In 1991, Citrus Heights Police went on a highspeed pursuit of construction worker Rodney King. King, who was fleeing the police in fear of violating his parole, eventually stopped. The following events were all captured on film; King was brutally assaulted by four officers. The four officers were initially indicted on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and use of excessive force. During their trials, the video captured by George Holliday, a bystander of the arrest, spread across the country, making headlines all over LA. The attorney of the police officer was able to move the trial to Simmi Valley, which subsequently made the jury consist of 8 white jurors and no African Americans.
After the three-month trial was over, the officers were acquited, which was the direct cause for the infamous 1992 LA Riots. Following nearly a decade of racial tension in Los Angeles stemming from violence, unemployment, and other issues. In order to prevent these issues from happening, LAPD would commonly use aggressive force, which created resentment amongst the African American community. After the Rodney King verdict, a group of hundreds of violent protesters gathered in South LA. Throughout the night, the violence escalated, causing protesters to destroy numerous buildings, loot, and firebomb all across South and Central LA. The California governor at the time, Pete Wilson, declared a state of emergency, and the national guard was dispatched to suppress the violence. After violent days, the protests came to a close with 12,000 arrests, 63 deaths, and over a billion dollars in damage. In today’s times, social movements such as Black Lives Matter have tried to address the issues with the criminal justice system and police brutality, but these issues a pressing matter in our society 29 years later.
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This was an well written and extremely interesting blog. I found articles that showed the effect the Rodney King riots had on life in Los Angeles. In 2010, a survey showed that 77% of Los Angeles residents thought that the economic situation in L.A. had worsened. Also, from 1992-2007 the Los Angeles African American population had lowered by 123,000 people.
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