Pacoima Police Take Their Posts at Fort Foothill : Security: Officers say staffing at most stations, including the Parker Center headquarters, remains high because of fear of attack.

Two weeks after rioting in Los Angeles ended, the Foothill Division Police Station remains at an “elevated security” alert, complete with a bus barricade in front of its main entrance.

Outside the station on Osborne Street in Pacoima, an officer remains posted with a shotgun beneath a blooming jacaranda tree in a bunker of sandbags. Inside, the number of officers on security duty has been increased. And at night, the lobby lights are dimmed and officers work in near darkness to avoid becoming lighted targets for snipers or drive-by shooters.

Police administrators said no “stand down” is in sight. Street intelligence gathered by officers indicates the need to be prepared for a surprise attack. One police source said officers were particularly concerned about drive-by shootings.

“We have intelligence information from a lot of places,” said Capt. Tim McBride, the station’s commander. “There are still threats out there that we are hearing about . . .. There are some angry people out there that want to do violent things.”

While the battlements remain in place, the department is drawing up plans to permanently increase the station’s security, possibly even building a wall in front of the lobby entrance, which has glass doors 20 feet from the curb. Meanwhile, McBride acknowledged that having a bus barricade out front is “not a good way of conducting community-based policing”--the style of work the department hopes will rejuvenate its image and help heal the city.

The precautions at Foothill Division--the assigned station of four officers whose acquittal on all but one charge in the Rodney G. King beating trial triggered the worst U.S. rioting in this century--may be among the most stringent taken at the city’s police stations.

Police generally declined to comment on specific security strategies but staffing in the public areas of most stations, including the department’s Parker Center headquarters, remains high. And police officials said most station commanders are reviewing security arrangements in the wake of the riots.

But Lt. John Dunkin said all temporary physical security measures, such as barricades at Parker Center--scene of a volatile protest after the April 29 verdict--have been removed while extra officers still remain assigned to the lobby. At 77th Street Division, in the heart of the South-Central area hit hard by violence, extra station officers remain assigned and earlier this week lookouts were on the roof. An officer is posted at the lobby door to monitor who enters.

At Foothill, the blue Police Athletic League bus that was rolled in front of the glass facade of the lobby shortly after the verdict remains in place along with the sandbag bunker at the corner of the station’s parking lot. Together they give the station the appearance that it is preparing for a siege.

That was almost the case on the evening of the verdict. A large crowd of protesters gathered across the street from the station and a handful of people hurled rocks and bottles at a line of officers spread in front. Someone in the crowd fired a gun into the air as police attempted to disburse the protesters.

Since then, things have been tame--aside from a bomb threat that cleared the station Wednesday night but proved to be unfounded.

McBride declined to discuss all security measures being taken and what specific threats the station may be facing.

“You try to get some intelligence and try to react and be as ready as you can,” McBride said. “We have an elevated level of security now based on the perceived climate. We have several officers assigned to security and we change their posts all the time.”

Sources within the department said an intelligence bulletin was circulated recently warning officers that gang members may be targeting police. According to a source, the memo, referring to a “threat” gleaned through intelligence, said: “The threat indicates that the attack will be carried out in the South-Central area of L.A. or Pacoima area.”

After walking past the bus and over a trampled shrubbery bed, members of the public enter the station to find it is still “user friendly” with couches, a table for children and an aquarium in the lobby. The walls are covered with artwork from local grade school students--thank-yous to the police for their efforts during the riot days.

The furnishings were put in place before the verdict and are part of several efforts to open up to the public and foster a gentler image in the year since the beating incident occurred about a mile up the road at Osborne Street and Foothill Boulevard.

McBride said he is not happy about the image the current exterior of the station projects but must ensure the safety of officers on the front desk and members of the public who come in to seek help or conduct business.

“I don’t like the bus out front,” McBride said. “It is not a good way of conducting community-based policing. I want to get it out of here, but I want to protect the officers we have up front.”

He said changes are in the offing, but he did not discuss specifics. However, one change will probably be the addition of a wall in the area where the bus is now located. McBride said that while the wall may also hinder the open image of the station, it is a needed security device.

“It’s better than a bus,” he said.

Times staff writer Leslie Berger contributed to this report.