NORTH HILLS : Students Grill the Valley’s New Top Cop

One week after taking over as the San Fernando Valley’s top cop, Deputy Los Angeles Police Chief Martin H. Pomeroy went to court Monday to face one of his toughest audiences yet: high school students. Acting as moderator for a mock town hall meeting in the wood-paneled courtroom at James Monroe High School’s law and government magnet in North Hills, Pomeroy answered questions on subjects ranging from marijuana legalization to community relations.

“During the Los Angeles riots, the streets were teeming with people who had no sense of the law,” said Elana Rosen, a 17-year-old senior. “What is the LAPD going to do to instill a respect for the law in the people of Los Angeles?”

Pomeroy answered with a question.

“Have you seen anything in the community to indicate that the LAPD has done anything since the riots?” he asked the audience of about 50 magnet students.

When no one responded, Pomeroy outlined a number of programs that the LAPD has launched in the Valley to better community relations with the police, such as starting neighborhood-watch groups.

“I’m not saying there was no community interaction with the police before the Rodney King incident,” Pomeroy said. “It was just much more limited.”

Pomeroy’s appearance in the courtroom was one of a number of events regularly held there to educate students about the government and legal system. The room was set up last spring for use by the magnet’s 360 students.

After describing his own background and giving a brief history of law enforcement, Pomeroy opened the forum to questions.

“Did the media cause the L. A. riots?” asked Stephen Friedman, a 10th-grader. (Pomeroy’s answer was no.)

“What do you think the community attitude is toward the police?” asked junior Alberto Lopez.

Pomeroy answered the questions cautiously, diffusing controversy by offering multifaceted responses to issues he said were very complex. Citizens’ attitudes toward the LAPD, he said, vary, from those who like to keep police “at arms-length” to those who become very involved in supporting crime-fighting activities.

After the meeting, Pomeroy compared the high school students to adult audiences: “I hear some of the same issues,” he said. “But adults often focus on the specific--how things will affect their neighborhood.

“Students are more concerned with society as a whole.”