Wilson Orders 600 Guard Troops to County Armories : Deployment: Governor says action is part of state and local plans to respond to any disturbances. ‘There is no justification for violence,’ he says.

Gov. Pete Wilson on Friday ordered the California National Guard to deploy troops to Los Angeles-area armories in advance of verdicts in the Rodney G. King civil rights trial.

At least 600 combat-ready soldiers will be stationed in about a dozen armories around the county by 7 a.m. Monday, Wilson said.

Once in the armories, the troops will be ready to hit the streets immediately if county officials request help from the state, the governor said.

“There is no justification for violence,” Wilson said, speaking at a news conference at the Guard’s Inglewood armory. “It will not be tolerated. . . . We intend to be ready to respond with whatever force is necessary.”

The governor issued the order after consultations with Mayor Tom Bradley, Police Chief Willie L. Williams, Sheriff Sherman Block and county Board of Supervisors Chairman Ed Edelman.

The preparations stand in contrast to last year, when state officials, not anticipating the need for the Guard, had lent much of the force’s riot equipment to other agencies.

Although some state troops were on the streets about 18 hours after being summoned, the deployment would have been faster if not for a series of miscues that delayed delivery of ammunition and other gear. Once the troops were equipped, there was further confusion about what they would do and to whom they would report.

That will not happen this time, Wilson and other officials said. “All the agencies involved understand very clearly their mission, and they understand one another’s mission,” Wilson said.

Although the Los Angeles Police Department patrols much of the area in which rioting occurred last year, the city force is expected to work closely with the county Sheriff’s Department. The county has the responsibility to seek state assistance if it is needed.

Block said his department will deploy several platoons of specially trained deputies throughout the county as soon as the jury reaches verdicts and before they are announced. These groups of 56 deputies each will be armed with their regular weapons as well as tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, Taser guns and other riot-suppressant gear, he said.

“In case there are sporadic situations, these platoons can move quickly to put them down so they do not expand,” Block said.

If trouble does spread, Edelman said, he would quickly ask the state for help.

“I will not hesitate, as chairman of the board, if the board is not in session, to ask for a state of emergency from the governor, which would then free the governor to bring in the National Guard,” he said.

Wilson urged citizens to remain in their homes if unrest develops. “It is far preferable to have well-trained professionals dealing with this than well-meaning vigilantes,” he said.

Despite the preparations, Wilson said he does not expect any violence. On a two-day swing through Los Angeles, the governor met with business owners affected by last year’s riots and with leaders of the Korean-American, Latino and African-American communities.

“The spirit I find pervading this community (is) a spirit of seeking justice and peace, and seeing no purpose to the kind of mindless violence that occurred a year ago,” he said.

Wilson said it will cost the state about $235,000 a day to maintain the Guard troops in the armories. With the state expecting an $8-billion budget shortfall, that money will have to come out of other programs and services. “There’s not much slack,” he said.