Killing Prompts Review on Use of Street Barrier
Los Angeles police said Monday that they will re-evaluate the usefulness of a street barrier in Van Nuys intended to thwart drug sales because a youth was fatally shot in a car there over the weekend after being trapped on the dead-end street by gang members.
Police Capt. Sid Mills said he will discuss the concrete barrier with patrol and anti-gang officers this week to determine if it should stay across Blythe Street at Willis Avenue. He said the barrier had reduced gang- and drug-related crime on Blythe between Willis and Van Nuys Boulevard.
The barrier was put in place in 1987 to curtail drive-by shootings and drug dealing. Some officers say the gang members now use it to their advantage to trap victims on the street, and they have learned the barrier also restricts police access to a single street, where lookouts can be posted.
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