New Station’s Neighbors Unload

Officers reporting for duty Sunday at Los Angeles’ first new police station in 27 years got an earful from Mission Hills-area residents on freeway shootings, mail theft and graffiti.

As the Mission Area Police Station opened its doors, officers fanned out across parts of the San Fernando Valley to hear what residents had to say about crime. They also found themselves with their first major case: the latest shooting on a Southern California freeway.

Much of the residents’ concerns were more mundane: illegal dumping, speeding and suspicious vehicles parked on their streets.

Barbara Godley, 54, of Granada Hills, who lives near John F. Kennedy High School, said she was worried about teenage vandals.

“The other day, there were five kids in front of my house and they wouldn’t leave,” Godley told officers. “They spray graffiti on my front fence as fast as I can cover it with paint.... They’re terrorizing our neighborhood.”

Senior Lead Officer Michael Watson told Godley he would follow up, and Lt. Tia Morris suggested she file a complaint about speeding with the Valley Traffic Division.

“What the senior leads do is, we try to find out what the problem is and we try to solve it,” Watson told about 65 residents who met with Mission Station officers at Kennedy High. “If we don’t know what’s going on, we don’t know what to do.”

Despite some minor communications mix-ups, the first morning at the station unfolded smoothly, said day Watch Cmdr. Lt. John DelVecchio.

During a stop at the Panorama Recreation Center in Panorama City, the station’s commanding officer, Capt. Kirk J. Albanese, said his goal was to field one of the best community-policing operations in the nation.

To kick off that effort, Albanese directed his 248 officers to meet with residents Sunday at 14 locations, including coffee shops, churches and community centers.

And before the first shovelful of dirt was ever moved, city officials and the Los Angeles Police Department had responded to residents’ concerns by deciding not to place a jail or a helipad at the station, which is at North Sepulveda and San Fernando Mission boulevards.

The station serves 201,000 residents in Mission Hills, Sylmar, North Hills, Panorama City and part of Granada Hills, areas previously covered by the Devonshire and Foothill stations. The new station, officials said, is expected to sharply reduce response times.

But not everyone was convinced it was the best move the city could make.

“A police station’s not going to bring any awareness and knowledge to these people,” said David Haynes, 29, of Panorama City, exercising on outdoor gym bars at the recreation center as officers met with residents nearby. “What are they doing to give people more opportunity so they can sustain themselves and they can afford a place to live?”

Manuel Solano, 42, a Neighborhood Watch member in Panorama City, complained to officers about drug dealing and dumped couches and refrigerators.

“What we want is quick response to 911 calls,” Solano said.

At Kennedy High, North Hills resident Sharon Newman, 52, said she was deeply troubled by a freeway shooting early Sunday morning on Interstate 405 between Roscoe Boulevard and Nordhoff Street.

It was the latest in a rash of recent shootings on Southern California freeways.

“This is as close to home as it’s gotten for us in this area,” Newman said. “How do we stay safe? How do we stop worrying?”