ANAHEIM : Video Used in Fight Against Drugs, Gangs

Disneyland, local shopping centers and hotels whiz by on the videotape before the images turn to the bruised face of a 23-year-old woman killed in a drunken-driving accident.

Also on the tape is a woman, sobbing uncontrollably, who changed her mind about committing suicide after swallowing a bottle of prescription pills.

Then there is a gang member who lies unconscious from injuries suffered in a fight while a fellow gang member calmly tells the camera that he joined a gang because his friends have “taught me how to make money . . . by robbing places.”

The 15-minute video--”Local Motive 911”--is a joint production of the Anaheim Fire Department and the Anaheim Union High School District. It gives the city’s seventh-grade students a look from a firefighter’s point of view at events in which alcohol, drugs or gangs have killed or injured someone. According to the tape, up to 80% of the department’s weekend calls are related to gang activity or drug and alcohol abuse.

The tape is narrated by television sportscaster Roy Firestone and is the only anti-drug and anti-gang tape produced by an Orange County fire department. It is played as part of a program in which a firefighter visits each of the city’s seventh-grade health classes between September and June.

“We want to be another spoke in the wheel in the fight against gangs, drugs, suicide and teen drinking,” said Capt. Craig Castillo, who came up with the idea for the tape three years ago. “We are not out to lecture the students against drugs or alcohol. We want them to see from the calls the fire department has received that they have choices and the choices can influence their lives in a positive or negative fashion.”

Carol Stuart, the school district’s director of special programs, said Local Motive 911 compliments the police department’s Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, which targets elementary children. She said some students already involved in gangs or drugs might listen to a firefighter when they wouldn’t listen to a police officer.

“The fire department is seen in the community as helpful people as opposed to the unfortunate stereotype many students have of the police,” Stuart said.

And, for the most part, it’s free. Firestone and members of his production company donated their time while local businesses such as Carl Karcher Enterprises and Anaheim Memorial Hospital contributed money.

One of the things that makes the video different from others that are shown local schoolchildren is that it was filmed in Anaheim.

“The students can see that it wasn’t Los Angeles or Philadelphia or Detroit where these things occurred; they happened here in Anaheim,” Castillo said. “We want them to recognize the signs on the buildings.”

Chris Bird, 13, saw the video last year as a seventh grader at Brookhurst Junior High School. He said it stood out because it depicted events that happened close to his school.

Another Brookhurst student, Christina Harmon, 13, said the tape “makes people realize that (drugs, gangs and alcohol) cause injuries.”

Castillo said he hopes the tape will have a long-term impact on the teen-agers who see it.

“When you see a 13-year-old who has been shot to death because he was dressed like a gang member, it bothers you,” Castillo said. “That’s too young to die, just too young.”