HUNTINGTON PARK : Soccer Precautions Criticized, Praised

Reactions among local store owners varied last week after the cordoning off of Pacific Boulevard during and after the World Cup match between Mexico and Bulgaria.

More than 150 police officers from Huntington Park and several other Southeast cities closed Pacific Boulevard from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, hoping to prevent a replay of the previous week’s confrontation between revelers and local police. After Mexico’s 1-1 tie with Italy that assured the team a berth in the ensuing round, more than 300 officers used rubber bullets and pepper spray to control a crowd of 5,000 elated fans.

After the tepid reactions to Mexico’s loss, Salvador Salcedo, the owner of Marina Tours travel agency just off Pacific Boulevard, claimed police concern over fans’ behavior was unjustifiably inflated. “The large police presence here isn’t justified,” Salcedo said. “The American just isn’t accustomed to what we call futbol. “

Hassan Mattar of La Sorpresa clothing store called the entire day bad for business owners. Mattar, who said he probably lost $500 to $1,000 in receipts with the street’s closure, said he didn’t care about the police presence or the results of the day’s game.

“It’s important to my customers, but not to me, since it doesn’t pertain to my country,” Mattar said in Spanish. “I’m not Mexican but Lebanese.”

One of Mattar’s neighbors on the other side of Pacific Boulevard, Ibrahim Karim of California Sports Wear, said he was quite pleased with the police turnout, especially after the previous week’s outpouring of exuberance among Mexico’s fans.

“It’s better to lose a little money while maintaining security,” Karim stated, while loudly welcoming browsing customers into his store.

Tuesday’s 150-strong joint operation among forces from Huntington Park, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and several Southeast cities resulted in 15 arrests. Six of those arrested were charged with assault with a deadly weapon on an officer, after rocks were thrown at police.

Huntington Park’s overall costs are expected to exceed $20,000. Overtime costs alone for the afternoon’s operation were about $13,000, according to Lt. Steve Peeley of the Huntington Park Police Department. Several thousand dollars in regular pay and equipment costs are expected to be added to that amount, officials said.

Other law enforcement costs are unknown, although Capt. Gary Kennedy of South Gate said his city’s final figure would be “a bundle.”