The Los Angeles Times du lieu suivant : Los Angeles, California • 6

1993 WASHINGTON EDITION LOS ANGELES TIMES A6 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, Officer Had 90 Minutes Left in His Job Victims: Slain reserve policeman was to join San Jose force. Partner grew up in Compton and returned to serve community. By MILES CORWIN TIMES STAFF WRITER was his last day with the Compton police, his final patrol, with only 90 minutes left on his shift. James MacDonald, a reserve Compton police officer, had planned to return home at 1:30 a.m., begin packing the next day and then head to San Jose, where he was scheduled to begin training as a full- -time officer. But MacDonald, 23, and his partner, Kevin Burrell, 29, a former all -conference basketball player at Cal State Dominguez Hills, died in a fusillade of shots Wednesday night, shortly after they pulled over what witnesses described as a suspicious red pickup truck.

"Mac was a very sharp kid. I know he would've made a tremendous cop," said Lt. Gary Anderson, his voice breaking. He covered his eyes for a moment, regained his composure and said: "I just can't believe it was his last ride." The death of an officer is a brutal blow for any police department. But in a small, tightknit department such as Compton's, where the officers know each other by their first names, it- is like losing a member of the family, Anderson said.

Late Monday night, after the shooting, Compton police officers poured into the station. Officers who were on vacation, on afternoon shifts, on sick leave, all showed up and searched for the killers throughout the night. They "These guys are all very close and they're just trying to find the strength to cope with this situation." The two officers killed, both of whom were single, were an unlikely patrol team. MacDonald grew up in Santa Rosa, far from the inner city; he was small, blond and soft -spoken- -an unimposing looking officer. Burrell was enormous-6-foot-7 'These officers are torn to bits and pieces.

You've never seen such sorrow and grief grip a REV. E. BOYD ESTES Police chaplain interviewed residents door -todoor; they contacted their sources; they patrolled the area. By morning, most were back at the station, exhausted and emotionally spent. A few officers broke down and cried when questioned by reporters.

Some gathered behind the station in small groups, smoking, drinking coffee and trying to come to terms with the killings. Others met with the police chaplain and prayed. "These officers are torn to bits and pieces. You've never seen such sorrow and grief grip a department," said the police chaplain, the Rev. E.

Boyd Estes, who had just finished counseling a number of officers Thursday morning. COMPTON: Two Officers Are Slain in Hail of Gunfire Continued from A1 "He was very friendly a very loving kid." The officers were shot shortly after 11 p.m. Monday after stopping the pickup truck for what police called a "possible traffic violation of suspicious circumstance" at the corner of Rosecrans and Dwight avenues. The occupants emerged from the truck and opened fire, striking each officer several times, said Compton Lt. Joe Flores.

Although both officers were wearing bulletproof vests, they fell to the street. Witnesses reported the shootings, Flores said, and the fallen officers were rushed to Martin Luther Medical Center, where they died a short time later. Officers throughout the department came in on their own time and at least 18 investigators were assigned to the case. Police were still interviewing witnesses on Tuesday, Flores said. But the spokesman declined to say how many witnesses had seen the attack and withheld other information about the incident, including the nature of the wounds, for fear of jeopardizing the investigation.

He declined to say why the pickup had been considered suspicious, but discounted the theory that the officers had been ambushed by the assailants. Flores said investigators were still trying to determine the make and model of the pickup, an issue that raised questions a about whether the two young officers had followed department recommendations that call for vehicles to be checked by a computer run of license plate numbers at the beginning of a traffic stop. Because equipped Compton with police mobile cars com- are puters, officers in the 127-member department typically run their computer checks by calling a police dispatcher. "If it was a traffic stop. the normal procedure is to call in," Rickey Petty, a Compton detective, said.

"They did not tell dispatch Flores declined to elaborate on the matter, saying the truck "could have had expired plates, could have had missing plates a lot of things could have gone wrong. I was told not to give that information out." Lt. Gary Lee, who heads the Tactics Training Section of the Los Angeles Police Academy, said recruits there are taught to record license numbers at any traffic stop and to run them through the computer to check for traffic warrants or stolen vehicles, The computer makes a record of the request, he said, adding that the procedure is advisory and not required of officers. Residents of Compton, which recorded 82 homicides in 1988. representing a higher murder rate per capita than either Los Angeles or Washington, -have been striving to improve the community through block clubs and other programs.

The number of murders dropped sharply to 59 last year, Flores said. Officers Slain Now, at another Compton intersection; residents were mourning Burrell. At the corner of Dwight and Rosecrans avenues, where the officers were shot, Greg Woods wandered about, thinking about Burrell, a longtime friend. "He loved this city," said Woods, stopping at the Hercules Burger parking lot near the shooting site. "This was all Even some gang members mourned Burrell's death, said Lorraine Cerventes, a liaison between the community and police.

A number of "gangbangers called today to express concern," she said. Burrell had grown up with many of them, she said, and they respected him because "he knew what life is like here." At Compton High School Burrell was an all -league basketball player, and he was a star forward in college, where he led the conference in rebounding as a senior. Burrell had a 3-year-old son and came from a large family, most of whom still live in Compton. "He always said he wanted to return to work in the community where he grew up," said Dave Yanai, head coach at Dominguez Hills. "He really had a feeling for helping the people of Like Burrell, MacDonald was an accomplished athlete.

He was the starting quarterback for his high was school football team in Santa Rosa kind and an all- -league point guard, said ed Piner High School Principal Joe COMPTON POLICE his face. Two Compton police officers were shot and killed Monday. 119TH ST. (210) 120TH ST. Los Angeles MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

DREW MEDICAL CENTER AREA AVE. EL SEGUNDO BLVD. MAPPED 3AV 105 CENTRAL AVE. 135TH ST. Compton Gonzales ST.

Park A (10) PEDRO INDIMG FIGUERDA BROADWAY MAIN SAN ROSECRANS AVE. BAY BAY COMPTON BLVD. REDONDO BEACH BLVD. A Late Monday, officers head westbound on Rosecrans on patrol. Officers stop a truck for "possible traffic violation." During the stop, officers are shot.

About 11:20 p.m., police receive calls from citizens reporting gunfire. Officers are taken to Martin Luther King Medical Center. Sources: Times staff reports inches tall and almost 300 pounds- -and was a lifelong Compton resident. Many of the officers had known him since he was a teen- -ager, when he was an Explorer Scout and answered phones at the station. He joined the department five years ago.

Burrell "was one of us," said Gladys Russell, who showed up at City Hall Thursday to pay her respects. He understood the problems of Compton residents and he truly cared, Russell said. She once encountered Burrell at a Compton intersection after a drive-by shooting, and she was surprised to see the burly officer standing over the body of a dead teen- -ager, tears streaming down GEORGE CAREY Los Angeles Times Sewell. "A lot of kids go through this high school but get lost in the maze. Jimmy was a kid who stood out," Sewell said.

"He was involved in so many things and such a great young kid, the of kid you remember. I wanthim to become a teacher." MacDonald decided to become a KEN LUBAS Los Angeles Times police officer while attending Cal State Long Beach, and he began working as a volunteer reserve officer to gain experience before he applied to various city police departments. He was accepted by the San Jose Police Department and was scheduled to begin its academy in 11 days, Anderson said. The slayings of the two officers brought to 39 the number of lawenforcement personnel killed while on duty countywide since 1985. According to Flores, "all kinds of gangs have been mentioned" in connection with the incident, but only in rumors.

It is possible that more than two assailants were involved, he added. Police arrested two men in a red pickup truck, then cleared them of the killings while holding in jail on other charges. Flores declined to release their names or the reason for their arrests. The Compton City Council, meanwhile, canceled its scheduled meeting Tuesday night. Instead, council members were paying visits to the Ramada Hotel to offer condolences to members of the MacDonald family, who had arrived from Santa Rosa after the slayings.

ton eanwhile, and the the County of Board Comp- of Supervisors were offering a $25,000 reward' for information leading to the arrests of the killers, and Compton police had set up a -free information number, (800) 954-1000. "We're all in a state of shock and disbelief, of course, and very, very hurt," said Shirley Qualls, a secretary at City Hall, fighting to control a quavering as she awaited a TV newscast. She described the emotional impact on City Hall workers as worse than that felt after last spring's riots, in which 43 buildings in Compton were destroyed or damaged in one night. "We're all like a big family here," she said. "What hurts one hurts all." Warren Washington, president of Compton College, said the deaths marred the grand opening Tuesday of a job-training center created in the aftermath of last year's violence.

"We in Compton have been the target of a lot of negative perceptions," Washington said. "This, unfortunately, creates another negative perception of the city, which is not what the city is all about." Reserve officers vowed to continue their work despite Monday's shootings. "It's hard. It's like losing a family member," said Frank Garces, 65, the city's oldest reserve. it doesn't discourage us." Meanwhile, Officer spokesman for Veronica the San Jose Police Department, described MacDonald as "definitely the role model we were looking for.

I'm sure he would have been a fine officer." Burrell was a spirited officer who never thought about dying on duty, recalled his friend Greg S. Woods, 29, an employee at a Compton school who spent part of Tuesday standing at the intersection were Burrell was killed, trying to understand it. "He loved the city--this was all he knew," Woods said. wasn't about how many people he could take to jail, but how many lives he could touch. I will miss him." DOUGLAS BURROW For The Times Paramedics work to save one of the two Compton police officers who were fatally wounded late Monday night.

Officers Kevin Michael Burrell, 29, and James Wayne MacDonald, 23, died after they were shot when they stopped a pickup truck for what police called a "possible traffic violation of suspicious circumstance." At left, Compton City Council member Patricia Moore comforts Lt. Joe Flores during an emotion-packed news conference Tuesday about the slayings. Below, fellow officers comfort George Betor outside the Compton police station. The slayings are the first shooting deaths of on-duty officers in the Police Department's 65-year history, authorities said. KEN LUBAS Los Angeles Times.