Foot Patrols Try to Chase Drugs Out of 2 Complexes

The sounds of a whistle and running footsteps greeted Los Angeles police officers Mike Cherry and Mike Koeller as they walked toward the Van Nuys Pierce Park Apartments in Pacoima.

A few steps into the rambling apartment complex and they encountered a slight ether-like odor.

“PCP,” said Cherry. “And that whistle was their way of warning each other that we’re here.”

After years of conventional attempts by police to battle rampant sales of phencyclidine, known as PCP, and other drug at the complex, Cherry and Koeller were taking part on Saturday night in a “new” approach--old-fashioned foot patrols.

In response to residents’ requests, Capt. Stan McGarry, Foothill Division commander, has permanently assigned five two-officer foot patrols each day to the 430-unit Van Nuys Pierce Park complex and nearby San Fernando Gardens, a smaller complex with similar drug traffic problems.

During the evening shift, when three of the teams are patrolling, the division will have one-fourth of its uniformed officers on foot, Sgt. John Preston said.

The foot-patrol program does not officially begin until April, but because the personnel have been available, there have been evening patrols most nights of the week, he said.

Because of the officers’ lack of mobility and exposure to risk, the once-common foot patrol has been largely discarded by most police departments in favor of car patrols.

In recent years, however, they have been revived in spot situations in several cities, including Boston and New York.

McGarry said the Pacoima complexes targeted for the foot patrols represent 4% of the area covered by his division but they account for 28% of narcotics arrests and 18% of robberies.

To combat drug traffic, special 40-officer task forces have made several sweeps through Pierce Park in recent years.

Barbara Taylor, co-chairman of a 70-member anti-crime group at Pierce Park, said the sweeps “are very effective, but the criminals always come right back.”

The division also has long committed a large share of its patrol cars to the area, with officers repeatedly driving through the apartments’ parking lots, shining searchlights into cars and down alleys.

McGarry said he concluded that a constant and highly visible police presence was needed to drive out drug dealers and reduce the overall crime rate.

“We are going to take the old-time foot cop approach to the area,” he said. “We want to set up the type of community relationship where mothers will feel free to call on the officers to help with drug problems or crime problems.”

Taylor said the foot patrols “are exactly what we need around here. We need police all the time. Not just from time to time.”

Koeller said the “vast majority of residents of these apartments are law-abiding and decent people. But there are some real bad ones who make it a rough place.”

Martha Espinoza, a 19-year-old Pierce Park resident who greeted Cherry and Koeller warmly during their patrol, said drug dealers and other criminals would never leave the complex “unless the police are around constantly, because as soon as police leave, they come back.”

But the presence of Cherry and Koeller set off a debate between two mothers sitting outside an apartment building with a group of friends.

“What good do they do?” said Bell Tyler, 25. “Look, they’re even snooping around in the grass with their flashlights,” she complained as the officers checked behind bushes for evidence of PCP wrappings.

“They’re just doing their job and cleaning up this place,” replied Annie Smith, 34. “People get hurt when there are drugs in the area.”

Despite the odor of PCP, Cherry and Koeller found no one under the influence of the drug during their first walk-through at Pierce Park.

Questioning Residents

They spent most of their time questioning residents who were sitting outside or walking through the complex.

The officers asked passers-by carrying bags to identify the contents. Others were asked where they were going. Responses varied from brusque to friendly.

Koeller said that the inquiries were largely aimed at determining sobriety.

If officers determine that a person is under the influence, they are permitted to search the suspect.

Koeller said a search often produces drugs “because even though they know we are in the area, they hate to throw away their stuff because it cost them a lot of money.”

Cherry theorized that they found no one under the influence because of the three previous nights of foot patrolling, which had yielded more than a dozen arrests for use or sale of drugs.

He said that on Friday night, when police converged at the scene of a robbery in which a husband and wife were injured, “We made five drug-use arrests just from the crowd that gathered.”

Preston acknowledged that the foot patrols could drive drug dealers and other criminals to other complexes or shopping areas.

“If that happens, we will follow them,” he said. “We are committed to following through and doing everything we can to rid this area of drug traffic.”

Also contributing to this story was Times Staff Writer Stephanie Chavez.