MOVIES - April 20, 1987

Actor Sean Penn has been having some pleasant run-ins with the law, riding in police squad cars in preparation for his tough-guy role as a cop battling Los Angeles street gangs, LAPD’s Lt. Dan Cooke said Friday. Penn and actor Robert Duvall, who was also a patrol car ride-along, star in Orion Pictures’ “Colors,” currently filming here. The actors began accompanying officers attached to the police department’s CRASH unit--Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums--earlier this year to observe real-life confrontations to add authenticity to their roles, Cooke said.