User:StephMasterFlex/sandbox

On March 3,1991, four Los Angeles police officers in Los Angeles, California were filmed and caught on camera (by civillian George Holliday) brutally beating an unarmed African-American citzen by the name of Rodney King. Rodney King was initially caught in a high-speed police chase that he led. Once King exited the vehicle, he resisted arrest and this lead to the capture of the 89-second video being recorded. Once the video was released to th press, it resulted in an uproar around the country and sparked the discourse on police brutality. Rodney King was released without charges. All four officers (Sergeant Stacey Koon, Officers Laurence Michael Powell, Timothy Wind, and Theodore Briseno) were prosecuted and charged with assault with a deadly weapon as well as excessive use of force. The grand jury also neglected to prosecute the 17 officers that stood by during the gruesome attack without responding. In response to the outrage, the trial was moved from outside of Los Angeles county to Ventura county the following year. On April 29, 1992, the verdict for all counts was “not guilty”. The exonerations were the basis of the L.A. Riots that followed. The same day, the riots began at the intersection of Florence and Normandie which is located in the South Central Area of Los Angeles. At the intersection, a white truck driver by the name of Reginald Denny was nearly beat to death by three African American men. The footage of the incident was caught on camera by a news helicopter. Additional motorists were also pulled from their vehicles and beaten at the same intersection. Following the intiated riots, a “dusk to dawn” curfew was put into place. The most heated part of the riots lasted a duration of three days. In those three days, over 60 people were killed, there were about 2,000 injuries, more than 7,000 arrests were made, and there were burnings of more than 3,000 buildings that was included in the approximately $1 billion worth of property damage. King made a plea for the riots to cease in the midst of the storm. Towards the end of the riots, virtually 1,100 Marines, 600 Army Soliders, and 6,500 National Guard troops were making rounds throughout the streets of Los Angeles. The riots were considered to be “the most destructive U.S. civil disturbance of the 20th century”. The cufew was eventually lifted and the trial was revisited the following year. Sergeant Koon and Officer Powell were convicted for the violation of King’s civil rights and were sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Following the convictions and riots, King received a total of $3.8 million in a settlement from Los Angeles. There have been a few points of focus on the riots in the 21st century. In 2012, King published an autobiography titled “The Riot Within: My Journey from Rebellion to Redemption. Learning How We Can All Get Along”. That same year, King passed away from an “accidental” death in his home swimming pool. Hitting its 25th anniversary last year, the L.A. Riots are still remembered, recognized, and used as point of reference.