Day L.A. dreads is right around the corner

Haya El Nasser

04/02/1993

USA Today

FINAL

Page 03A

LOS ANGELES - No emergency plans, no riot drills and no daily rounds of

what-if speculations could have prepared the city for this bombshell: Verdicts in

the Rodney King beating trial could come down as early as next week.

"Wow," said community activist Gina Rae.

The quick wrap-up by the defense Thursday moved up the prospect of verdicts

by days - a stunning reality, even for a city that has been bracing for this moment

for months.

And the reality hit hard.

Young Lim, owner of a south central convenience store, quickly made plans to

close his store when verdicts are read.

"I'm not worried about my customers, but the rioters will come when the gangs

get mad," Lim says.

Thanks to loyal patrons, his market was one of the few Korean-owned businesses

spared in rioting after last year's not-guilty verdicts in the state trial of the four

police officers who beat King.

Last year's riots have put everyone on alert this time.

Even the school district had set Thursday as an "L.A. for CommUNITY" day - a

series of in-class discussions of the upcoming verdicts. But that day could come

too late.

Aside from the traditional Good Friday holiday, the district says it has no plans

to close schools for the verdicts.

Police officers were warned about the fast-approaching verdicts at afternoon roll

calls.

But police spokesman Lt. John Dunkin stressed police have been preparing for

verdicts a long time: "This is not one of those trigger points."

The department has been working on extensive riot emergency strategies -

including 16 hours of special training for each officer.

"We want people to be able to come out, turn, blink and see an LAPD officer,"

said Police Chief Willie Williams on a recent television call-in show.

"We haven't done anything like call out any troops or move any equipment," says

Lt. Col. Bruce Roy of the California National Guard. "But this is a decision point

where we would mentally at least go into a state of readiness."

The Guard, criticized for last year's deployment delays, says it can have 1,500

troops here 24 hours after being called; 1,500 more six hours later. Equipment is

in place for a "worst-case scenario," Roy says.

Councilman Joel Wachs, a mayoral candidate, called for the National Guard to

be in place before verdicts are read.

"It's like writing a script," complains Rae, with a group formed to protest the

light sentence given a Korean-American merchant who shot and killed a black

teen in 1991.

"They're asking for trouble. . . . Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place."

Says Marshall Bennet, who lives near areas hit by riots last year: "We should

have faith in this jury. . . . I'm not frightened about any civil unrest."

Mayor Tom Bradley's Neighbor-to-Neighbor program continues to train

volunteers to go door-to-door, pleading for calm.

Jose De Sosa, state NAACP president, says that because this jury is more racially

mixed than last year's, "the city will accept the jury decision much better -

regardless." Contributing: Jonathan T. Lovitt