The ValleyFRED TOLER, Van NuysLAPD lieutenant, coordinator...

The Valley

FRED TOLER, Van Nuys

LAPD lieutenant, coordinator of Valley Bureau’s CRASH (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) program

The Latino gangs’ cease-fire here is still holding after about 16 months. In 1993 there were 44 gang-related homicides in the Valley; in 1994 there were 29. That’s quite a drop. While that’s due to a lot of hard work on the part of many people, the truce has played an important part.

Actually to call it a truce is a misnomer. The people working to stop violence have to be out every night, trying to deal with new conflicts that come up by using dialogue instead of shooting. They have meetings, football games between rival gangs, things like that.

There are a lot of groups out there that get grants, but I don’t hear much about them. I see real solid street-level work from people like William (Blinky) Rodriguez, who have a lot of dedication but aren’t getting much support.

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WILLIAM (BLINKY) RODRIGUEZ

Sylmar

Executive director of the San Fernando Valley Cities in Schools, a branch of a national dropout prevention program.

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The truce between the 75 Latino gangs in the Valley has been holding since Oct. 31, 1993, although nobody dreamed it would last. A lot of the credit must go to individuals from the different gangs who have caught the vision of peace and put in countless hours of work in their neighborhoods.

In 1990 my son was killed in a drive-by shooting. For a long time I was in terrible pain. Before I could do this work, I had to forgive all three of my son’s killers. It was the awesome power of God that helped me do that; otherwise bitterness and hatred would have consumed me.

I began to work with high-risk kids, holding meetings in my home for nine months. I’m a former world kick-boxing champ and taught martial arts, so I knew a lot of them already.

I go out many nights with my buddy, Donald Garcia, who’s done a lot of prison time and is dedicated, like me, to stopping violence, to work out problems that come up in addition to our weekly arbitration meetings. Also, the Mexican Mafia put the word out that any gang member who does a drive-by will now be considered a coward, not a hero. Some say this was to control the drug trade, but a lot of those guys were also sick over seeing little kids get caught in cross-fire. Of 29 gang-related homicides in the Valley last year, only two were Latinos involved in the truce. I know because one was my nephew.

Nobody’s run to embrace our program yet, even though we’ve put our hearts on the table, even though the LAPD credits us with a lot of the peace.

The government is spending multibillions on new prisons, many run by private companies that lobby for tax dollars. Last month I was in court with four 20-year-old kids who got sent up for life under the new three-strikes law. We can’t get any money to prevent kids from joining gangs but some people are making billions on punishing them.

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South Los Angeles

KHALID SHAW, Inglewood

President, Stop the Violence and Increase the Peace

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We’ve got a real complex situation in South Los Angeles because there are so many gangs, so many different situations and so many organizations working on the problem.

Some truces are in full effect; some areas never agreed to a truce; some truces are just being put together, some are breaking down. But quite a few gangs are trucing in South Central and the murder rate is way down.

I used to be a gang member. I’ve lost many friends to senseless violence and I started being afraid for my own kids. Many gang people are extremely intelligent, and realize there’s no hope in hopelessness. All the brothers and sisters who hold to a truce should really be commended for having the courage and dedication to make it happen in the face of all the obstacles.

Where we’re called to help, we go. A year ago, a Nation of Islam minister set up a meeting between Bloods and Crips in the Pomona-San Bernardino area. We helped arrange a truce that I understand is still holding. Right now, our organization is putting out word about the “three strikes and you’re out” law, saying on radio and in flyers that even though the law is unfair, if you continue in a destructive pattern you could go to prison for life. People need to know that nobody’s going to hold your hand; they’re going to wait for you to continue and then lock you up for life.

What really bothers me is that they’re giving grants to research the causes of gangs while we’re out dodging bullets and struggling on a shoestring. We’ve raised our money from rap concerts, bake sales, and recently we received some funds from private companies.

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KEITAROCK PARKER

South-Central

Counselor, Community Build, and founder of Black Generations in Neutral, Taking Off (B.G.I.N. (T.O))

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The big truce after the April, 1992, riots failed after about three months because when those brothers laid down their weapons and saved thousands of lives, they should have been commended and given support, but they weren’t. So it all started to unfold and got real crazy out there--worse than before.

In early l994, me and my buddy, Brian Long, started working toward a widespread cease-fire. I’m 31 and had been a gang member 22 years. I’m a man now, with kids and responsibilities. People were saying to me, “You’ve got a lot of power and respect among your peers; you’ve got to use it in a positive way.”

This time, people started out with a lot of animosity but they wanted to come together, to stop going to funerals. We did two things: Some people went into the boxing ring and settled disputes, fist to fist, no gloves. Also, for seven months, we had weekly meetings beginning with a prayer and handshakes. Gradually, representatives of all the major factions attended.

There’s a number of gangs who still respect the peace. But everything’s gone crazy again because we didn’t get assistance from the government or any organization. I could put a truce together again, but I can’t keep doing it and have nothing to offer. It makes me look like a fool.

Gang members would much rather be working for a good day’s pay and leading a productive life. We just need a chance.

Oakwood

BRAD CARSON, Oakwood

Los Angeles County probation officer

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The truce here is going much better than I ever anticipated. Since June 13, l994, any disputes have been resolved by the gangs themselves. They deserve a lot of credit because they’ve come up with a mechanism whereby they have worked out every new problem that’s arisen. I hope they will share that mechanism with others in areas having conflicts, because so far it’s working great.

I’m assigned to work in the Oakwood area. The situation there last June was more than critical, it was getting explosive. We were having a major war between the mostly black gangs and mostly Latino gangs: 21 people had been killed and 71 wounded in the preceding nine months. The gang members themselves wanted to end the situation, but whoever makes the first move loses. I decided I would make the move.

I contacted Jim Galipeau, a probation officer from the Los Angeles Probation Department Centinela office. He’s a famous gang expert with a vast reputation. We chose a site where the gang leaders could meet, not telling them where, and worked out a plan to guarantee their safety.

On June 13, Jim, who’s white, picked up the two black leaders. I’m black, and I picked up the two Latinos. When we took them to the meeting site, they made us stand 100 feet away so we couldn’t hear them and for an hour and a half they talked. They (agreed to a ) cease-fire that very day.

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RICK MEJIA, Oakwood

Assistant projects manager of Westside Watersavers, former gang member

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There’s a lot of peace in the streets now. It makes me feel really good. Last weekend, we went to barbecue in the park. Some blacks were there barbecuing too, and everything was cool. Last year, everybody was locked in their houses, scared to come out.

There used to be rules about gang fighting--you’d go out just at night where gangs were, not go shooting during school. And you didn’t shoot girls. What made me try to help start a truce was about three years ago when a pregnant 19-year-old I knew got shot. I got on the phone and called all the guys from other gangs that I’d been in jail or prison with. In jail, you realize that a lot of that stuff about neighborhoods is stupid.

I’d always kept communication open with black guys I’d grown up with in Oakwood. You have to be fair to all people.

A lot of gang leaders are putting on a front, but most have families and kids and know in their hearts we can’t have all the violence.