CIA DIRECTOR BOOED AT WATTS APPEARANCE.

Byline: Dennis Love Daily News Staff Writer

CIA Director John Deutch was roundly booed and heckled when he came to Watts on Friday to listen to allegations that the spy agency introduced crack cocaine into South Central Los Angeles in the mid-1980s.

Deutch attempted to assure the community at the unprecedented and tumultuous meeting at Locke High School that there would be a ``complete and thorough'' investigation by the CIA's inspector general to determine whether the drug-trafficking charges are legitimate.

``The people of the Central Intelligence Agency and I understand the tremendous horror that drugs do to America,'' Deutch said. ``We share your anger over the injustice and lack of compassion that drug victims encounter. . . . I will not be satisfied until we complete a thorough and independent investigation.''

But most in the audience of about 300 were virulently unreceptive, especially when Deutch explained that an internal preliminary investigation found no evidence that CIA-connected Nicaraguans supplied Los Angeles drug kingpin Ricky Ross, nicknamed ``Freeway,'' and others with cheap, plentiful cocaine.

Widespread concern over a possible CIA drug conspiracy arose after the San Jose Mercury News reported allegations that Ross' suppliers plowed their profits into the CIA-backed Contra insurgency against the Nicaraguan government.

Although the Mercury News series did not report that the CIA knew of or condoned the alleged drug sales, people in South Central Los Angeles and other communities nevertheless have expressed outrage.

The crowd grew even more restive as Deutch explained the CIA inspector general's role in investigating the scandal.

``You insult us by coming in here and telling us you're going to investigate yourselves; you've got to be kidding!'' one audience member said. Another woman said she had attended Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where it was revealed that the government performed syphilis experiments on African-American men in the 1930s.

``When something like that is possible, why should we trust you?'' she demanded - to great applause.

U.S. Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, D-Carson, said that the Justice Department and committees in the House and Senate also have launched investigations into the CIA drug allegations. She orchestrated the town hall meeting in Watts and spent most of her time trying to quiet the hostile crowd.

When her pleas that Deutch be shown respect went unheeded, she said, ``Then please give (him) the respect of this congresswoman . . . and recognize that we did not have to do this.''

Deutch's presence at such a gathering was a source of amazement to some in the audience.

It was a remarkable event as the head of one of the most secretive agencies in the world made a public appearance to respond to allegations in a newspaper story.

Millender-McDonald called it unprecedented: ``It has never happened before.''

``That the CIA would stoop to defend itself just blows me away,'' said Ralph Hodges, 52, a South Gate resident who attended the event. ``I guess this really got their attention.''

U.S. Rep. Jane Harmon told the crowd that she was struck by ``how extraordinary it is to have the CIA director here. I daresay none of his predecessors would have come.''

Deutch, for his part, seemed to downplay the significance of his trip to Los Angeles. ``I think a government official should be able to come out here and explain what is being done to meet those concerns,'' he said at a press conference at the Airport Marriott before he went to Locke.

``I'm keeping my mind open and I urge all of you to keep your minds open until you see the complete results of the independent investigation,'' he told reporters.

Security at the high school was highly visible and extremely tight. In a room next to the auditorium where the meeting took place, at least two dozen Los Angeles Police Department officers milled about on standby.

The overflow from the crowd watched the meeting on TV monitors from behind police barricades on the school campus outside the auditorium. The sentiment there seemed to mirror that of the audience inside.

``That man's just wasting his breath,'' said Sylvia Hopkins, a woman who stood in the late-afternoon chill and watched the entire meeting. ``There is nothing he could say that could change my mind about this mess.''

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Photo

Photo: CIA Director John M. Deutch talks to the press Friday before an unprecedented public meeting in Watts.

Associated Press