A credit union about a block away from the new Los Angeles Police Department headquarters downtown was robbed Monday, police said. The holdup was reported at 10:30 a.m. at the Southland Credit Union at 200 S. Spring St.

A suspect handed a teller a note and escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash, Officer Gregory Baek said.

The credit union is a descendant of the Los Angeles Times Federal Credit Union, which used to serve Times employees, most of whom are based at the paper's headquarters across the street. The institution became part of Cityside Federal Credit Union then, in summer, it merged with Southland.

It was a brazen robbery not only because the Police Administration Building is so close, but because the California Highway Patrol regularly cruises the area in its mission to keep the Ronald Reagan state building just to the south secure. And city employees — police included — who are members of their own credit unions can use the ATM at Southland free.

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