O.C. Plans for Trouble After King Verdict : Law enforcement: Officials set up a Sheriff’s Emergency Communication Center and a rumor control number as they brace for unrest after verdicts are announced in Los Angeles.

As they prepared to open a 24-hour emergency communications room today, Orange County law enforcement officials emphasized to hundreds of edgy callers that the needs of local residents come first if trouble erupts when the verdicts are announced in the Rodney G. King trial.

While they stand ready to help Los Angeles, “we’ll protect this county first, then assess what we can release,” Sheriff Brad Gates said at the Sheriff’s Emergency Communication Center.

As he and several other members of the Orange County Chiefs of Police and Sheriff’s Assn. talked to reporters, some deputies went through a drill to demonstrate how they would spread the word through radio communications and assign teams from local departments should unrest occur anywhere.

The emergency room, turned into a mutual aid center, will be on a 24-hour alert starting today, when the jury is expected to begin its deliberations, Gates said.

The center also will have a rumor control number, (714) 744-0567, for county residents.

“This number will make sure the public knows what’s real and what’s not,” Gates said.

Officials declined to say how many officers will be sent to help Los Angeles if disturbances occur. But a day after rioting began last year, about 350 police officers and 200 firefighters from different departments in Orange County were dispatched north.

“Most of our officers are at an age where last year’s riot was the first time they went through that,” Gates said. “Well, this year they know more of what to expect.”

One of the things learned from 1992 was that Los Angeles authorities cannot easily deliver food and water to all officers in the field, so the Orange County Sheriff’s Department now will provide lunch packs for the dispatched teams.

“Sandwiches will be made at the county jail kitchen, and we’ll add apples, oranges, cookies, coffee cakes, sweet beans, water and sun block--whatever needed to sustain the officers in their 12-hour shifts up there,” Gates said.

Another lesson from 1992 was that Orange County’s radio communication system did not link well with that of law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County. Whenever Orange County teams needed to speak with the Los Angeles coordinators, they had to borrow radios of those police officers or firefighters, La Habra Police Chief Steven H. Staveley said.

“We’ve arranged it so we can now talk directly to them,” Staveley said. In addition, any firefighters who go to Los Angeles will be equipped with bulletproof vests. Last year, two Los Angeles firefighters were shot.

Orange County cities increasing patrols include La Palma, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa and Buena Park.