COUNTYWIDE : Police Warn Against New Year’s Gunfire

People have a number of traditional ways to welcome the new year, but none may be as dangerous as firing a gunshot in the air as the clock strikes midnight--a crime punishable by fines and jail.

Police in Santa Ana, where the firing is traditional, were busy Thursday passing out flyers and putting up posters in gun shops and liquor stores in last-ditch efforts to inform people that the practice is deadly.

“We try to remind them that what goes up must come down,” said Officer Steve Despenas. “Unfortunately, most people don’t realize this.”

Even though there have been no reported deaths from the practice in the county for the past four years, law enforcers say the potential increases with the number of shots fired.

“It’s a very dangerous practice at any time,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Richard J. Olson. “You can’t control where it (the bullet) comes down.”

But as dangerous as the tradition is to people, roofs and windows--and even though a 1988 law makes the practice a felony--police say it is difficult to prevent the rowdy celebration.

Often, by the time officers arrive at the reported scene of a shooting, the neighborhood is quiet, said Lt. Greg Cooper of the Santa Ana Police Department.

“They fire seven or eight shots, and they’re back inside by the time we drive down the street,” he said.

Santa Ana police helicopter pilots, which are contracted from the Costa Mesa Police Department, will move to areas where shooting is reported as soon as it happens.

“In Santa Ana, it’s been known (that) the guns start shooting as soon as it gets dark,” said Ed Dryzmala, a pilot for the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Despenas said the Santa Ana department began to campaign against the tradition in 1986 and, since having done so, claims nearly a 50% decrease in reported shootings and incidents of property damage from the shootings.

In 1986, the department reported 201 calls, 47 incidents of property damage and three injuries resulting from guns being fired into the air on New Year’s Eve. In 1988, there were 109 calls, 24 incidents of property damage, no injuries and one arrest.

“We see the results,” he said of the program, which also distributes flyers and posters before Cinco de Mayo, Fourth of July and Mexican Independence Day in September. “But we can’t let our guard down now,” Despenas said.

In Los Angeles, where celebratory shooting is much more common, the publicity against the practice focuses on the punishment as a deterrent. Under state law, the penalty for the felony is up to one year in county jail or state prison. If the shooter is charged with a misdemeanor, the fine is six months in county jail or a $500 fine, said Sgt. Ron Stoneman of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.