In Los Angeles, California, four Los Angeles police officers that had been caught beating an unarmed African-American motorist in an amateur video are acquitted of any wrongdoing in the arrest. Hours after the verdicts were announced, outrage and protest turned to violence as the L.A. riots began. Protestors in south-central Los Angeles blocked freeway traffic and beat motorists, wrecked and looted numerous downtown stores and buildings, and set more than 100 fires.
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On March 3, 1991, paroled felon Rodney King led police on a high-speed chase through the streets of Los Angeles County before eventually surrendering. Intoxicated and uncooperative, King resisted arrest and was brutally beaten by police officers Laurence Powell, Theodore Briseno, and Timothy Wind. Unbeknownst to the police, a citizen with a personal video camera was filming the arrest, and the 89-second video caught the police beating King with their batons and kicking him long after he was capable of resistance. The video, released to the press, caused outrage around the country and triggered a national debate on police brutality.
Rodney King was released without charges, and on March 15 Sergeant Stacey Koon and officers Powell, Wind, and Briseno were indicted by a Los Angeles grand jury in connection with the beating. All four were charged with assault with a deadly weapon and excessive use of force. Though Koon did not actively participate in the beating, as the commanding officer present at the scene he was charged with aiding and abetting. Powell and Koon were also charged with filing false reports.
Because of the uproar in Los Angeles surrounding the incident, the judge, Stanley Weisberg, was persuaded to move the trial outside Los Angeles County to Simi Valley in Ventura County. On April 29, 1992, the 12-person jury issued its verdicts: not guilty on all counts, except for one assault charge against Powell that ended in a hung jury. The acquittals touched off the L.A. riots, which grew into the most destructive U.S. civil disturbance of the 20th century.
Violence first erupted at the intersection of Florence Boulevard and Normandie Avenue in south-central Los Angeles. Traffic was blocked, and rioters beat dozens of motorists, including Reginald Denny, a white truck driver who was dragged out of his truck and nearly beaten to death by three African-American men. A news helicopter, hovering over the street, recorded the gruesome event. Los Angeles police were slow to respond, and the violence radiated to areas throughout the city. California Governor Pete Wilson deployed the National Guard at the request of Mayor Tom Bradley, and a curfew was declared. By the morning, hundreds of fires were burning across the city, more than a dozen people had been killed, and hundreds were injured.
Rioting and violence continued during the next 24 hours, and Korean shop owners in African-American neighborhoods defended their businesses with rifles. On May 1, President George Bush ordered military troops and riot-trained federal officers to Los Angeles and by the end of the next day the city was under control. The three days of disorder killed more than 60 people, injured almost 2,000, led to 7,000 arrests, and caused nearly $1 billion in property damage, including the burnings of more than 3,000 buildings.
Under federal law, the four officers could also be prosecuted for violating Rodney King’s constitutional rights. On April 17, 1993, a federal jury convicted Koon and Powell for violating King’s rights by their unreasonable use of force under color of law. Although Wind and Briseno were acquitted, most civil rights advocates considered the mixed verdict a victory. On August 4, Koon and Powell were sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
After living through the riots in LA (without much incident) there has always been a tactical question, should the Lt on scene commander at Florence and Normandie have ordered the retreat as the riot started? If the LAPD had stayed would the TV images of the riot being suppressed have stopped the rapid spread? The other aspect is the failed effort by the Korean community to protect themselves. Over half of the buildings destroyed in the riot were in the 2.7 sq mile Korea Town neighborhood. Despite Korean language radio calling for the defense of the area, the shop keepers (most with former military training) were unable to protect their businesses. Koreans were specifically targeted after the killing of Latasha Harlins in a Korean owned shop 13 days after the beating of Rodney King. A recent survey in Los Angeles indicated that tensions are on the rise again and residents expect the possibility of civil unrest is increasing. If you look at my website, I have a longer blog post on the riots.
“The other aspect is the failed effort by the Korean community to protect themselves. Over half of the buildings destroyed in the riot were in the 2.7 sq mile Korea Town neighborhood. Despite Korean language radio calling for the defense of the area, the shop keepers (most with former military training) were unable to protect their businesses.”
That’s bull shit! Those that took up arms and made an effort to protect their buildings where NOT attacked by the rioters. Only those that didn’t defend their property with firearms were destroyed.
There was a period of time that the police stayed out of the area because it was too dangerous. During that time if you were not able to defend yourself you were at the total mercy of the rioters. If you were without firearms you were defenseless.
These racially charged encounters between police and public proves that regardless of the legalities many people of color are incapable of conducting themselves with civility in any public display of protest . The fact that our government agents of law enforcement stand by and watch for fear of having their career destroyed and a jail sentence as looting and rioting go unchecked or challenged is deplorable . Police abuse of power is inexcusable and when caught is generally dealt with in our court system .
In times of civil unrest LOOTERS AND RIOTERS ARE SHOT after being given sufficient warning to cease and desist . Once the order is given to shot to authorities all bets are off . I also will bet many truck drivers will not stop for an unruly rioting crowd . When the first brick hits the windshield they will turn that kenworth into a real crowd pleaser as those wheels grind through and crush people out of control . Note the Americans of Korean heritage did not put up with any of that bull shit ! I am sure the snowflake brigade thinks they overreacted and should have allowed the mob to steal loot and burn their business .
I witnessed simalar nonsense in Baltimore , my neighbor ,a fireman watched the rioters cut the fire hoses as they attempted to extinguish the fires . If we kill a few of these animals and lay their bodies in a parking lot for their families to pick up we may see an adjustment in a protest march to one of more civil to convey a message most people of good concience would recieve . But looting and burning , this citizen is in lock and load mode !