As the criminal investigation into a possible Public Enemy Number 1 (PENI) hit list of officers and prosecutors in Southern California suggests, PENI members can pose officer safety threats to law enforcement.

PENI members caught in criminal activity have a history of fleeing on foot and in their vehicles and have displayed aggressive and violent resistance to arrests by law enforcement.  Like members of other drug-using criminal street gangs, PENI members can be unstable, irrational and unpredictable. In addition, many members have become habitual offenders, and may become combative to prevent re-arrest and lengthy incarceration under the "three strikes" law in California.

According to law enforcement sources, PENI members have also attempted to use a range of weapons against officers, including handguns, sawed-off shotguns, revolvers, semi-automatics and rifles.  In one case, a vehicle was used as a weapon. On May 13, 2003, a PENI member wanted for a parole violation fled on foot when a California Highway Patrol officer attempted to stop his vehicle. The officer pursued the gang member, who allegedly doubled back to his vehicle, placed the car in reverse, struck the officer with the car door and knocked him to the ground. The suspect's car also injured the officer's canine. The suspect was arrested five days later at a local park.

In a February 2001 televised interview, PENI member Scotty "Scottish" Miller boasted that PENI members listen to police scanners, which allows them eventually to recognize officers by their voices, radio call signs and work shifts. He also bragged about owning "over 300 guns." California records revealed that Miller had no firearms registered to him. Since many PENI members have felony records, they must purchase their weapons illegally on the street or steal them during residential burglaries.

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The Anti-Defamation League is particularly grateful to the following law enforcement agencies and departments for their assistance and cooperation in preparing this report:  the Costa Mesa Police Department, the Huntington Beach Police Department, the Office of the Orange County District Attorney, the California Department of Justice, the California Department of Corrections and the Orange County Probations Department.