SAN FERNANDO : Police on Alert, Waiting for Verdicts

All 35 officers of the San Fernando Police Department have been placed on standby alert and will be fully deployed once verdicts are handed down in the federal civil rights trial of four Los Angeles police officers accused of beating Rodney G. King, Police Chief Dominic Rivetti said Monday.

Rivetti told about 30 business owners that 16 to 18 patrol cars will be dispatched throughout the 2.4-square-mile city. The officers will be joined by 40 reserve officers in patrolling the city of 23,500 residents and 1,000 businesses.

“We will not have the kind of chaos that parts of Los Angeles saw last year,” Rivetti said during a Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Mission Hills. “We’re committed to that. I’m very confident your businesses are going to be safe in San Fernando.”

Rivetti said if civil unrest breaks out, the department may consider blocking off the downtown mall, home to more than 100 businesses. As a last resort, the police department will barricade all entry points into the city, only allowing residents and business owners to enter.

During last year’s riots, the only damage reported in the city was several broken windows, he said.

Once the verdicts are announced, the city will also activate the Office of Emergency Services in a room at the Police Department to serve as a central communications center for City Council members and city employees, said Rico Rose, the city’s coordinator of emergency services. After the office is activated, residents who need information on possible emergency measures can call 898-1285 or read announcements on the cable public access channel, Rose said.