A 12-year-old boy was shot in the chest while playing tag Thursday night in a drive-by shooting on Chicago's Southwest Side.

The boy was outside in the 3000 block of West 54th Street of Chicago’s Gage Park neighborhood playing tag with friends around 9 p.m. when a red car pulled up and the driver took out a gun, witnesses told police.

Some of the children were even younger than 12, according to authorities. The boy was the only one struck by a bullet. He was hit in the chest and rushed to Mt. Sinai in critical condition, authorities said.

Family members said the boy is in school and does not have a criminal history.

Chicago police detectives were on the scene for several hours Thursday night. There are no suspects in custody and a motive is unclear, according to authorities.

The warm weather in Chicago is a big concern for Andrew Holmes with the community group Chicago Survivors, who worries mild temperatures could set the stage for more violence.

He hopes it isn't a precursor to a bloody weekend in the city.

"First and foremost, I just hope that he can heal up," Holmes said. "Anything can change overnight. Anything can change in the morning. But, then again, you have to look towards the weekend when the weather's getting warm. And children haven't been outside in a while. So it's getting warm and they're going to want to be outside a little longer."

A man was found dead Friday near an outlet mall located along the U.S.-Mexico border south of San Diego.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees called San Diego Police around 4:50 a.m. to report the discovery of a male body near a drainage area.

SDPD officials tell NBC 7 there appears to be no obvious signs of trauma. They are awaiting members of the county’s medical examiner’s office to arrive. 

No further information was immediately available.

Refresh this page for updates on this breaking news story.

A "firenado" formed in Missouri on Wednesday as a massive brush fire swept through Platte County, burning more than 1,000 acres of land amid whipping winds.

The fire took over 75 firefighters about eight hours to subdue the flames, according to NBC affiliate KHSB.

Whirling winds caused some of the flames to swirl up in tornado-like funnels, catching the eyes of firefighters on the scene. Deputy Chief Dean Cull of the Southern Platte Fire Protection District shot a video of the "firenado" and posted it on Facebook.

The fire, which according to officials was caused by the spark of a lawn mower, started at about 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, affecting both the Leavenworth and Platte County regions of Missouri. A small business near the flames in Platte County was evacuated, but most residents avoided vacating their homes during the 1,300-acre burn. 

KHSB reported that the National Weather Service issued a Fire Weather Warning for the affected areas until Thursday evening.

No injuries were reported but two to three buildings, mostly older barns in the area, were destroyed. 

McDonald's customers in South Korea will soon be able to pair their favorite fast-food with a cold beer, NBC News reports.

The franchise plans to offer beer with "premium" burgers at its newest location in Seongnam, near the South Korean capital of Seoul.

Starting Feb. 22, when the restaurant opens, the "Signature Burger," which costs about US$6, can be upgraded for an additional fee to include a choice of draft beer.

Although McDonald's offers alcoholic beverages in various European locations, this will be the first time an Asian location will serve anything besides soft drinks since 2004. 

After years of dealing with a broken-down and worn-out fleet, San Diego firefighters will be getting a big infusion of new engines.

At one time, so many were in the shop, the city didn't have enough qualified mechanics to get them fixed. Private consultants have warned the city that it has too many gaps in fire coverage.

Its engines log a lot of mileage -- wear and tear that takes a toll on what's called "useful life."

They’re not cheap, and for the longest time, the city's finances were such that it couldn't afford many new ones.

Now that situation is starting to change. For the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD), a huge boost in efficiency and morale is almost in sight.

"Our apparatus that we're using right now are really getting run into the ground -- as are the personnel,” said Alan Arrollado, president of San Diego City Fire Fighters Local 145

“We've got several rigs that regularly run over 20 calls a day,” Arrollado noted in an interview Thursday. "Our call volume has increased from about 70,000 to 140,000 in the span of about 25 years. And we really haven't added many fire apparatus to address that call volume."

Ten a year, on average.

But in one fell swoop this year, the SDFD is getting city council authorization for $25 million to bring on 31 new rigs -- with "useful lives" projected at between 12 and 18 years.

San Diego's engines tend to get a lot of use, racking up 200,000 miles in a hurry; city mechanics get precious few breaks from performing repairs and routine maintenance.

The way things work is the newer rigs in the SDFD are the ones assigned to the front-line fleet of 48.

It's the 32 in the reserve fleet that are the most concerning.

"That's where our weakness is today,” said Deputy Chief Kevin Ester, who oversees the department’s logistical issues.

“We don't treat the reserve fleet any differently than the front-line fleet,” Ester told NBC 7, “because if a company needs to go into a reserve engine, the community expects it to have the same capability as the fire engine that was there yesterday does."

That expectation is more reasonable than when the department, in a budget crunch not too many years back, had to "brown out" several engines a day for 17 months.

“You know, times were what they were, money-wise, and those kind of things,” City Councilman Scott Sherman pointed out. “We're now at a point where some of the reforms that we've been doing, and a good economy, the money's in the right position, and it's time to start re-investing into the infrastructure that quite frankly, taxpayers think their money's supposed to be spent on."

The new rigs will be acquired under leases that'll add $6 million to the city's bottom line.

As they're activated in the fleet, another upside is that the models they replace will have enough "useful life” to fetch more on the resale market than what the city's getting now.

Donald Trump is now leading Saturday's South Carolina Republican primary by 5 points — down from his 16-point lead in the state a month ago, according to results from a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll.

Trump gets support from 28 percent of likely Republican primary voters in the state, while Ted Cruz gets 23 percent. They're followed by Marco Rubio at 15 percent, Jeb Bush at 13 percent, and John Kasich and Ben Carson at 9 percent each. 

In South Carolina's Democratic primary — which will be held on Feb. 27 — Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders among likely voters by 28 points, 60 percent to 32 percent. That's down slightly from Clinton's 64 percent to 27 percent advantage last month.

The poll has a margin of error of plus-minus 3.6 percentage points among the Republican primary voters surveyed. It was 4.8 percentage points among Democrats.  

The last of the "Angola Three" inmates still behind bars has been released after more than four decades in prison.

Albert Woodfox was released Friday after pleading no contest to manslaughter and aggravated burglary in the 1972 death of a prison guard.

Woodfox and two other men became known as the "Angola Three" for their decades-long stays in isolation at the Louisiana Penitentiary at Angola and other state prisons.

Prison officials said they were kept in solitary because their Black Panther Party activism would otherwise rile up inmates.

Woodfox consistently maintained his innocence in the killing of guard Brent Miller. He was awaiting a third trial in the case when he was released from custody. Woodfox turned 69 on Friday.  

San Diegans, we have it pretty great.

Three of the 25 best beaches in the United States are in San Diego County, according to a Trip Advisor ranking released this week. La Jolla Shores ranked the highest, at No. 8.

Coronado Beach grabbed the No. 17 spot and Carlsbad State Beach came in at No. 21.

Florida and Hawaii dominated the list, which took into account traveler reviews over a one-year period.

“Best beach in Southern California,” one traveler said in a review of Coronado Beach.

Only two other California beaches made the top 25 ranking: Newport Beach (No. 16) and Crystal Cove State Park in Laguna Beach (No. 22).

The list notes that travelers can enjoy the San Diego County beaches year-round, a feather in our cap.

In a similar Trip Advisor ranking of the top hotels in the U.S., Ponte Vineyard Inn and Winery in nearby Temecula was ranked No. 6. Noticeably absent from that list was Hotel Del Coronado, which is known worldwide.

To see a full list of the best beaches, go here. And for hotels, check out the ranking here.

A baby dolphin died on a beach last week in San Teresita, Argentina, after a group of people passed the animal around for pictures, according to the Argentina Wildlife Foundation.

Beach-goers at the resort in Argentina's Buenos Aires province pulled the baby dolphin and its older sibling from the water when the animals swam close to shore.

According to AWF, at least one of the animals — both Franciscan dolphins vulnerable to extinction — was killed, although the non-profit Fundación Mundo Marino said in a statement it could not confirm the animal had died. 

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Photographs and videos of the incident surfaced on Facebook and Twitter, showing the small dolphin clutched by a beach-goer and surrounded by a growing crowd.

The dolphin is later seen in a YouTube clip, shared by animal rights organization PETA, lying motionless on the beach.

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"One can only imagine the trauma experienced not only by this baby, who was passed around like a toy by marauding tourists, but also by his or her grieving mother," PETA wrote on its website Thursday, urging authorities in Argentina to track down and arrest the people responsible.

In a statement posted Feb. 16 in Spanish, the AWF said the Franciscan dolphin population has dwindled to fewer than 30,000.

The organization also stressed that, because of its thick skin, the dolphin can't survive for long out of the water in Argentina's hot climate. High temperatures can cause dehydration and death, which may have been the case for the baby dolphin in San Teresita, according to the AWF.

The AWF said the incident should highlight the importance of leaving dolphins in the water and helping to rescue them when they appear to be in trouble.

The city of San Diego and community leaders recently marked the reopening of the historic Silverado Ballroom, following a $1.62 million renovation of the City Heights property.

A statement from San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s office said the ballroom first opened in the 1930s at 4752 University Ave., serving as a place for community gatherings, dances and visits from music legends. Following a recently completed restoration, it is slated to house a new restaurant and event space.

The art-deco-style building was refurbished with a $1.38 million city redevelopment loan, $81,000 from the city’s small business revolving loan fund, and an investment of approximately $160,000 by property owner David Chau.

City officials said work included renovating the building’s exterior and the ballroom located on the second floor, with tenant improvements also completed on the first floor. An elevator was installed for accessibility by disabled residents, and the property also has new paving, electrical and other structural upgrades.

The art-deco-style building in recent years has housed various commercial businesses on its ground floor, including a video store and a furniture store. It had been closed prior to the renovation.

The Silverado Ballroom is one of three art-deco buildings at the intersection of University and Euclid avenues, including the Euclid Tower and the Egyptian Garage.
 

While questions continue to surround a potential replacement for Antonin Scalia, it appears the late Supreme Court Justice had already picked his successor.

Scalia was found dead Saturday in his room at a remote Texas hunting resort. The 79-year-old jurist was appointed to the court in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan.

His sudden death complicated an already tumultuous election year. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says a replacement should not be named until the next president takes office. Obama pledged to pick a replacement "in due time" and challenged Republicans to hold a vote on his nominee.

In a 2012 interview with C-SPAN, however, Scalia discussed who he would choose as his successor, and it would be his former colleague from the University of Chicago, Judge Frank Easterbrook.

Easterbrook, of the U.S. Seventh Circuit in the Midwest, collaborated with Scalia in the writing of his 2012 book "Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts."

"If there is one other name, one other judicial name associated with the two principal theories of this book, textualism and originalism, it is Frank Easterbrook," Scalia said during the interview. "It is. If I had to pick somebody to replace me on the supreme court it would be Frank."

Scalia's colleagues praised his brilliance and grieved his death. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she and Scalia "were best buddies" for more than 30 years. Justice Clarence Thomas said, "It is hard to imagine the court without my friend."

Names have already been mentioned as possible successors to Scalia, including Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Ninth Circuit Judge Paul Watford.

San Diego’s dining scene has never been sweeter. This week, Eater San Diego digs into the top stories from our local dining scene, including the best shops to snag a doughnut, as well as a look at which San Diego eateries scored nominations for the James Beard Awards.

Where to Eat Doughnuts in San Diego Right Now
The classic sweet treat has never been hotter, and San Diego boasts its fair share of doughnut specialists, from traditional mom and pop operations to wildly creative fried dough artisans. Eater shares a dozen of the best of the best doughnut shops to try immediately (Hint: Devil’s Dozen in Little Italy).

Bracero, Polite Provisions & Addison Nominated For James Beard Awards
The James Beard Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit with a mission to celebrate America’s culinary heritage through educational programs, released its list of semifinalists for the 2016 James Beard Restaurant & Chef Awards and several San Diego spots were nominated for the prestigious national awards. Nominees include Little Italy's buzzed-about Bracero restaurant, and cocktail den Polite Provisions. Addison in Del Mar scored nominations in two categories — Outstanding Wine Program and Best Chef: West.

Help Alton Brown Find Good Food in San Diego
Food Network television star and “Cutthroat Kitchen” host Alton Brown has announced that his latest culinary variety show, "Alton Brown Live: Eat Your Science", will be stopping in San Diego on May 15 for two shows at the Balboa Theatre. In anticipation of his visit, Brown is now asking San Diegans to send him their local food recommendations.

The Waterfront Owners Plan New Dive Bar in Midway District
The proprietors of legendary Little Italy watering hole, The Waterfront Bar & Grill, are bringing their brand of dive bar to the Midway District, where they're turning a former punk rock club into a breezy and colorful new bar and eatery called Banzai, which should be open by this summer.

Dirty Birds Bar & Grill and Nekter Juice Bar Expand to Liberty Station
Liberty Station's food options continue to grow as the complex gains new outposts from Dirty Birds and Nekter Juice Bar. Dirty Birds, a popular sports bar with locations in Pacific Beach and the College Area, specializes in chicken wings while Nekter, which is opening its fourth local juice bar, will also offer smoothies and acai bowls. Both are scheduled to launch this summer.
 

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Superheroes, fire up those computers. While San Diego Comic-Con International 2016 is five months away, badges to the pop culture and comic book extravaganza go on sale this Saturday.

Comic-Con organizers say badges will be officially on the market online shortly after 9 a.m. PT, during a highly-anticipated time window known as Open Registration. In order to participate in Open Registration and buy that badge, the Comic-Con website says you must have a valid and confirmed Comic-Con Member ID that was created before Feb. 11.

Organizers say Comic-Con’s online waiting room, known as EPIC, will open for customers at 8 a.m. Saturday. There, those who are waiting to buy badges can authorize their registration codes.

Customers will then be moved – at random – from the online EPIC waiting room to a registration session where they can buy their badges shortly after 9 a.m.

For detailed Open Registration instructions, visit this section of Comic-Con’s website. You can also watch this instructional 7-minute video (or below) on how to maneuver your way through the Open Registration process.
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Comic-Con organizers say the top six tips for Open Registration include:

• Use a browser with JavaScript and cookies enabled to function reliably in the EPIC waiting room.

• Enter the waiting room before 9 a.m.; to enter you will need your personal registration code.

• You can buy badges for up to three people, yourself included, during your registration session. Each person must have a personal Member ID and be eligible to participate in Open Registration.

• To buy a badge for another eligible attendee, you will need their last name and Member ID

• Only use one browser tab when trying to buy badges. Multiple browser tabs can cause your transaction to fail.

• Add do-not-reply@comic-con.org and registration@epicreg.com as an approved/authorized sender to your email account.

Comic-Con Open Registration is open to the general public and anyone who hasn’t already purchased or registered for the Comic-Con 2016 Preview Night option. Again, you must also have a valid and confirmed Member ID. To verify your eligibility, log into your Member ID account on the Comic-Con website and select the “Registration Info.”

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More badge-buying tips are available on Comic-Con’s TOUCAN blog.

If you want to attend Comic-Con, you must act quickly, as the event always sells out. Organizers say there are far more eligible attendees for the Open Registration than badges available.

“You can increase your chances of obtaining a badge by reading all of the instructions carefully and having your personal information ready on the day of the sale,” the website states.

Comic-Con 2016 runs July 21 through July 24, with Preview Night set for July 20. Daily badges range from $40 to $55 for adults, depending on the day you’d like to attend, and $20 to $27 for junior badges (ages 13-17), active military members and seniors. Children 12 and under are free with a paying adult.

[[312988501,C]] And, just like that, the countdown to the colorful comic and entertainment spectacular begins.

Comic-Con was born in 1970 in the basement of the U.S. Grant Hotel in the heart of San Diego. Over the decades, the “little event that could” has grown into a behemoth, taking over the Convention Center, neighboring hotels and downtown San Diego for a long weekend each summer.

Comic-Con’s fervent fans typically attend the convention in elaborate costumes, transforming the city into a metropolis straight out of the pages of fantasy and science fiction. The event has also become famous for sneak peeks of major studio movies and popular TV shows, as well as a steady stream of celebrity sightings.
 

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After two threatening messages in two days, Naval Base San Diego is offering $5,000 for information leading to an arrest.

A handwritten note shut down the pier at 32nd Street and Harbor Drive Wednesday. Then, on Thursday, a threat was phoned in specifically naming one of the buildings on base.

No one was injured and nothing suspicious was found in either incident.

Now, U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) and BAE Systems have joined together to offer a reward leading to the person who vandalized property with messages that include the words “Bomb” and “ISIS.”

The federal crimes are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Anyone with information can call NCIS Headquarters at (877) 579-3648. 

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Security guards who look a lot like police officers patrol San Diego trolleys, buses and station platforms.

But who are the uniformed men and women, and what exactly are they allowed to do?

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, or MTS, employs a small number of its own officers and also contracts with a private security company, Universal Protection Services. The officers have a limited set of powers depending on whether they’re MTS employees or Universal Protection Services contractors.

Only those employed directly by MTS are permitted to write citations, for example, while those employed by Universal Protection Services are there to give out warnings or defuse trouble. MTS employees can’t carry a gun, while private security guards who get licensed by the state can.

Over the years, both Universal Protection Services and MTS have been named in several lawsuits alleging improper use of force against the public. MTS board members approved a new contract with Universal Protection Services last week.

On this week’s San Diego Explained, VOSD’s Andrew Keatts and NBC 7 San Diego’s Mark Mullen dive into the roles of MTS officers, the powers they have and the problems that have arisen under the current system. If you are on our mobile app, click here.

Who says you can’t drink wine while wearing flip-flops? A brand new winery has opened in San Diego’s Ocean Beach neighborhood – just steps away from the sand.

Gianni Buonomo Vintners, located at 4836 Newport Ave. near the OB Pier, will celebrate its grand opening Friday night as San Diego’s first-ever beach winery and tasting room.

Winemaker and managing partner, Keith Rolle, a longtime resident of Ocean Beach says his winery has that laid-back OB vibe, meaning patrons can certainly sip on some fine wine while wearing flip-flops and board shorts.

According to Rolle, Gianni Buonomo Vintners doesn’t grow grapes at the beach. The majority of the grapes used to create the wines are brought to OB from top vineyards in Washington State. Other grapes used to balance out the wines are sourced from two vineyards in El Dorado County, Calif.

For now, the winery produces around 1,500 cases of wine each year. Though small business real estate in high-density Ocean Beach is rather limited, Rolle said his Newport Avenue tasting room has “just enough room” for his small wine operation.

The tasting room is open Wednesday through Friday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. It’s closed on Monday and Tuesday. Gianni Buoncomo Vintners wines are available for purchase online, too, and range from $29 to $49 per bottle.

Friday’s opening reception will include select wines from the Gianni Buonomo lineup paired with small bites from some local OB restaurants. The event is sold out – which is certainly worth a toast.

Rolle, who lived in Minneapolis before moving to San Diego and then Ensenada in Baja California, learned to make wine through a program in Walla Walla, Washington. After four years honing his winemaking skills in the Pacific Northwest, he moved back to San Diego – bringing those wine grapes from Washington with him.

The winery opened last fall, but Friday's party is the grand opening of the beachside business.

The beach winery plans to host more events soon, including a barrel tasting for its “Fedora Club” members in April and the Barbera Fest, also in April, when the winery will introduce a couple of new wines.
 

Nov. 17, 2015, was a very memorable day for San Diego State University (SDSU) senior, Sam Lea, but no one else knew this until Feb. 17.

The specific date took no time for Lea to recall because on that day he won $73,000 worth of prizes on the long-running TV show, "The Price is Right." The episode, which aired for the first time on Wednesday, features Lea’s obvious enthusiasm as he took home a boat, several designer accessories and a BMW.

“I kind of blacked out for a moment where I didn’t really know what was going on. I won the car, I won sunglasses and a whole bunch of prizes. For a while I was sitting in the stands after it all happened, not really knowing what had happened,” Lea told NBC 7 on Friday.

There was a three-month span between when the episode was filmed and when it aired, which means Lea had to keep the news of his big TV win to himself.

“I actually didn’t tell a soul for three months because I had to sign a waiver saying I couldn’t tell anyone, which is fair. It was hard for the first month and then I kind of forgot about it. It got hard again once it hit a week before the showing," said Lea.

After all, how does a college student even tell his friends he won more than a year’s worth of tuition?

“I pretty much told everyone to come to our friend’s house around 9:30 p.m. and they had no idea why. I just told everyone it was my day and I deserve this day," Lea said, with a chuckle. "So they came and it aired at 10 p.m. Everyone was surprised."

While his friends are still absorbing the shock, Lea still cannot believe he was even selected for the show. Participants on "The Price is Right" are chosen from the audience with no prior notice. Before the show, audience members are asked basic questions about themselves to screen for potential participants. Those selected to be on the show usually stand out from the rest. As Lea put it, they are usually "different."

“When they asked me who I am, I said, ‘I am Sam Lea, a senior at San Diego State, I’m from San Diego, I’m 21 year old, and I’m a professional winner and a sorcerer on the side.' That’s what I said to get on the show,” laughed Lea.

The Los Angeles-based show is a day trip from San Diego. In an odd turn of events, Lea did not even want to go the morning of the taping. He had worked the night before and was still wearing those clothes when his friend talked him into going.

“My friend Zack woke me up at 4 a.m. saying, ‘We need to go to "The Price is Right,"’ but I was over it. He pretty much pulled me out of bed,” explained Lea.

Now that Lea's time as a TV game show participant has wrapped, he is still waiting for the prizes. In fact, he already has plans for what to do with them.

“Now that this is publicized, if anyone wants to buy my boat, you can buy my boat,” Lea joked, with a serious undertone.

In addition to selling some items, Lea is considering keeping the Apple computer and iPad while giving the Fendi brand accessories to his mom and Rayban sunglasses to the friends who accompanied him to the show.

As for the BMW, Lea said he may keep the car or may sell it, since the high-end prize will inevitable come with steep taxes.

The full episode featuring the local student can be watched online, here.
 

A few days after starting his new job at San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) headquarters, a man was arrested for trespassing in a violent encounter with MTS security officers, even after his supervisor confirmed he had a right to be there, according to a lawsuit. Two of the MTS officers involved have been accused of violence before and remain on the job, a joint investigation by NBC 7 Investigates and Voice of San Diego (VOSD) found.

When Allen Koka started a new job cleaning buses and trolleys at MTS headquarters, he said his employers told him they’d wait a bit before issuing him an ID badge because it was a tough gig and there was no reason to go through the motions if he ended up quitting after a day or two.

The 28-year-old Iraqi immigrant was a few days into the job when he reported to work one night in November 2014. According to court documents, Koka left a short time later in an ambulance, knocked unconscious by a team of security guards who worked there too.

MTS officers said Koka had been trespassing because he did not have an ID. All charges against him were eventually dropped. Now, MTS is in court trying to defend itself from a lawsuit filed by Koka.

Body cameras worn by MTS security officers caught a portion of the incident. The video shows Koka arriving to work that night without an identification badge, prompting MTS officers to stop him and tell him he is trespassing.

As shown in the videos, a team of security officers surrounds Koka, who is 5-foot-4 and about 145 pounds, and presses him about his identity for several minutes. In the video, Koka said he worked there; the security team said they were going to give him a citation for trespassing.

The video shows, Koka's brother, also a night janitor at MTS, and the brothers’ supervisor showing up to vouch for him.

“This guy and this guy work with me,” the supervisor told the officers in the video, pointing to Koka and his brother.

After previously agreeing to let Koka call his supervisor to clear things up, the officers then tell him they don’t care about the supervisor once he shows up. The boss could not convince the officers to let Koka be, the videos show.

“OK, well we’re going to hang onto him for a little bit,” MTS Officer Chris Miner told the supervisor. “He’s not being very cooperative.”

When Koka declined to put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed, MTS officer Bill Buck is seen taking Koka down by the throat. It’s unclear what exactly happened to Koka at that point – the video becomes a jumble of darkness and flashes of light – but Koka is heard screaming in pain.

He screams “My face!” repeatedly, then tells the officers he’s recently had surgery on his stomach. Koka’s attorney said Koka had visited Turkey several months earlier. There, he was robbed, stabbed and hospitalized for a number of weeks before he could return to America.

Koka said he doesn’t remember the MTS tussle. An ER doctor wrote in his emergency record that MTS employees told him Koka got knocked out in the altercation, according to Koka’s lawsuit.

Mark Arabo, who is politically active within the region’s Iraqi community, said the incident should shake up the MTS security apparatus.

“Those two officers should be fired immediately,” he told NBC 7 Investigates and VOSD. “Whoever at the time decided not to fire them should also be fired.”

Koka’s lawsuit names the officers present, MTS, a private security firm it contracts with and the cleaning company for which Koka worked. In the lawsuit, he said his civil rights were violated, he was assaulted and MTS was negligent in its supervision of the officers.

Previous Lawsuits Against MTS Officers

NBC 7 Investigates and VOSD discovered, before the incident with Koko, two of those officers – Buck and Miner -- have been accused of improper use of force and both men are still working for MTS.

A magistrate judge announced MTS had settled the lawsuit over an earlier incident involving both Buck and Miner, days before the incident with Koka. In that settlement and in Koka’s lawsuit, MTS, the officers and other parties named do not admit guilt or wrongdoing.

That previous settlement was the result of a 2011 incident in which Buck and Miner stopped a Mexican couple traveling on the trolley for fare evasion, according to a lawsuit filed in 2012. While writing the ticket, the officers called the Mexican man, Fernando Alcocer, a “piece of sh--” and a “f------ Jew” and said they hoped he and his wife were sent back to Mexico, the lawsuit claims.

When Alcocer said he was going to record the officers with his phone, Buck punched him in the head, according to the lawsuit. Buck and Miner then took him to the ground and proceeded to beat him, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit settled for $25,000 – a sum that was split between MTS and Universal Protection Service, a private security firm that contracts with MTS. Buck was an employee of Universal Protection Service at the time. MTS later hired Buck as one of its employees.

Miner has been the subject of two other complaints MTS paid to settle in the last 10 years.
MTS and Universal Protection Service split a $7,500 settlement in one of those incidents. In that case, according to court documents, a woman named Detris Phiffer alleged in a lawsuit that she was forced out of her car at the Euclid Avenue Trolley Station in February 2012, thrown to the ground and punched and kicked by a few officers, including Miner.

In October 2012, a handicapped woman named Linda Li alleged in a formal complaint with MTS that she had a run-in with Miner and another security officer at the El Cajon Transit Center. In the complaint, Li claimed the incident left her with bruises and dislocated wrists. MTS paid $20,000 to settle that case, according to a document obtained from MTS.

Through an MTS spokesman, Buck and Miner declined to comment for this story.

MTS Security Officer Training

According to MTS, over 200 officers patrol trolleys, buses and transit system property. Most of them – 175 – are private security guards from Universal Protection Service. They can have guns but do not have powers of arrest and cannot write tickets.

The other 35 or so officers, including Buck and Miner, are employed directly by MTS. They have no guns but can write tickets and briefly detain people, but they cannot send someone to jail without the help of police.

None of the officers are required to attend a police academy, according to MTS. Instead, they get 160 hours of on-the-job training and must take a state training course.

To learn more about the role of MTS security personnel, watch the video below. If you are using our app, click here.

In September 2014, just two months before the Koka incident, MTS outfitted all of its 35 or so officers with body cameras.

The agency still doesn’t have a written policy for how its officers should use their body cameras, but Manny Guaderrama, MTS’s head of security, told NBC 7 Investigates and VOSD, officers are supposed to turn their cameras on for all enforcement actions.

MTS also doesn’t have a policy for releasing body-camera footage to the public. NBC 7 Investigates and VOSD received copies of the body camera footage from Koka’s attorney. MTS directly released video as well, in response to a California Public Records Act request.

MTS told NBC 7 Investigates and VOSD it plans to have all of the private security officers wear body cameras. It’s part of a contract extension between MTS and the company approved by the MTS board last week, Universal Protection Service. According to the approved contract, MTS will pay UPS up to $39 million over the next five years.

According to MTS, the agency does not have a written policy for judging whether its officers have been too violent. Guaderrama or another member of MTS security leadership looks into each incident to determine if force was appropriate. If it wasn’t, Guaderrama can dole out a punishment ranging from a reprimand to dismissal.

Koka’s case is still pending, but the MTS board discussed it last week during a closed session.

San Diego City Councilman David Alvarez, a member of the MTS board, watched the body camera video of the Koka incident, and told NBC 7 Investigates and VOSD his impression was there was a miscommunication that could have been resolved peacefully.

“There should be corrective measures that are serious corrective measures – not just a slap on the wrist or a write-up,” he said.

Koka said another MTS officer resolved the same situation peacefully just a few days earlier. He said, he showed up and was stopped by an MTS officer for not having his ID. Together, they walked to Koka’s boss’s office where the boss confirmed Koka worked there, and the situation was resolved, he said.

“It’s an interesting paradox here, or Catch-22,” Dale Dixon, Koka’s attorney, said. “Because if the position is, ‘MTS did exactly what they were supposed to do,’ then they have created policies that allow this ridiculous amount of force to be used when it’s absolutely unnecessary. And if they say, ‘These officers were doing something that they shouldn’t have done,’ well there are a dozen to 14 of them standing around, somebody with authority should have stepped in and said, ‘This isn’t appropriate.’ And nobody did that.”

MTS’s court filings haven’t disputed many specific details in Koka’s version of events. In a legal filing last summer, MTS’s attorney wrote that Koka “was properly taken to the ground and handcuffed where his legs were bound to keep him from kicking.”

MTS also filed a complaint against the cleaning service Koka worked for, NMS Management, for failing to give Koka an ID badge before he started work.

Koka now works at a gas station in Escondido.

Asked if he likes his new job, Koka replied, “Yeah, nobody beats me.”
 

It’s a…baby! The baby doll that dangles from the beak of an iconic stork sculpture perched on the rooftop of a San Diego hospital was carefully replaced Friday morning after it was blown away by strong winds during a recent El Niño storm.

The baby doll – wearing a cozy cap and tucked into a pink and blue blanket – has been returned to its rightful perch alongside the big white stork that decorates the corner of the parking garage structure at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns at 3003 Health Center Dr. Together, the famous stork and baby overlook State Route 163 and are a San Diego landmark that is hard to miss.

During a gusty storm on Jan. 31, the wind was so strong the baby was blown out of the blanket, landing on the ground on the rooftop level of the parking garage.

The following day, Theresa Kvederis, a longtime Sharp Mary Birch employee with the admitting and patient registration department, was parking in the garage for her shift when she noticed something odd lying on the ground.

At first, she thought someone had accidentally left something behind. But when she took a closer look, she was met with a tiny, adorable surprise.

She glanced at the childless stork and her suspicions were confirmed: it was the stork's baby doll.

“[I thought], ‘Oh yeah, that’s our baby from the stork. Oh my gosh, that poor baby got blown out of its blankie in the storm!’” Kvederis told NBC 7.

Kvederis said she walked over to the doll, picked it up and brushed it off.

“It’s a pretty big baby,” she said, with a laugh. “It looks more like an 8-month-old. It was pretty cute.”

She then took it to security guards at the hospital for safekeeping.

“I told them, ‘The stork delivered a baby.’ We were all laughing. It was a cute story all day long,” she added.

Kvederis later learned the doll’s blanket had also been found, blown away in another direction in the parking lot.

Rosalina Famania, marketing and communications specialist for Sharp Mary Birch Hospital, told NBC 7 the doll – known affectionately by staffers as “Stork Baby” – has been replaced more than once over the years, but never due to high winds or strong storms.

Like many San Diegans, Kvederis said she considers the stork and Stork Baby a great symbol and “focal point” for Sharp Mary Birch Hospital. She said the giant stork often helps staffers give patients easier directions to the hospital. She often tells patients to just “pull into the garage with the stork on it.”

The stork sculpture, which is made of an iron frame and fiberglass, was a gift from the City of Sierra Madre, given to Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns in 1960 after it appeared in the Tournament of Roses parade. The stork was originally the centerpiece of a float fitting titled “The Birds and the Bees.”

Since then, as the sculpture’s dedication plaque notes, “The Stork has welcomed new mothers and babies at Sharp – and is a beloved San Diego landmark.”

On Friday, after undoing some cleaning and repairs, the stork and the baby doll were returned to their home on the rooftop level of the hospital’s parking structure.

A crew of about a dozen Sharp Health Care engineering staffers worked together to hoist the stork back up to its upright position. Stork Baby was gingerly placed inside a blanket created by hospital staffers and blanket was hooked onto the beak of the stork.

Famania said staffers ensured Stork Baby was securely tucked inside the blanket with Velcro. She said hospital doesn’t consider the baby doll to be a specific gender because “it’s a representative of all babies at the hospital.”

After being hung with care, the doll and its blanket gently swayed in the wind as the stork looked on at commuters on the freeway. What a birth story.