L.A. now leads U.S. in murders


By Jason Kandel
Staff Writer

Wednesday, November 20, 2002 -

KILLINGS IN THE U.S. Los Angeles is leading the nation's metropolitan cities in total number of homicides. Numbers are year-to-date through Nov. 20, 2002. City Homocides Population Per 100,000 Los Angeles 592 3.6 million 16.44 New York 489 8.0 million 6.11 Chicago 485 2.8 million 17.32 Detroit 346 1.0 million 34.60 Philadelphia 251 1.5 million 16.73 SOURCE: Daily News research

An outbreak of gang violence has turned Los Angeles into the nation's murder capital and prompted LAPD officials to launch an all-out war Wednesday against street violence.

Police Chief William Bratton ordered dozens of officers, backed by state and federal authorities, to hit the city's toughest streets after a war between rival gangs in South Central claimed eight lives in the last two weeks.

With police supporters chanting "Stop the killing" outside the 77th Division headquarters, Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell vowed at a news conference to end the bloody rampage.

"The message to all communities in Los Angeles is that this department remains dedicated to public safety in reducing the fear and incidents of crime," McDonnell said.

"In Los Angeles over the past two years we've experienced a rise in crime. While we can take some comfort that citywide as a whole the increase to date has not been as high it was, nonetheless it is not acceptable."

McDonnell, newly promoted from commander to be Bratton's right-hand man, was flanked by members of the Central Recovery and Development Project. They called for tough police action in an area that has been hit by the city's worst violence in years.

Los Angeles has become the murder capital of the nation, recording 592 homicides through Nov. 20, ahead of New York with 489. Although Los Angeles has the highest number of murders, Detroit and Philadelphia have slightly higher homicide rates per capita.

"This is the last category we want to be No. 1 in," McDonnell said.

The tough LAPD response was prompted by the series of murders in the 77th Division. Of the eight homicides in two weeks, five occurred along Western Avenue, including a killing and a retaliation killing at 83rd Street and Western.

As a result, Bratton summoned a meeting with key members of his command staff to develop a comprehensive plan to attack the problem.

"We are moving forward to have an impact on these gangs," said LAPD Capt. James Miller, 77th Division's commander.

McDonnell, who heads the panel, said his goal is to work closely with the community, and to adopt a multi-agency approach to combating gang violence.

He said commanders will be held accountable for what occurs in their areas, and will provide leadership to take back the streets.

"Area commanding officers are going to ensure that the deployment is heaviest on appropriate days and times of the day when highest levels of crime occurs," McDonnell said.

He also said detectives will respond to radio calls in which victims have been seriously hurt, to help ensure a thorough and complete investigation from the beginning.

"These are just some of the things that in the short term we will address," he said.

Police said they've identified some suspects, and have arrested two people, but on unrelated charges.

Some of the gang shootings are connected to drugs, and police sources said one of the most active gangs in the area -- the Rolling 60s Crips -- is thought to be responsible for some of the latest violence. It is one of the largest Crip factions, and the City Attorney's Office is working to get a court injunction against it.

The Rolling 60s gang deals rock cocaine and commits robberies and is connected to several Las Vegas casino robberies, police said.

"They're having a war, but I'm not sure who with," said a veteran LAPD officer who requested anonymity. "There's a lot of back and forth, a lot of narcotics sales."

Community members have rallied, and church leaders are expected to attend a three-day retreat this weekend to talk about organizing community night patrols.

About 200 people from the community say they expect to walk with a message of peace in coming weeks.

"The violence has escalated to all proportions of sanity," said the Rev. Cecil Murray of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Central Los Angeles. "We must stop the hysteria."