Police Station Urged for Panorama Mall

Los Angeles City Councilman Ernani Bernardi asked the council Tuesday to call for establishment of a police substation in the Panorama Mall, where a gang-related slaying occurred earlier this month.

The councilman, whose district includes Panorama City where the mall is located, introduced the motion Tuesday after the mall’s owners promised to provide free space for such a substation, said David Mays, his chief deputy.

“We want to establish it right away--before the holiday season,” Mays said.

Bernardi’s proposal follows the Oct. 4 slaying of Bobby Chacon Jr.--son of former world featherweight boxing champion Bobby Chacon--in a gang confrontation in a parking lot near the mall.

Mays said the recent killing and other gang activity nearby could damage the mall and hurt commercial activity in that area. “We have a lot of activity in the area that we think could be eliminated,” Mays said. The substation would not just serve the mall but the “entire commercial area.”

Mays pointed out that the West Valley Division has a substation at the Topanga Plaza Mall. He said it would be a logical extension of the Van Nuys Division to have a substation at Panorama City.

The proposal--which would be a nonbinding request to the Police Department--next goes to the council’s Public Safety Committee, of which Bernardi is a member.