Police Find Ways, Words to Aid Mugged Tourist : Crime: A nightmare that began when a Frenchman got lost in Willowbrook has a happy ending. He says he would be willing to visit Los Angeles again.

Willowbrook at 11 p.m. is not a common tourist destination. But that’s where Michel Poipou found himself meandering when he got off a bus that he belatedly figured out was not headed toward Los Angeles International Airport.

Before he knew it, the French tourist was in a chokehold, bashed in the face and relieved of his money, his traveling bag and his plane ticket by two thugs, police said Sunday.

The officers who arrived at Figueroa Avenue and 152nd Street on Saturday night found that the disoriented traveler spoke no English.

They called on Officer John Zambri, who had studied French in hopes of taking a European vacation, to help out.

Zambri and his partner, Officer Auston Price, spent the next 12 hours ferrying the penniless Poipou, 39, to the airport and fighting the airline bureaucracy to make sure he got a ticket, explaining to the Northwest Airlines staff the gory details of why Poipou couldn’t pay the $50 lost-ticket fee.

Meanwhile, Steve Gardner of Silver Lake--a teacher of French--heard of Poipou’s problems on the radio Sunday. Determined that Poipou not leave without some more pleasant Los Angeles experiences, Gardner called the police and offered to put Poipou up and show him around. But the Frenchman said that although he appreciated the offer, he’d take a rain check and catch his flight home.

So Zambri and Price walked Poipou to his Northwest flight at Terminal 2--his passport safely in his sock, as it had been throughout the ordeal--and said goodby.

“He’s pretty happy,” said Price. “We made sure he was comfortable and told him he could rest assured he’d be welcomed back and taken care of here.”

Zambri said the success of their night’s work showed in Poipou’s parting words: “He said he had no reservations about coming back.”