South Bay : Parents Take Aim at Police Firing Range, Seek to Muffle It

On most days, the peace that hangs over western Torrance is disturbed only by lawn mowers, leaf blowers and the occasional bad muffler.

But now and again, gunfire echoes along these landscaped streets--a sound that some residents call entirely unsuited to their suburban neighborhood.

The gunfire emanates from an open-air pistol range in nearby Redondo Beach, operated by the city police department. Here, officers practice their aim in a range surrounded by 10-foot-high walls but lacking a roof.

The noise can be heard just across the city line at Torrance’s Towers Elementary School, which has some wondering why children are being educated in the sound of real-life guns.

“I just don’t want the children to become numb to hearing gunfire,” said Principal Diana Murphy. And some parents gathered more than 200 signatures on petitions asking for the range to be upgraded.

“Basically, put a roof on it and soundproof it,” said parent Pete Lawrence.

But police call this not a matter of sound, but of public safety. The 40-year-old range on Beryl Street is a critical part of officer training, said Capt. Steve Murdoch.

And building a roof would prove extremely costly, requiring ventilation systems because of lead in the air, he said. So police are discussing building 25-foot-high walls to muffle the sound.

“We want to be good neighbors,” Murdoch said. But he noted that officers practice only about three times a month. As for the effect on children, he said: “I’d imagine they hear more gunfire from television than they do from our range.”