The La Riots : Perception Vs. Reality

Though sparked by the Rodney King verdict, there were many other causes of the riots that erupted on the streets of Los Angeles on April 29, 1992. The Los Angeles riots in 1992 were devastating. The obvious issue portrayed through the media was black versus white. If you did not live in Los Angeles or California chances are you did not hear full coverage of the story, you heard a simple cut and dry portrayal of the events in South Central. If you heard one thing about the riots, it was that there was a man named Rodney King and he was a black male beaten with excessive force by four white Los Angeles police officers on Los Angeles concrete. The media portrayed the riots as black rage on the streets due to the

Throughout police history in the United States and around the world there have been numerous incidents of reported police brutality and other forms of corruption including taking bribes, theft, sexual deviance, and many more. In our present time corruption has decreased significantly from what it once was decades ago but still exists. One of the most publicized cases of police brutality, if not the most, was the beating of Rodney King. Most people have heard about the case and seen the video of the brutal beating that took place in Los Angeles on the night of March 2, 1991. The video shown to the public contained officers appearing to beat Mr. King while he is on the ground while

The Los Angeles Riots were the second riots to happen after the Watts Riots. The L.A Riots took place on April 9, 1992. The riots broke out in less than a day and lasted five days and killed more than 50 people and left more than 2,000 injured. On April 30, 1992, writers Richard A. Serrano and Tracy Wilkinson wrote an article in the Los Angeles Times newspaper saying "hours after the verdicts were announced, angry demonstrators torched buildings, looted stores and assaulted passersby as civic leaders pleaded for calm." The riots started after the verdict was given, people were filled with anger after they police officers were acquitted of all charges against them. Tensions also arose with Korean store owners.

On April 29, 1992, the City of Los Angeles was surrounded in a riot in response to the "not guilty" verdicts in the trial of four white Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers accused of unlawfully beating Rodney King. Six days later, when the fires were finally extinguished and the smoke had cleared, "estimates of the material damage done vary between about $800 million and $1 billion, 54 people had been killed, more than 2000 injured, in excess of 800 structures were burned, and about 10,000 people were arrested."(Khalifah 89) The 1992 riots in the City of Los Angeles were arguably the most devastating civil disturbance in the history of the United States.

When Rodney King was beaten by Los Angeles police, it changed racial relations forever, but how does this tie into the trial of the famous football play and actor, Mr. Orenthal James Simpson. Unbeknownst to many, these two seemingly unrelated cases have much more in common than what meets the eye. To understand the two cases, the reader must first examine the background of each case separately, then compare and contrast the cases. In order to truly realize how the two cases compare, the reader must first learn the background of each case.

Race riots are one of the major news items we hear about via the media when a social crisis occurs. The riots in Baltimore, however, were not so much about race, but more about economic and social class separations. The riots began as a peaceful protest amongst the citizens of Baltimore over the death of one of their own, Freddie Gray. Gray was a young, African-American, from a financially lower class area of Baltimore. Unfortunately, he died while in custody of the Baltimore Police. While this is a tragic loss, he was unlawfully detained by the police (Sarlin, 2015) during this ordeal. On the surface, the riots may appear as a cut-and-dry race provoked, once they are looked into further, that is not necessarily the case.

Race relation between blacks and Latinos were terrible following the riots. However, since the riots racial tensions have been easing, “46% described race relations as good” (Grad), both blacks and Latinos agree that racial relations have improved since the riots. This is a huge step in the right direction, during the riots racial tensions between blacks, Latinos, and the Asian were at an all-time hi. This was caused by the jury that was on King's case; consisting of, “10 whites, a Hispanic, and an Asian” (Wallenfeldt), no African-American jury members. This caused for most of the South Central Los Angeles black community to keep a deep anger towards whites, especially white police officers. Even though now in day things have gotten better, the police are far from having a perfect relationship with black and Latino

When the judge, Bernard Kamins, who was Caucasian declared three of the four (also white) officers not guilty the public saw his decision very racist. The riots began in the evening after the judgment, and grew over the next two days, but they would continue for several days. Angry Los Angels residents went out to the streets to show their fury. “These people are angry and they have every right to be!” said a man to the news cameras during the destruction. Authorities failed miserably to control the people. As time went by the madness did not decrease but enlarged.

This paper will cover the events that took place within the first five days in south central Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict .

(Garcia) A year later in April of 1992 a jury acquitted the officers and “rioting, looting, arson and extreme violence (ensued) across the city of Los Angeles”. (Adams). Two of the officers were later convicted by a federal jury of violating King’s civil rights. (Garcia)

The beginnings of the riots came on March 3, 1991, when Rodney King was stopped and brutally assaulted by police. King was stopped after a high speed chase police after police caught him intoxicated and was subsequently forced out of the car (History.com). From there, police began to unlawfully assault Rodney King, leaving him with a fractured skull, along with a broken cheekbone (History.com). A witness, George Holliday, filmed the officers beating Rodney King; a day after the tape was airing on CNN for the rest of the country to witness (Los Angeles Daily News). Four officers were later arrested and put to trial a year later, however all of them were not pleaded guilty. The verdict angered a massive amount of African

Los Angeles in the 1990s was plagued by oppression and conflict that thrived in racial divisions. These divisions created a low level of inter-racial acceptance, especially in the highly segregated areas of LA. When Rodney King was brutally assaulted by white police officers, the trial became a symbol of racial tensions throughout the city. Minority groups empathized with King, as they too had been victims of society’s neglect. On April 29, 1992, following the verdict of the jury: not guilty on all counts, Los Angeles burst into violence. Originating at the intersection of Florence and Normandie, enrage rioters blocked the roads and attacked drivers unable to flee. By the next day, fires were widespread throughout the city, and there were many casualties and hundreds injured. Police forces were far overwhelmed so many Koreans storeowners took up arms to defend their shops from looting and destruction by predominately Blacks rioters. By the third day, the military brought the riots under control, which had left a toll of 60 deaths, 2,000 people injured, and billions of dollars in property damage, 40% of which was to Korean-own. Although the violence between Koreans and Blacks was sparked by the Rodney King trial, the strife was primarily fueled by preexisting racial tensions.

In Los Angeles, California, four Los Angeles police officers had been caught beating an unarmed African-American motorist, Rodney King. Rodney King had severe injuries due to the beating. On April 23, the King-trial jury begins its deliberations, and hours later the verdict was announced and the officers were found innocent. In the presentation by Dr. Taylor, she stated “prosecutors provide evidence, and the defense provides evidence and the two halves create a whole story” (Dr. Taylor). This is stating that when justice is involved, hearing both stories help put compose the concrete truth of what transpired and occurred. However, in the Rodney King case, he was stripped from his justice to keep the white

A car chase emerged in Los Angeles, California after Rodney King, along with two other passengers, refused to be pulled over by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) who were attempting to initiate a traffic stop. King feared being pulled over would put him at risk, for he had been drinking and was on parole, but ultimately decided it was the only thing he could do. Once his vehicle came to a halt and him and the two passengers exited, he was targeted by members of the Los Angeles Police Department and became a victim of police brutality. George Holliday, who resided at the apartments across the street from the scene, managed to film footage that depicted Mr. King undergoing aggressive and ultimately unnecessary physical punishment by various members of the LAPD. The aggressors which attacked King were ultimately acquitted, leading to outrage and destruction in the city of Los Angeles, widely known as the Rodney King Riots (npr.org).

The 1993 Los Angeles riots was a series of race riots that lasted for over 6 days in the L.A. metropolitan area in April of 1992. The riots began after the 4 LAPD officers that were accused of the videotaped beating of Rodney king were acquitted. Widespread looting, arson, and murder occurred during these 6 days. The estimated cost of the riots topped 1 billion