What A World

On April 29, 1992, the Rodney King verdict was announced and all hell broke loose! We were out shopping that day, preparing to go out of town in the coming hours. Little did we know that , blood was aboil in the City! After leaving a shoe store, black smoke began filling the skies as far we could see! Someone yelled “not guilty” in the background and suddenly, it seemed that the streets were a buzz with energy! Rappers from the, compton southwest and south Los Angeles were inspired to write about it!

What was this all about? Well, it all started when a black man named Rodney King of Los Angeles was beaten excessively by L.A.P.D. and a white man near the scene of the beating, captured it all on video tape. The tape showed that Rodney King was beaten by the cops without provocation for no other reason than being Black! The L.A.P.D. officers charged in the case were found not guilty by a jury of 11 whites and 1 phillipino, and riots broke out almost at once! Below is an excerpt of the incident from the actual event!

A Series of Reports prepared by the Emergencynet News Service (ENN) in “real-time” as the events were unfolding.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-EMERGENCYNET NEWS SVC.-04/29/92-2145CDT

L.A. POLICE ACQUITTED, RIOTING STRIKES S.E. LOS ANGELES
By Clark Staten

Los Angeles, CA – In an unexpected climax to a year of racial strife surrounding the alleged L.A.P.D. beating of Rodney King, a jury of six men and six women found the officers not guilty. The jurors were unable to reach a conclusion regarding one charge against Officer Laurence Powell, age 29, for using excessive force under the color of authority. A mistrial was declared by Judge Stanley Weisberg on that one count, with eight jurors voting for acquittal and four for a guilty verdict.

Sgt. Stacey Koon, Officer Theodore Briseno, and Officer Timothy Wind were found completely not quilty on all counts of official misconduct, excessive force, filing false police reports, and assault with a deadly weapon. District Attorney Ira Reiner said that no decision had been reached in regard to whether or not to retry Officer Powell on the one count that was declared indecisive.

An eighty-one second video tape, captured by a concerned citizen, sparked the controversy regarding police brutality and led to eventual indictments of the officers. Many months of investigation, charges, and counter-charges followed the release of the video tape. Various segments of the community in Los Angeles were polarized as the details of the played out daily on local television stations.

A trial ensued. It was moved to suburban Simi Valley, CA, due to pre-trial publicity and the seemingly premature release of the now “infamous” tape of the police wielding batons and striking King repeatedly. A jury was chosen that contained eleven white jurors and one of Philipino descent. Black civil rights activists complained that no blacks were chosen for the jury and that the choice of jurors was another example of racism.

The trial and surrounding investigations also sparked unprecedented criticism of Police Chief Daryl Gates and the entire Los Angeles Police Department. The Christopher Commission was formed and did find occasions of racism and institutional brutality. Police officers in Los Angeles were also found to have used official computer systems for insensitive and racist remarks. Calls were received for the resignation of the Chief Gates.

Lawyers for the officers charged in the allegations argued that the policemen believed that King was acting under the influence of the animal tranquilizer PCP, which often causes violent and unpredictable behavior that has resulted in the injury of numerous emergency responders and law enforcement officers. They also testified as to King’s combativeness that didn’t appear on the tape. King was not found to have been using PCP, but was found to have a blood alcohol level of.19, which is more than double that allowed in most states as indicative of “drunken driving”. The evidence was weighed and the jury found the four officer not quilty after seven days of deliberations.

A reaction to the acquittal of the four officers was immediately received from blacks and civilrights activists. The Mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley, said; “We must express our profound anger and outrage (at the acquittal), but we also must not endanger the reforms that we have made by striking out blindly”. He continued, “We must demand that the L.A.P.D. fire the officers who beat Rodney King and take them off the streets once and for all”.

California State Senator Ed Smith said that he was also shocked. Smith was quoted by the United Press as saying, “It’s hard to beleive that there was no sustaining of the charges at all…the world saw the videotape and if that conduct is sanctioned by law in California, then we have to re-write the law”. Exec. Director Ramona Ripston of the American Civil Liberties Union called the verdicts “a travesty of justice”.

At the time of the climax of the riots, my family and I were on a pre planned road trip and while driving through the city and on the empty freeways, we thought that maybe we should turn around and go back! Decided to keep on the free flowing Interstate 10 freeway East as the smoky skies looked like fog through the rear view mirror! Often wondered, if I had stayed, could my friends and I been involved in the melee?