Ted Rohrlich leaving Spring Street

The next big wave of journalist departures from the Los Angeles Times is due to start Monday — and continue at the end of the month, apparently — but Metro staff veteran Ted Rohrlich got the jump on the layoffs and had a farewell gathering at the Redwood Bar & Grill on 2nd Street. Rohrlich is the kind of reporter the paper needs to hold on to — a specialist in investigations, particularly of local institutions and corrupt politicians — but the Times keeps losing those types to ProPublica and elsewhere. Rohrlich is probably most noted for an award-winning series that exposed the cozy relationship between law enforcement and the jailhouse informants who lied that they overheard "confessions" to win easier treatment. He also was co-lead reporter on a Pulitzer finalist investigation into inequities in murder investigations and prosecutions in Los Angeles County. During the LAPD Rampart scandal, Rohrlich saw that almost all of the convicts being released from prison because they had been framed by renegade cops had pleaded guilty. This led him to report out a piece on why the innocent plead guilty, focused on the way cops can skew what happens in the entire justice system. Reached by email, Rohrlich told me "Unfortunately, I am not in a position now to speak about my plans, if any, other than to say that I will be staying in Los Angeles."