and are ready to vote on second reading.

The Bellflower ordinance would take effect only if Proposition 64 on the state ballot Nov. 8 legalizing the recreational use or marijuana was approved.

It was approved by a large majority of state residents as well as Bellflower voters, City Manager Jeff Stewart said, acknowledging that the city “didn’t want to miss the train” at a chance for needed revenue when the current seven percent utility tax hike of November 2012 expires April 1, 2018. After that, the tax would go back to 5 percent.

Stewart denied complaints that the city tried to keep the ordinance “under cover,” saying it was discussed openly at various meetings the past year. He noted that Bellflower residents overwhelmingly approved Proposition 64 and will have another chance March 7 on the proposed tax.

“If there is no tax, there is no ordinance,” said Santa Ines, saying it will be up to voters.

“We can’t build a fence around Bellflower. Marijuana users will still drive through the city,” Dunton said. He said he has discussed the issues with officials of other cities as they try to cope with the situation.

“We are entering uncharted territory,” Dunton said.

Under the state law, which takes effect January 2018, marijuana operations must have both a state and a city permit. Cities can ban all marijuana commercial operations but must allow individuals to grow and use a small amount in their homes.

Under the Bellflower law, which can exceed state requirements, only those age 21 or over may use marijuana or be involved in marijuana operations. Each operation, whether a dispensary or indoor cultivation site, must be 600 feet from a park, school or church.

Two protesters, who said they work with young people to prevent drug or alcohol use, said the Bellflower law would make marijuana more available to young people.

“You should wait to see what the state does before you move ahead,” said Tosin Bulogun, who added “there is no way to judge the legal limits of marijuana on drivers. This law will not reduce crime. I don’t see how it will improve health and public safety.”

“I am shocked at the proposal of 12 sites. Is the city that hard up for money?” asked Cerritos College trustee John Drayer, a Bellflower resident.

Told that the number of marijuana sites would probably be less than 12, Maurina Cintron, who had her two daughters beside her as she spoke, said “I don’t want to see any marijuana sites, recreational or medical, in the city.”

Cintron said there were 22,000 young people in the area which could be affected and said the council is replacing parents in governing their children.

She said presence of such sites would discourage establishment of new businesses.

“The cat is out of the bag,” said former resident Carrington Alexander, referring to the state approval. He said the council should not let a few impose their views on the majority and the city should “get on the train” as surrounding cities will probably offer marijuana sales.

Long Beach is expected to do so. Norwalk has placed a moratorium on any marijuana permits pending more study while Downey has taken no action on the issue yet, a spokesperson there said.

Stewart said the council did consider reports from Colorado and Washington state on increased use of marijuana by youths and traffic-related accidents.

He noted that for years the city has spent up to $100,000 on legal costs and law enforcement efforts to shut down illegal marijuana dispensaries and that the ordinance would make it easier regulate them.

“There have been illegal marijuana dispensaries in Bellflower for years. We shut one down and another pops up,” Koops said.

The post Bellflower delays action on marijuana ordinance appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

The City Council Nov. 15 unanimously voted to name the facility after the Fourth District county supervisor who is retiring in December after 20 years of service.

Completion and opening are estimated in March, officials said.

In a report to the council, Administrative Services Manager Adriana Figueroa said that in 2015 Knabe was instrumental in negotiations with Los Angeles County leading to the county agreement to lease and operate the facility and conduct improvements.

That action will save Norwalk from $200,000 to $250,000 a year in operating costs, City Manager Mike Egan said.

The upgrade includes renovation of the course, construction of a two-story driving range, a community building and a program offering golf lessons and recreation opportunities to area youth, Figueroa said.

Knabe provided initial funding in 2001 to create the Los Angeles County Junior Golf Program, which teaches youngsters the art of golf and essential life skills such as discipline, character, integrity and honor, Figueroa said.

Norwalk youth will be able to learn and practice the game of golf while being taught problem solving skills, visioning, patience and maturity, she added.

“He believes golf provides children with learning opportunities and countless life lessons as they develop into adulthood,” Figueroa said.

“Supervisor Knabe has made children and families a priority during his term in public office and has contributed to community programs at the Norwalk Cultural Arts Center, purchase of playground equipment, internships and music programs,” Figueroa said.

Prior to serving as supervisor, Knabe served as an aide to Supervisor Deane Dana and before that was mayor of Cerritos, where he and wife still reside.

The post Norwalk to rename golf course in honor of Supervisor Knabe appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

Despite President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the Electoral College, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton currently leads the popular vote by nearly 1 million votes.

“In my lifetime, I have seen two elections where the winner of the general election did not win the popular vote,” Boxer said. “The Electoral College is an outdated, undemocratic system that does not reflect our modern society, and it needs to change immediately. Every American should be guaranteed that their vote counts.”

Boxer’s legislation would amend the Constitution of the United States to abolish the Electoral College. The long-shot amendment would take effect only if ratified by three-fourths of the states within seven years after its passage by Congress.

“In 2012, Donald Trump tweeted, ‘The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy,’” Boxer said. “I couldn’t agree more. One person, one vote.”

As of Nov. 15, Clinton has 61,329,657 votes and Trump has 60,530,867. It is the fifth time in history that a nominee has won the popular vote but not the Electoral College.

It last happened to Al Gore in 2000, when he lost to George W. Bush.

California voters Nov. 8 elected Boxer’s successor, the state’s first new U.S. senator in 24 years. State Attorney General Kamala Harris will be the first black politician in history to represent California in the Senate.

While Boxer was introducing her bill in Congress, a Hillary Clinton supporter in Los Angeles was suing the 538 members of the Electoral College in a last-ditch effort to prevent Trump from taking office, court papers show.

John S. Birke, a Los Angeles attorney, filed the federal complaint alleging that the electors’ votes for Trump are poised to violate the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment and the “fundamental principle of ‘one person, one vote.’”

Birke contends that unless the court issues injunctive relief, the members of the Electoral College on Dec. 19 “will effectively cause a single vote for Clinton to be valued less than a single vote for Trump,” thus violating the one person, one vote guarantee.

“Fundamental rights trump a procedure — no pun intended,” Birke said, further arguing that Trump’s election should not be allowed if Clinton is ahead in the popular vote.

The attorney said he reacted to Trump’s win with “absolute shock, disgust and horror — followed by two days of wanting to stay under the covers with the lights off.”

Birke said that, ideally, a single Clinton voter in every state would file an identical lawsuit in order to bolster his claims.

The post Electoral college target of bill in Congress, lawsuit appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

The walkout marked the sixth consecutive day of protests over the results of the Nov. 8 presidential election.

No protests were reported during the day Nov. 15, a week after Election Day.

The student protests came despite warnings from Los Angeles Unified School District officials calling for students to remain on campus and find other ways of making their feelings known.

“Although it has been nearly a week since the presidential election, many students remain concerned about the outcome and want their voices to be heard,” LAUSD Superintendent Michelle King said.

“These are important conversations that need to take place. We want our students to know they are not alone. However, it is critical that students not allow their sentiments to derail their education or for their actions to place them in danger. Students should limit their activities to non-instructional time and — for their own safety and to follow the law — they should remain on campus.”

Students from Garfield High School walked out of class around 8:30 a.m. Nov. 14 and began marching toward Los Angeles City Hall and Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights. The students marched despite a large red sign hanging near the front door advising students not to walk out but to “Walk in.”

By late morning, students from campuses including Roosevelt, Lincoln and Mendez high schools joined in the march, all walking toward the Civic Center area where they planned to converge for a large-scale rally.

Students from South Gate High School reportedly left school and were seen marching down residential streets near the school.

“We will not accept Trump’s sexism, racism, his put-down of LGBT folks,” one student told ABC7 as she marched.

Other students said they felt compelled to march to make their voices heard and demand that they and their immigrant families be protected.

Earlier, Los Angeles police warned of the impending demonstrations in a statement that stated: “It is very difficult to ensure the safety of children when they leave the safe confines of their school campuses.”

The statement encouraged parents “to discuss with their children the importance of abiding by the law and ensuring that any expression of opinion should be done in a lawful, safe and peaceful manner.”

Police warned that protesters who are not peaceful and lawful are subject to arrest for such violations as obstruction of movement of vehicles and people, refusal to obey a lawful order by a law enforcement officer, vandalism and refusal to disperse after an unlawful assembly is declared.

On Nov. 13, about 300 Los Angeles area demonstrators marched from the outskirts of Hollywood to CNN studios, police said.

The march began in the area of Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue, and went to the CNN Hollywood Studios at Sunset and Cahuenga boulevards, according to Officer Sal Ramirez of the LAPD’s Media Relations Section.

Two of the three eastbound lanes on Hollywood Boulevard were blocked, as protesters took the curb lane and police guarded them in the center eastbound lane.

Twelve blocks away on Nov. 12, police estimated that about 20 pro-Trump activists had gathered at his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. No arrests were made.

Dozens of people gathered at City Hall later that evening and the crowd grew to about 300, according to media accounts. The group took to the streets for hours.

That protest was much smaller than the demonstration with approximately 10,000 people earlier in the day, which converged on MacArthur Park and embarked on an almost four-mile walk downtown to the Edward Roybal Federal Building.

It was organized by the Union del Barrio activist group and was joined by several other organizations. There were no arrests in the morning in contrast to protests the previous evenings.

The post Students join protests over election results appeared first on Wave Newspapers.

On a quest to help others, James A. Stevens saw the heartbreak nationwide police shootings have caused members of the black and brown communities as well as law enforcement. He also realized that his son was having a tough time with those stories, and the fact that police also were often stopping him and his friends.

Stevens said the Mutual Dignity app he has developed would virtually wipe out racial profiling.

The program includes a decal on the back of vehicles to let police know the driver is enrolled in the program. The driver receives a folder to hold the three items police require during a traffic stop: driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance.

The Mutual Dignity smartphone application live streams the stop to social networks and sends a form to the local mayor’s office, the governor’s office, and the federal Department of Justice. He says the app, now in the patenting process, will ultimately either exonerate people involved in the traffic stops, or serve as evidence.

“The main reason I created the app is to make it a deterrent to keep citizens from bad behavior and also to keep police officers from bad behavior,” Stevens said.

James Stevens

Stevens has had run-ins with bad behavior of another sort. He hass created the Mutual Dignity app through his Justice Inc. Foundation as a way to give back, following a multimillion dollar jury verdict against Vons, his employer of 26 years, for sexual harassment more than a decade ago.

Stevens said the harassment began in 2000 when he started getting unwanted attention from a woman in the deli department at Vons. He went there to order a 
chicken box lunch each day, and each day she would try to get him to call out the names of the 
pieces of chicken he wanted. Each day he refused.

Then she was promoted and became his boss. He was the accountant for her department, and maintains he did everything by the book.

“Growing up, my dad told me to always work as if God is watching you,” he said.

Stevens said his boss would put a wood-handled feather duster in between her legs, and suggest it as a metaphor for 
sexual activity. She would ask him if it was true what they said about black men and their 
sexual prowess, and that wasn’t the worst of it.

“I tried to avoid her at all costs,” Stevens said. “It made me feel like I didn’t have any rights. I felt helpless.”

Stevens said he never engaged in the dirty talk with her and that seemed to fascinate her. He resisted reporting the incidents for two years because, Stevens said, seven others had complained about her in the past and they all had been fired.

When he decided it was time to report her to Human Resources, she had beaten him to it. He said HR turned the tables on him, and accused him of being the harasser. With no notice, HR told him he would be transferred to another location that Stevens called the “armpit” of Vons stores.

He said in his first year, he saved that particular store $1 million worth of inventory loss, but still that store’s manager and HR department set up a sting operation, accused him of donating unsellable products to a Simi Valley church and used that allegation to fire him.

He once again had to pack up and leave. He says the higher-ups “perp-walked” him through the store the way police sometimes parade a suspect in front of cameras and witnesses. He said he cried all the way home.

At that point, Stevens decided to sue Vons for his job back. He went to 35 attorneys who all laughed in his face, he said. After all, sexual harassment victims are supposed to be women, right?

Determined to set the record straight, he finally found a lawyer, Roxanne Davis, who believed him.

Throughout the course of his lawsuit, Stevens found out his home was bugged, the brakes suddenly went out on his car, his wife and kids left him and he fell into a deep depression.

He plotted how he would kill himself, but forced the suicidal thoughts out of his head when he looked up and saw his daughter’s pink swing in the back yard. If he died, who would push her in the swing? He wanted to be there for her and his two sons.

His lawyer was finally able to bring the famous attorney Gloria Allred and her partner Nathan Goldberg aboard and took his case to trial.

Stevens spent six long weeks in the same courtroom that Rodney King won his 1992 police brutality civil rights verdict. After navigating around a judge Stevens said was clearly biased, the jury came back with an $18.4 million judgment, more than the $10 million his lawyers had requested, as a way to send a clear message to Vons.

In an unusual twist, however, the judge threw out the verdict and forced Stevens to take only $2.4 million.  Vons paid him that amount, but Stevens decided to fight for the original jury award. He went through the appellate court and the state Supreme Court and lost.

He tried to get a hearing twice at the U.S. Supreme Court, but was denied. By that time, his funds dwindled from payments to attorneys and deciding to give a large chunk to his ex-wife.

Now James is writing a book and has since connected with Hollywood heavyweights about his life story. Big names like Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez and Halle Berry are showing interest. He just wrapped up production on a TV show based on his story.

Throughout all of this, Stevens remains heart-broken about losing his family. He decided to make his life’s mission about helping anyone who found themselves having to navigate the court system, broke, and on the verge of losing their families. He created a foundation called Justice Inc. to address those needs.

That leads back to the app. Through his Justice Inc. Foundation he is patenting his design and hopes to release the app in December.

He has approached President-Elect Donald Trump’s team about it, and said they have been receptive. He says the app’s logo will look like the decal drivers will place on their vehicles. He hopes it ultimately saves lives.

Stevens said he refused to stop fighting when all the odds were against him, and that he will keep fighting for what’s right, despite the steep price he has paid in the past.

“My story overall is to always do the right thing, even though it may cost you everything,” he said.

The post Man uses lawsuit winnings to create app for traffic stops appeared first on Wave Newspapers.