L.A. Gang Shuts Down TV Police Drama
March 27 2009, Published 3:48 p.m. ET
A notorious LA street gang took offense to some Hollywood actors pretending to be "real cops" in their bullet ridden neighborhood, RadarOnline.com has learned, and even stopped production of the highly anticipated new police drama Southland.
Cast and crew of the new NBC drama - which was devised by ER creator John Wells and stars O.C. hunk Benjamin McKenzie - were shooting a scene at the 4700 block of 3rd Avenue Wednesday in gang plagued South Central when some trouble flared.
A producer for Southland told RadarOnline.com: "We heard there was a disturbance in the area we were shooting and we went around it by doing the scene in another area."
Local beat-cop Officer Deleon said: "This particular area is occupied by gangmembers and they are pretty mean. Usually, we are notified ahead of time so that we can offer some kind of protection to crews that are going to film here in South Central. But in this particular instance our Watch commander was not notified that they needed any assistance. Gangs are very territorial and they often don't take kindly to having their neighborhood's blocked-off, so, it pays to have the real police around when shooting in dangerous areas." (Photo: Splash News)
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