Other Cities in U.S. Brace for King Verdicts : Preparedness: After last year’s trial, there were outbreaks of lawlessness in several metropolitan centers. This year, officials are getting ready to respond more quickly.

As the second Rodney King beating case moves to a conclusion in Los Angeles, city officials around the country are casting a wary eye at their own back yards, fearing that a second acquittal could trigger violence far from the site of the trial.

In the aftermath of the first King verdicts, anger flared in a number of cities across the nation, taking the form of vandalism, beatings, rock-throwing and theft. The incidents were nowhere near the scale of the Los Angeles riots, but showed the level of racial tension in a number of places and demonstrated how the King case had become a point of focus in the country.

Officials are hoping that the contingency plans in place in Los Angeles will discourage a recurrence, and thereby prevent a chain reaction spreading to other cities. They are also mounting their own preventive efforts.

At a press conference Thursday in Atlanta, high-ranking police officials said they were ready for anything this time around.

Last year, whites were attacked in a subway station and a shopping and entertainment complex was ransacked. A peaceful protest at Atlanta University turned into a rock-throwing battle with police in which 68 people were arrested and at least 22 were injured.

“We’re trying to send a message to the citizens as well as business people that we are prepared to make sure that the kinds of things that occurred last year in the downtown area do not occur again,” said Deputy Chief Julius Derico, who has been assigned to head the operation.

Derico said that, among other things, there will be a larger police presence on the street as of Monday, as well as a rumor hot line to field questions from worried Atlanta residents. He said the police will use a much firmer hand this time around if violence erupts.

“Decisions will be made very quickly and firmly and actions will be taken to put down any problems,” he said.

In Seattle, a county judge signed an order this week that will allow police in some cases to detain juveniles up to 24 hours if they are arrested with probable cause during an outbreak of civil unrest. Last year riots led primarily by youths resulted in overturned cars, broken windows and fires. Arrests were made, but the youths rejoined the melees after being released.

Though the order was criticized strongly by several civil rights groups, the Seattle police are all for it. Police spokeswoman Vinette Tichi said that last year, the youths were cited, then quickly released. “We know some of those came back again,” she said.

In New York, precautions will take the form of a special command and control center that will be opened as the jury begins deliberations. And, like Atlanta, New York will staff a rumor hot line in an attempt to avoid the panic that swept through the city last year after the King verdict.

Last year in New York more than 120 people were arrested and 33 police officers were injured. The day after the verdicts, department stores along 5th Avenue, other shops and some major businesses closed in anticipation of rioting. Some mid-Manhattan streets became deserted canyons by late afternoon.

“The rumors were rampant. People were frightened,” said Suzanne Trazoff, deputy police commissioner for public information. “We are going to put into effect a rumor control hot line.”

In San Francisco, rioters last year broke windows and looted shops in Union Square, and more than 1,500 people were arrested. In Las Vegas, hundreds of people took to the streets, looting, setting fires and shooting at police. Police officials in both cities say they will be ready to react quickly to any disturbance this time.

The country’s midsection was largely spared any trouble last year, but there were a few incidents. In Madison, Wis., for example, someone shattered the windshields of 34 police cars. Chicago and Houston had almost no violence in the wake of the verdicts. The same was true for Dallas, New Orleans and Phoenix. Still, police in those cities are paying attention to what is going on in Los Angeles.

“We’re not deploying manpower to the streets when the case goes to the jury, but we’ve notified officers to be prepared in case anything does happen,” said Dallas police spokesman Sgt. Jim Chandler. “We have contingency plans drawn up and can handle whatever comes up.”

Meanwhile, who broke all those windshields in Madison remains a mystery.

“We never found out who did it,” said Capt. Richard Wallden of the Madison Police Department. He said there will be extra patrolmen at the car lot this time around.

About 400 law enforcement officials met in Washington this week to discuss how their agencies can prepare for unrest. At that meeting, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros said there should be more discussion of racism and what it has done to American life.

“America has not come to terms with race,” he said. “We’ve run from it.”

Times staff writer John J. Goldman in New York and researchers Doug Conner, Ann Rovin, Tracy Shryer, Edith Stanley and Anna Virtue contributed to this story.