Serving and Protecting Irvine
There’s no challenge for a government agency to do the routine things: fill in potholes, sweep streets, synchronize traffic lights. The real test comes when an extraordinary event occurs: massive fire, earthquake or, in the unfolding case in Irvine, danger to the neighborhood from explosives and chemicals.
The case of Larry C. Ford of Irvine is one that truly qualifies for use of the term bizarre. A biomedical researcher, Ford was a suspect in the Feb. 28 shooting and attempted murder of his partner in a firm called Biofem. Three days after the shooting, Ford killed himself in his home.
Family members told police Ford had buried weapons and perhaps chemical and biological materials in the backyard.
That prompted police to order an evacuation of the neighborhood. It was a properly prudent course of action. From the gas attack on Tokyo subways to the threats of chemical warfare during the Gulf War, the dangers of unconventional assaults have been well-documented.
More than 200 people living near the Ford home were put up at an Irvine hotel, at city expense, for nearly four days before being allowed to return home last weekend. Police discovered possible chemical agents inside Ford’s house. In the yard they excavated several containers.
Fortunately, their fears that the containers might be booby-trapped were unfounded. However, inside the canisters was a small arsenal.
Two boxes of ammunition were found, along with semiautomatic weapons and fully automatic assault weapons. Some appeared to be collectibles, such as a 1920s-era Thompson submachine gun. But police said others could have wreaked havoc.
With the neighborhood returning to normal, police are still investigating the shooting of Ford’s partner, John Patrick Riley, chief executive of Biofem, which has been developing a female contraceptive.
Ford had advised South African military forces on protecting personnel against chemical and biological weapons. Several doctors in South Africa said he also worked on commercial drug products at a military laboratory.
The case has given Irvine police a daunting puzzle and a challenge to deal with weapons, questionable chemicals and international intrigue. Their attention to public safety in dealing with the unexpected was laudable.
