Eric Leonard

This is where criminal justice gets us in the state of California.

I'm investigative reporter Eric Leonard, NBC 4 News.

So there you go.

He's now out living in Glendora, a serial rapist who was supposed to be put away for 125 years.

Mayor Karen Bass and Council Member Nithya Raman made several statements about the LAPD last night that we want to revisit.

We asked our investigative reporter, Eric Leonard, to provide more context to that conversation.

He joins us now with more.

Eric, that was one of the more contentious topics.

It certainly was.

Every time I see Eric Leonard, I think two things.

One, he is a fantastic investigative reporter, and two, he was so smart to leave KFI for NBC 4 because they would have laid him off, like, 10 times already.

[laughs]

It's the Leonard Files podcast for Friday, October 9th, 2026.

I'm investigative reporter Eric Leonard from NBC Los Angeles.

All right, let's start over at L.A. City Council, where this week the council took possibly an unusual step of asserting its jurisdiction, taking authority over a decision that was made the previous week by the L.A. Board of Police Commissioners.

That's the panel appointed by the mayor that is supposed to set policy and act as oversight of the LAPD.

Wayne, her ex-husband, says that her electronics and her son's phone was seized.

The FBI told reporters that the LAPD would be leading the case going forward.

Okay, so three days pass before anyone has reported Heidi gone.

And the thing that finally told police where to look was this chip in the dog's neck, none of the other geolocation devices that could have tracked Heidi's movements.

It's the Leonard Files podcast for Friday, September 25th, 2026.

I'm investigative reporter Eric Leonard from NBC Los Angeles.

And we had some huge developments this week.

With the LAPD's use of automatic license plate readers or ALPRs, the department is moving towards what appears to be a pretty significant expansion of these systems, you know, whether you like it or not.

Ambassador Bass is demanding an independent investigation at the LAPD focused on the recent deaths of people experiencing mental health crises during a confrontation with officers.

She has directed the police oversight board to hire an outside auditor to look at the data and try to find out why this is happening.

Our investigative reporter, Eric Leonard, covers the LAPD.

Hey, that's me.

Let's find out what's going on with these license plate readers.

Well, the most significant development today is that just two months after Eric Leonard.

But then be safe.

Just two months after suspending the use of this technology, not only has the LAPD decided to restore it, but to expand it.