LAPD Deploying More Officers On The Ground, Air After Baton Rouge, Chief Beck Says

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck says officers responding to calls will get increased support on the ground and from helicopter units in response to the shooting deaths of three law enforcement officers in Louisiana.

Beck spoke to reporters Sunday before attending an anti-violence summit of gang members organized by the rapper The Game. The chief called the gathering a "great first step" toward curbing violence in LA neighborhoods.

Beck, with a black band on his badge, said all officers would be in uniform Monday. He said all officers responding to emergency calls will have backup.

"Police officers are the most likely victims of gun violence in the country and sometimes I think that gets forgotten," Beck told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO. "And so, as we reduce general levels of violence to make police officers safer, we make the community safer, we allow us to do our job in a much better way."

Three Baton Rouge law enforcement officers investigating a report of a man with an assault rifle were killed Sunday, less than two weeks after a black man was fatally shot by police in the city during a confrontation that sparked nightly protests that reverberated nationwide.

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