By MOLLY GORDY
City Cops Looking
Police officers are being trained to look out for ritually branded members of the Bloods after a series of Manhattan crack deals and Brooklyn slashings reminiscent of the notorious West Coast gang.
Out for Bloods
Daily News Staff Writer
An internal police memo obtained by the Daily News also warns precinct commanders that some gang members may try to complete the gang's blood-drawing initiation by slashing cops.
Several drug and knifing suspects arrested recently have worn the trademark red-and-black colors of the Bloods, prompting fears the gang's presence in the city is increasing.
In Brooklyn, officers have noted a half-dozen crimes with assailants wearing elaborate red-and-black beads. The attackers have demanded money the victims with a razor.
Cops said a razor attack on a Brooklyn subway rider Wednesday didn't fit the pattern because the slasher did not wear gang identifiers, engage in conversation or demand money.
In Los Angeles, gang members have been linked to roughly 400 killings a year, primarily in battles against their rivals, the Crips.
The first East Coast division of the Bloods was formed by black inmates at Rikers Island in 1993 to fend off attacks by members of the Latin Kings gang, according to the memo.
Police said the New York Bloods are a chapter of the West Coast gang but don't answer to them.
The police document describes the gang's secret graffiti and hand-signal codes.
It also tells how to recognize Bloods by their clothes and carefully positioned ritual burn marks.
While their West Coast counterparts wear tattoos, New York City Bloods favor burn marks on their arms in the form of three zeros or circles, according to the memo.
One high-ranking official said the gang's hierarchy is so tightly structured "that it resembles early Italian organized crime."
In prison, some members have slashed correction officers to rise to a higher rank, the document said mbers are given numbers for titles, such as "He's a 102."
The gang subdivides into sets ">
Original Story Date: 032897
Original Story Section: Crime File