The officers — Timothy Popplewell, Richard Cranford and Raymond Olivares — are all military veterans who were awarded a 100% disability rating through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Their attorney argues that the officers lawfully qualified for the plates, which provide benefits such as exemption from vehicle registration fees and access to disabled parking privileges.

However, the Riverside Police Department has questioned whether the officers were eligible to receive the plates while continuing to perform full police duties, according to statements from their attorney, Matthew McNicholas.

McNicholas contends the department’s reasoning misunderstands how veteran disability ratings work under federal guidelines. A veteran may receive a combined 100% disability rating based on multiple service-related conditions, which can include issues such as hearing damage, post-traumatic stress disorder, or physical injuries. According to the attorney, these conditions do not necessarily prevent a person from maintaining employment.

To obtain disabled veteran license plates in California, applicants must provide documentation from a physician or an official veterans’ agency confirming the qualifying disability.

The dispute began last May when the officers were placed on administrative leave while the department conducted an internal investigation into their use of the plates. Their attorneys say the officers were later asked by supervisors to remove the plates from their personal vehicles.

Three of the officers refused the request, arguing they had obtained the plates legally. A fourth officer who had similar plates reportedly complied with the department’s request and has not faced disciplinary action.

In July, the three officers filed a lawsuit in Riverside County Superior Court alleging they were subjected to discrimination and harassment based on their veteran and disability status.

City officials discussed the case during a closed Riverside City Council meeting in late February to determine whether a settlement should be reached. The council ultimately voted not to settle the lawsuit, according to attorneys involved in the case.

Shortly afterward, the officers received formal notices indicating the department intended to terminate their employment.

The Riverside Police Department has declined to comment publicly on the case or the officers’ current employment status, citing confidentiality rules related to personnel matters.

Attorneys representing the officers say the termination process is not yet final. The officers are expected to have the opportunity to challenge the department’s decision during an internal appeal hearing.

All three men served overseas before joining the Riverside Police Department in 2019. Popplewell served in Iraq during his military career, while Cranford also deployed to Iraq and Olivares served in the Marine Corps with assignments in the Middle East and Africa.

The legal dispute continues as both sides prepare for further proceedings.

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The man, whose age and identity were not released, was contacted by police officers shortly after 6:30 a.m. Friday. They were summoned to a McDonald’s in the 7400 block of Indiana Avenue after employees at the fast-food chain called about a man who had locked himself inside the restroom and was not responding.

“The business requested prosecution for trespassing, and when officers arrived, they had the man exit the restroom,” according to the Riverside Police Department. “The man became combative and force was used to detain him.”

While being treated by paramedics, the man “remained combative” before going into medical distress, the Riverside Police Department said.

“He was transported to a local hospital where medical staff provided treatment for over an hour,” the law enforcement agency said. “Despite their efforts, the man later died.”

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office are assisting with the death investigation.

No further details were released.

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Just after 2:30 a.m., deputies arrived at Old Town Front Street and 3rd Street regarding an assault with a deadly weapon investigation, according to a spokesperson from the Southwest Sheriff’s Station.

A 911 caller advised officers that a man was stabbed. Arriving emergency responders found the victim, who had sustained non-life-threatening injuries, according to Southwest Station deputies. He was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

During the investigation, the road was closed at Old Town Front Street at Main Street and Old Town Front Street at 2nd Street.

Sgt. Wenndy Brito-Gonzalez told Patch that no arrests have been made as of Monday morning, and the investigation is ongoing.

Old Town Front Street was briefly closed while the investigation was being conducted and reopened about 6 a.m. Sunday.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call 951-696-3000 or 951-776-1099.

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The crash occurred at 5:09 p.m. Sunday in the intersection of Magnolia Avenue and Myers Street, in the Arlington area, according to Riverside police Sgt. Emilio Angulo.

Arriving officers and firefighters found the motorcyclist suffering from severe injuries, Angulo said. “The motorcyclist was transported to a local hospital and later succumbed to his injuries.”

His identity was not immediately released.

The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash remained at the scene and was cooperating with the investigation, Angulo said.

It was not known whether drugs or alcohol were contributing factors in the crash, he said.

Anyone with information was urged to contact Traffic Detective Jeff Derouin at 951-826-8722 or Jderouin@riversideca.gov.

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Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing, the report said.

News of the allegations surfaced last week when local officials released a brief statement confirming that a woman had accused Hegseth of sexual assault in October 2017 after he had spoken at a Republican women’s event in Monterey.

“The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared,” Hegseth told reporters Thursday at the Capitol, where he was meeting with senators to build support for his nomination.

The report does not say that police found the allegations were false. Police recommended the case report be forwarded to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office for review.

Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni said Thursday that her office declined to file charges in January of 2018 because they didn’t have “proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Tim Palatore, Hegseth’s attorney, has said the woman who made the allegations was paid an undisclosed sum in 2023 as part of a confidential settlement to head off the threat of what he described as a baseless lawsuit.

The 22-page police report was released in response to a public records request and offers the first detailed account of what the woman alleged to have transpired — one that is at odds with Hegseth’s version of events. The report cited police interviews with the alleged victim, a nurse who treated her, a hotel staffer, another woman at the event and Hegseth.

The woman’s name was not released, and The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually assaulted.

A spokeswoman for the Trump transition said Thursday that the “report corroborates” what Hegseth’s legal team has been saying “all along.”

Investigators were first alerted to the alleged assault, the report said, by a nurse who called them after a patient requested a sexual assault exam. The patient told medical personnel she believed she was assaulted five days earlier but couldn’t remember much about what had happened. She reported something may have been slipped into her drink before ending up in the hotel room where she said the assault occurred.

Police collected the unwashed dress and underwear she had worn that night, the report said.

The woman’s partner, who was staying at the hotel with her, told police that he was worried about her that night after she didn’t come back to their room. At 2 a.m., he went to the hotel bar, but she wasn’t there. She made it back a few hours later, apologizing that she “must have fallen asleep.” A few days later, she told him she had been sexually assaulted.

The woman, who helped organize the California Federation of Republican Women gathering at which Hegseth spoke, told police that she had witnessed the TV anchor acting inappropriately throughout the night and saw him stroking multiple women’s thighs. She texted a friend that Hegseth was giving off a “creeper” vibe, according to the report.

After the event, the woman and others attended an after-party in a hotel suite where she said she confronted Hegseth, telling him that she “did not appreciate how he treated women,” the report states.

A group of people, including Hegseth and the woman, decamped for the hotel’s bar. That’s when “things got fuzzy,” the woman told police.

She remembered having a drink at the bar with Hegseth and others, the police report states. She also told police that she argued with Hegseth near the hotel pool, an account that is supported by a hotel staffer who was sent to handle the disturbance and spoke to police, according to the report.

Soon, she told police, she was inside a hotel room with Hegseth, who took her phone and blocked the door with his body so that she could not leave, according to the report. She also told police she remembered “saying ‘no’ a lot,” the report said.

Her next memory was of lying on a couch or bed with a bare-chested Hegseth hovering over her, his dog tags dangling, the report states. Hegseth served in the National Guard, rising to the rank of major.

After Hegseth finished, she recalled he threw a towel at her and asked if she was “OK,” the report states. She told police she did not recall how she got back to her own hotel room and had since suffered from nightmares and memory loss.

At the time of the alleged assault, Hegseth, now 44, was going through a divorce with his second wife, with whom he has three children. She filed for divorce after he had a child with a Fox News producer who is now his third wife, according to court records and social media posts by Hegseth. His first marriage ended in 2009, also after infidelity by Hegseth, according to court records.

Hegseth, who joined Fox News as a contributor in 2014 before becoming co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend,” left the network after Trump announced his intention to nominate him.

Hegseth said he attended an after party and drank beer but did not consume liquor, and acknowledged being “buzzed” but not drunk.

He said he met the woman at the hotel bar, and she led him by the arm back to his hotel room, which surprised him because he initially had no intention of having sex with her, the report said.

Hegseth told investigators that the sexual encounter that followed was consensual, adding that he explicitly asked more than once if she was comfortable. Hegseth said in the morning the woman “showed early signs of regret,” and he assured her that he wouldn’t tell anyone about the encounter.

Hegseth’s attorney said a payment was made to the woman as part of a confidential settlement a few years after the police investigation because Hegseth was concerned that she was prepared to file a lawsuit that he feared could have resulted in him being fired from Fox News, where he was a popular host. The attorney would not reveal the amount of the payment.

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Investigators don’t yet know what the suspect, Richard Thomas Martinez, 48, and the victim, 31-year-old Bradley Minder, argued about, police said.

Minder’s family last heard from him over the weekend and called Riverside police on Tuesday night, Oct. 15, said Officer Ryan Railsback, a police spokesman. Around 7:45 p.m. that night, officers went to the 8700 block of Sylvan Drive in the Arlanza neighborhood where Minder lived.

Railsback said he believes at least three people lived there.

Officers learned that the suspect allegedly said to at least one other person he killed a roommate, police said. Officers then detained him.

There was freshly disturbed dirt in the backyard, Railsback said, so detectives, forensic specialists and Riverside County sheriff’s cadaver dogs were called in.

The dogs alerted them about the disturbed dirt, and detectives dug and saw part of a body, Railsback said. The Riverside Sheriff-Coroner’s Office recovered the body.

“We don’t believe the victim was shot or stabbed,” Railsback said.

Martinez was arrested on suspicion of murder early Wednesday morning. As of Friday morning, he was being held without the possibility of bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center.

On Friday, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office charged Martinez with murder. They also alleged that Martinez personally used deadly and dangerous weapons, in this case a hammer, a shovel and a knife, while committing the crime, according to the criminal complaint.

Police asked anyone with information about the case to contact Detective Ricky Barajas at 951-353-7213 or at EBarajas@RiversideCA.gov.

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According to the Riverside Police Department, officers launched a School Threat Assessment and Response (STAR) investigation Monday night after parents from Central Middle School flagged a concerning Instagram post.

Police said the post showed a student holding what looked like a gun and contained a list of classmates’ names. Investigators worked through the night to identify the boy with help from the school resource officer.

According to police, a search of the student’s home uncovered a “realistic” toy gun, and the boy was arrested and booked into juvenile detention on suspicion of making criminal threats and conspiracy. Investigators said they expected a second student would also be charged with conspiracy.

The arrest comes amid a wave of similar social media threats reported in Southern California and nationally in recent weeks, leading to the arrests of students as young as 11.

Police in Riverside ask that threatening posts be reported to the city’s non-emergency line at 951-354-2007. Social media posts that suggest potential school violence, but without a specific threat, can be reported via the Atlas 1 mobile app.

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The incident in Riverside is the latest in a rash of threats plaguing California schools in recent weeks, prompting police investigations, school lockdowns and arrests of suspects as young as 11. Over the last week, authorities have also investigated non-credible threats at schools in the Bay Area and in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties.

In Riverside, where a student was recently for allegedly making threats at Arlington High School, police said another incident happened Friday at Chemawa Middle School.

“This caused significant concern among parents, prompting many to withdraw their children early due to safety fears,” the department wrote on Facebook. “Our school resource officers promptly launched an investigation to trace the origin of this threat and ensure the safety of the school community.”

Police said tips rolled in over the weekend concerning a student believed to be responsible for the threat. On Tuesday, the school resource officer identified a 13-year-old girl as the alleged culprit. She is accused of posting a threat on social media, followed by a second post naming “targeted classmates.”

According to investigators, a search of the girl’s home confirmed she had no access to weapons. She was booked into a juvenile detention facility on suspicion of making criminal threats. Following the arrest, police leaders reiterated the serious consequences of making any kind of threat, even if it turns out to be a hoax.

“These recent disruptions to our schools must stop immediately so that our children can focus on their education,” said Larry Gonzalez, Riverside’s police chief. “Students who make threats of school violence on social media or by other means will face strict criminal consequences and severe disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion. We will not tolerate any behavior that undermines the safety and security of our schools.”

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The Santa Barbara County, Calif., Sheriff’s Office said it arrested two suspects this month after they were tracked down using an Apple AirTag that the victim mailed to herself in hopes of catching the thieves who kept stealing her mail.

Deputies said they responded to a call on the morning of Aug. 19 for a report of a mail theft that had just taken place at the Los Alamos, Calif., Post Office, according to the release.

When they arrived, deputies discovered that the woman — who was not identified by authorities — had recently had mail stolen from her post office box, the sheriff’s office said.

So, to take matters into her own hands, she mailed herself a package with an AirTag inside it.

Once her mail was stolen again that morning, with the AirTag included in the package, she quickly contacted the police, the department said.

Authorities were able to track the AirTag and the suspects in Santa Maria, Calif. Officials said they found the woman’s mail — including the package containing the AirTag — in addition to other items that police believe were stolen from more than a dozen victims.

Deputies located and arrested Virginia Franchessca Lara, 27, and Donald Ashton Terry, 37, in connection with the crime, the department said. Lara was booked on several felonies — including possession of checks with intent to commit fraud, fictitious checks, identity theft, credit card theft, and conspiracy, the department said.

Jail records show she was held on a $50,000 bond.

Terry was booked and faces charges related to burglary, possession of checks with intent to commit fraud, credit card theft, identity theft, and conspiracy. The department said he was also booked on several theft-related warrants from Riverside County, Calif.

Terry was being held on a $460,000 bond, according to jail records.

Attorneys representing the two suspects did not respond to NPR’s immediate request for comment regarding their arrests.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office thanked the victim for taking a “proactive approach” to locating her stolen mail and for not attempting to confront the suspects herself. The case, according to authorities, remains under investigation as they continue to identify other victims.

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How it got there is still unsolved.

“It remains unknown how the item got to its location or who might be responsible,” Las Vegas police said Friday in a series of posts on X announcing the removal of the glimmering, 6-foot-4 prism.

Its discovery over the weekend, and quick removal because of public safety and environmental concerns, revived a pandemic-era mystery that captured the public’s imagination when shiny monoliths evoking the object that appears in the Stanley Kubrick movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” began to appear around the globe.

Members of the Las Vegas police search and rescue team found the object near Gass Peak, part of the vast Desert National Wildlife Refuge where bighorn sheep and desert tortoises can be found roaming.

It was the latest discovery in a series of mysterious columns that have popped up since at least 2020.

In November of that year, a similar metal monolith was found deep in the Mars-like landscape of Utah’s red-rock desert. Then came sightings in Romania, central California, New Mexico and on the famed Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas.

All of them disappeared as quickly as they popped up, adding to the lore.

“This thing is not from another world,” Lt. Nick Street of Utah’s Department of Public Safety said at the time.

The Utah monolith, believed to be the first in the series, had been embedded in the rock in an area so remote that officials didn’t immediately reveal its location for fear of people getting lost or stranded while trying to find it. But internet sleuths quickly found the coordinates, and hordes of curious tourists eager to see and touch the otherworldly object arrived, flattening plants with their cars and leaving behind human waste in the bathroom-free backcountry.

Authorities said the same concerns led them to tear down the latest monolith on Thursday.

It was illegally installed on federal land established to protect bighorn sheep and is home to rare plants and desert tortoises. The Desert National Wildlife Refuge, which is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the largest wildlife refuge outside of Alaska and can cover the state of Rhode Island twice.

Christa Weise, acting manager of the wildlife refuge, confirmed Friday that the monolith had been removed but said she couldn’t comment on whether federal authorities have opened a criminal investigation.

The police department said the object was being kept at a secret location while authorities try to figure out the best way to dispose or store the massive structure made out of a reflective sheet of metal that was molded into a prism and secured with rebar and concrete.

Photos accompanying the department’s social media posts showed the object on its side after its removal, which left a large indent in the ground because the rebar had been buried deep into the dirt and rocks.

The department said it “discourages anyone from venturing off marked trails or leaving objects and items behind.”

“This poses a danger to you and the environment,” Las Vegas police said.

In Utah, the removal of the monolith there also left behind a hole in the red rock. The Bureau of Land Management said Friday that it was still actively investigating the Utah case.

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