| 1992 Los Angeles Riots |
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UNDERLYING CAUSES In addition to the immediate trigger of the Rodney King verdict, many other factors were cited as reasons for the unrest, including the extremely high unemployment among residents of South Central Los Angeles , which had been hit very hard by the Nation-wide Recession ; a long-standing perception that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) engaged in Racial Profiling and used excessive force, supported by the Christopher Commission , an investigation led by Warren Christopher (who two years later would become Secretary of State under then president Bill Clinton ); and specific anger over the sentence given to a Korean American shop-owner for the killing of Latasha Harlins , an African American girl. Additionally, in the time between the public revelation of King's beating and the trial verdict, the two largest L.A. street Gang s, the Bloods and the Crips , agreed to a truce with each other, and began working together to make political demands of the police and the L.A. political establishment. Rodney King arrest and LAPD Officers' trial On March 3 , 1991 , Rodney King , on parole from prison on a robbery conviction, led police on a high-speed pursuit, refusing to pull over in response to the red lights and sirens behind him. Finally, after driving through several red lights and boulevard stops, he pulled over in the Lake View Terrace district. The Los Angeles Police were assisted by other law enforcement. King, who had a record of drunk driving and was believed to be under the influence of PCP by the officers on scene, resisted arrest and was Tasered , tackled, and struck with batons by three LAPD officers. King also allegedly lunged for the weapon of Officer Powell, although that event was not caught on the tape. In a later interview, King said that, being on parole, he feared apprehension and being returned to prison for parole violations. The incident, minus the first few minutes, was captured on video by a private citizen, George Holliday, from his apartment that was in the vicinity, and it became an international media sensation and a touch point for activists in Los Angeles and around the United States. Eventually the Los Angeles district attorney charged the four with the use of excessive force in the beating. Due to the media coverage of the beating, the trial received a , approximately 27 minutes into the hour (including commercial breaks). Based on this testimony and the previously unseen segment of the videotape, the officers were acquitted on almost all charges. The general public was largely unaware of the testimony and the unedited videotape footage. THE RIOT The riots, beginning in the evening after the verdict, peaked in intensity over the next two days, but would ultimately continue for several days. Continuous television coverage, especially by helicopter news crews, riveted the country and shocked viewers around the world. People watched as parts of the city went up in flames, stores were openly looted, innocent bystanders were beaten, and rioters shot at police. A curfew and deployment of California National Guard troops began to control the situation; eventually Federal troops from the 7th Infantry Division in Fort Ord and United States Marines from the 1st Marine Division in Camp Pendleton would be sent to the city to quell disorder. Estimates of the number of lives lost during the unrest vary between 50 and 60, with as many as 2,000 persons injured. Estimates of the material damage done vary between about $800 million and $1 billion. Approximately 3,600 fires were set, destroying 1,100 buildings, with fire calls coming once every minute at some points. About 10,000 people were arrested. Stores owned by Korean and other Asian immigrants were widely targeted, although stores owned by whites and blacks were also targeted. Despite the Race Riot image the event retains, much of the looting and violence was done by young men, both black and Hispanic, and much of the looting was opportunistic theft of Luxury goods. Criminals used the chaos to their own benefit, and street gangs settled scores with each other and fought the police. First day (Wednesday, April 29) The acquittals of the LAPD officers came at 3:15 p.m. local time. By 3:45, a generally peaceful crowd of more than 300 persons had appeared at the Los Angeles County Courthouse, most protesting the verdict passed down a few minutes before. Between 5 and 6 p.m., a group of two dozen officers, commanded by LAPD Lt. , approximately 38 minutes into the hour (including commercial breaks). A new group of protesters appeared at Parker Center , the LAPD's headquarters, by about 6:30 p.m., and 15 minutes later, one of the most infamous images of the riots appeared at the intersection of Florence and Normandie, the intersection earlier abandoned by police. Reginald Denny beating At approximately 6:45 p.m., Reginald Denny , a white truck driver stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of Florence and South Normandie Avenues, was dragged from his vehicle and severely beaten by a mob of black local residents as news helicopters hovered above, recording every blow, including a concrete fragment connecting with Denny's temple and a cinder block thrown at his head as he lay unconscious in the street. The police never appeared, having been ordered to withdraw for their own safety, although several assailants were later arrested and one sent to prison. Instead, Denny was rescued, not by police officers, but by unarmed civilian black neighbors who, seeing the assault live on television, rushed to the scene. Denny would recover after brain surgery. Although several Asian and Latino motorists were brutally beaten by the same mob, due to the live coverage he remains the best-known victim of the riots. Fidel Lopez beating At the same intersection, just minutes after Denny was rescued, another beating was captured on video tape. Fidel Lopez, a self-employed construction worker and Guatemalan immigrant, was ripped from his truck and robbed of nearly $2,000. A rioter smashed his forehead open with a car stereo as another rioter attempted to slice his ear off. After Lopez blacked out, the crowd spray painted his chest, torso and genitals black. Lopez survived the attack, after extensive surgery to reattach his partially severed ear and months of recovery. The riots continue Arsonists struck in that neighborhood and others, taking out their anger on several unguarded businesses. LAFD's first fire call relating to the riots came at about 7:45 p.m. Looters threw bricks to smash windows and . By 9:00 p.m., the protest at Parker Center had turned violent as rioters threw rocks and damaged some downtown buildings and windows. Also by this time, the situation in affected areas had deteriorated enough that bus service was suspended on some lines, and the flight paths of incoming jets to Los Angeles International Airport were modified because of shots fired at a police helicopter. Police chief Pete Wilson to activate 2,000 members of the National Guard . Second day (Thursday, April 30) | |||
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