City Officials Vow to Act Against Gangs

Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas stood with police, city officials and neighborhood residents on a Florence Avenue sidewalk Wednesday to declare a united front against recent gang slayings in the area and vowed to “restore the level of decency and respect that any community deserves.”

According to police, gang feuds have killed seven this month in the neighborhood surrounding the intersection of Florence and Normandie avenues, a flash point of the 1992 riots.

But even as the news conference was underway, two people were shot and wounded around the corner. According to police, two men were standing on the sidewalk when they were approached by two others on foot, who drew guns. The first pair ran into a transmission repair shop and their assailants fired at them, striking two bystanders, police said.

The sidewalk news conference came a day after police staged a raid in the neighborhood and arrested 12 alleged gang members. Ridley-Thomas praised that action, but called for “a far more comprehensive approach, not simply a high-profile law enforcement effort.”

The councilman said city prosecutors are considering asking for a court injunction, which would bar gang members from gathering publicly in the area. City agencies also will work to clean streets and alleys, enforce building codes and remove graffiti.

The strategy, Ridley-Thomas and city public works officials said, is based on the theory that dealing swiftly with small quality-of-life problems helps prevent more serious crimes.

Several residents, however, were skeptical. Roberto Velasquez said the used appliance shop he owns on Florence was burglarized three times this week.

Velasquez said he had just returned from reporting the crimes at the nearby 77th Street LAPD station because his phone calls had failed to bring an officer.

Najee Ali, who was visiting his daughter when he saw the news conference underway, said he supports the ideas put forth by the officials, but wanted them to “make sure they follow through, that this is not a lot of rhetoric. There were a lot of false promises before. We saw what happened after 1992,” said Ali, a former gang member who directs a gang intervention group called Project Islamic Hope.

Meanwhile, the gunmen who had opened fire at 11:30 a.m. attack two blocks away on Normandie Avenue escaped. The names and conditions of the victims were not released.