210 Arrested in Crackdown on South-Central Gang Violence

Police arrested 210 people in a 58-square-mile area of South-Central Los Angeles during a crackdown on violent street gangs Wednesday night and early Thursday, booking them in the field for the first time.

The field bookings “frees officers for more arrests,” department spokesman Don Lawrence said. Suspects were booked on charges ranging from outstanding arrest warrants to narcotics possession, he said. Those arrested included 128 suspected gang members.

The sweep by 200 officers began at 6 p.m. Wednesday and continued until 3 a.m. Thursday, Lawrence said. Another unannounced sweep will be conducted by the weekend, he added.

Spurred by Shootings

Police Chief Daryl F. Gates promised to conduct anti-gang sweeps with 1,000 officers working on overtime after the Good Friday gang shooting that killed one person and injured 12--none believed to be gang members.

“We’re out there to let these gang-bangers know that we’re here, we’re not going to go away, and this city belongs to the good people,” Detective Tony Celli said.

During the sweeps, officers descend on neighborhoods known to have concentrations of gang members. Some officers go to residences where they suspect drug dealing is taking place; others serve search warrants.

Officers also stop and question anyone they suspect is a gang member, using the suspects’ clothing and their use of gang hand signs, among other things, as the basis for the stops.

Drug Trafficking

Gangs--including the Crips and the Bloods among blacks, and others among Latinos--have long been active in Central Los Angeles, but authorities say turf wars have been compounded by vicious clashes over controlling drug trafficking.

Violence has continued despite the police sweeps, with five people wounded Wednesday in three drive-by shootings, a common style of attack in gang turf wars. Gangs were blamed for 387 killings in Los Angeles County in 1987, and as many as 85 so far this year.

Police have support from politicians and community leaders in what Gates has called a war on “the rotten little cowards.” Gov. George Deukmejian said Thursday that the state will assist Los Angeles authorities in combatting the gang violence if asked. But, he said, he has not been asked yet.

Speaking to reporters at Pasadena’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he said he thinks local authorities “are capable of handling the situation.”

He added, however, “we certainly would respond to any request” for help from Mayor Tom Bradley, the City Council or the county Board of Supervisors.