From the Front Lines of the Gang War
June 1, 2004 -- There is no more dangerous place in America to be a police officer — or a young man — than southeast Los Angeles.
"It's not Mayberry, by any stretch of the imagination," says Scotty Stevens, an ex-Marine from Oklahoma.
"Southeast is the epicenter of gangs throughout the country. It's a community that is caught in the middle of a battle between good and evil."
Stevens is also a member of the Los Angeles Police Department's gang unit in the Southeast division. And for a yearlong project on law enforcement in the City of Angels, he and his partner, Tim Pearce, became ABCNEWS' informal guides to the front lines of this conflict.
Gang officers are charged with knowing everything about the gangs they're assigned to: names, nicknames, monikers, tattoos, descriptions, cars, girlfriends, families, where they live, where they hang out, who they hang out with.
"It's a constant attempt to gain that information," said Pearce.
Don't Call Me a ‘Bunny Hugger’
Southeast Los Angeles is only about 10 square miles, but there are different gangs from block to block. "Some are just 30, 40 members on one or two blocks," said Pearce. Others are as huge as 2,000 members.
Stevens and Pearce can read the all-too-common graffiti like road signs. Each gang marks its territory. But sometimes they also stray into each others' territory and leave well-worn insults.
The famous Crips are ridiculed as "Crabs." The gang known as East Coast is "Cheese Toast." The enormous Bounty Hunter Bloods gang is mocked as "Bunny Huggers."
"Bunny Huggers," said Stevens with a laugh. "That can get you in a fight right there."
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