The '1992 Los Angeles riots', also known as the 'Rodney King uprising' or the 'Rodney King riots', were sparked on
April 29,
1992 when a predominately white jury acquitted four police officers accused in the videotaped subduing of black motorist
Rodney King when he
resisted arrest following a high-speed
car chase. Thousands of blacks in the
Los Angeles area joined in what is known as a
race riot involving acts of law-breaking including
looting,
assault,
arson and
murder. In all, 53 people died during the riots.
[1] In the
Korean American community, the riots are known as 'Sa-I-Gu' (사이구),
Korean for "4/29," or April 29.
[2]
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
gangs, 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
change of venue to a newly constructed courthouse in predominantly white
Simi Valley, in neighboring
Ventura County. No Simi Valley residents served on the jury, which had been
empanelled in Los Angeles County; the jury was, however, drawn from the nearby
San Fernando Valley, a predominantly white and Latino area. The prosecutor who failed to obtain convictions for three of the officers in this case, Terry White, was black.
[3] [4] On
April 29,
1992, three of the officers were acquitted by a jury of ten
whites, one
Latino, and an
Asian. The
jury could
not agree on a verdict for one of the counts on one of the officers. The
acquittal was based in part on a 13-second segment of the video tape that was edited out by television news stations in their broadcast. It was not previously seen by the public. Those first 13 seconds of videotape showed Rodney King getting up off the ground and charging at one of the police officers, Ofc. Laurence Powell. Prior to that, the testimony of the officers indicated that they tried to physically restrain King but, according to the officers, King was able to physically throw them off himself. That alleged incident was not caught on tape.
[5] 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.
Micheal Moulin, confronted a growing crowd at the intersection of Florence and Normandie. Outnumbered, these officers retreated instead of taking control of the situation.
[6] 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
Molotov cocktails to start fires. Cars were torched to block intersections; others were carjacked and their drivers beaten. Rescue personnel were shot at. By dark, stores were being openly looted and fires burned unabated as fire officials refused to send
firemen into personal danger. The LAPD ordered all officers to report for duty, and many deployed in riot gear, but they were unseen in broad sections of the city. Between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m., rioting focused in South Central Los Angeles began, and between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m., rioting began in
Inglewood.
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
Daryl Gates, long criticized for the perceived
racism and
corruption in the department, later drew sharp rebuke for attending a political
fundraiser that evening. Long-established LAPD tactics and procedures held that the opening hours of a riot were critical, and that a full-force response was required. The LAPD did not respond quickly and decisively in the opening hours, however, and suffered persistent criticism as a result during and following the riots.
Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley called for a state of emergency at 8:45 p.m., prompting
Governor Pete Wilson to activate 2,000 members of the
National Guard.
Second day (Thursday, April 30)
By the second day the violence appeared widespread and unchecked. The Korean American community, which perceived the first day's events as an abandonment of Koreatown, swiftly organized a self-defense squad composed of veteran
Marines and workers, who entered the fray. Open gun battles were televised as Korean shopkeepers and the self-defense group took to using firearms to protect their businesses from crowds of looters. (One of the volunteers, 18-year-old Edward Lee, would die in crossfire that evening.)
[7] Organized law-enforcement response began to come together by mid-day. Fire crews began to respond backed by police escort;
California Highway Patrol reinforcements were
airlifted to the city; and Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley declared a state of emergency and announced a dusk-to-dawn curfew. President Bush spoke out against the rioting, stating that "anarchy" would not be tolerated. The
California National Guard, which had been advised not to expect civil disturbance, responded quickly by calling up some 2,000 soldiers, but could not get them to the city until nearly 24 hours had passed due to a lack of proper equipment. Initially, they would only secure areas previously cleared of rioters by police. Later, they would actively provide firepower for law enforcement.
The
Los Angeles Times reported that several of the King jurors had fled their homes and that Rodney King had been placed under psychiatric care.
Third day (Friday, May 1)
The third day was punctuated by live footage of a shaken Rodney King asking, "Can we all get along?"
[8][9] That morning, at 1:00 a.m.,
California Governor Pete Wilson had requested
federal assistance, but it would not be ready until Saturday. State guard units (doubled to 4,000 troops), continued to move into the city in
Humvees. Additionally, a varied contingent of 1,700 federal law-enforcement officers from different agencies began to arrive, to protect federal facilities and assist local police. As darkness fell, the main riot area was further hit by a
power cut.
Friday evening, President Bush spoke to the nation, denouncing "random terror and lawlessness", summarizing his discussions with Mayor Bradley and Governor Wilson, and outlining the federal assistance he was making available to local authorities. Citing the "urgent need to restore order", he warned that the "brutality of a mob" would not be tolerated, and he would "use whatever force is necessary". He then turned to the Rodney King case and a more moderate tone, describing talking to his own grandchildren and pointing to the reaction of "good and decent policemen" as well as civil rights leaders. He said he had already directed the Justice Department to begin its own investigation, saying that "grand jury action is underway today" and that justice would prevail.
[10]
By this point, many entertainment and sports events were postponed or canceled. The
Los Angeles Lakers hosted the
Portland Trail Blazers in a basketball playoff game on the night the rioting started, but the following game was postponed until Sunday and moved to
Las Vegas. The
Los Angeles Clippers moved a playoff game against the
Utah Jazz to nearby
Anaheim. In
baseball, the
Los Angeles Dodgers postponed games for four straight days from Thursday to Sunday; all were made up as part of doubleheaders in July. The
Hollywood Park Racetrack and
Los Alamitos horse racing tracks were also shut down. L.A. Fiesta Broadway, a major event in the Latino community, was not held in the first weekend in May as scheduled. Residents of the neighborhood had to leave their homes after soaking their roofs with water to prevent ashes from settling and igniting a fire.
Fourth day (Saturday, May 2)
On the fourth day, 4,000
Soldiers and
Marines were ready to deploy from
Fort Ord and
Camp Pendleton to suppress the crowds and restore order. Calm began to appear as the Army and Marines arrived with
Abrams tanks and
Armored Personnel Carriers. With most of the violence under control, 30,000 people attended a peace rally. By the end of the day a sense of normalcy began to return.
Whether in response to the riots, or simply to the verdict, on May 2 the
Justice Department announced it would begin a federal investigation of the Rodney King beating.
Fifth day (Sunday, May 3)
Overall quiet set in and Mayor Bradley assured the public that the crisis was pretty much under control.
[11] However, in an isolated incident, a motorist was shot in an evening encounter with National Guardsmen.
Sixth day (Monday, May 4)
Although Mayor Bradley lifted the curfew, signaling the official end of the riots, sporadic violence and crime continued for a few days afterward. Schools, banks, and businesses reopened. Federal troops would not stand down until May 9; the state guard remained until May 14; and some soldiers remained as late as May 27.
The best documented count of the dead may be the April 24, 2002
LA Weekly article, "The L.A. 53", by Jim Crogan. Using coroner's reports, police records and interviews, he documented 53 people and how they died.
Aftermath
After the riots, pressure mounted for a retrial of the officers, and federal charges of
civil rights violations were brought against the officers. Near the first anniversary of the acquittal, the city tensely awaited the decision of the federal jury; seven days of deliberations raised speculative fear of an incendiary outcome in the event of a not guilty verdict.
Precautionary measures were taken by the government and media. The decision was read in an atypical 7:00 a.m. Saturday court session on
April 17,
1993. Two officers--Officer
Laurence Powell and Sergeant
Stacey Koon were found guilty and the other two were acquitted. Mindful of accusations of sensationalist reporting following the first jury decision, media outlets opted for more sober coverage which included calmer on-the-street interviews.
[12] Police were fully mobilized with officers on 12-hour shifts, convoy patrols, scout helicopters, street barricades, tactical command centers, and support from the
National Guard and
Marines.
[13][14] No violence broke out.
The four officers have since quit or have been fired from the LAPD. Officer Theodore Briseno left the LAPD after being acquitted on federal charges. Officer Timothy Wind, who was also tried twice and acquitted twice, was fired after
Willie L. Williams became Chief of Police. Chief Williams himself did not have his contract renewed by the Los Angeles Police Commission, who said Williams had failed his primary task of remaking the city's police force in the aftermath of the Rodney King beating.
[15]
Officer Laurence Powell has been attending school since his release from prison. Sergeant Koon has been getting on with his life.
Rodney King, meanwhile, has been arrested at least eleven times on a variety of charges.
The riots in popular culture
Music
★
Body Count released, a month before the riots, the notorious song
Cop Killer, which was thought of as a precursor to the rioting.
★
Ice Cube's song "We Had To Tear This Motherfucka Up" was written as a statement on the verdict and expressed sentiments similar to those of the rioters. Most of his 1992 release, ''
The Predator'', was in some way evocative of the riots and King.
Ice Cube's song "
Black Korea" on his 1991 album ''
Death Certificate'' characterizes South Korean store owners as racist through the eyes of a young black man. The song reflected the tensions between Korean Americans and African Americans following the Latasha Harlins shooting. A year later, during the riots, Koreans and Korean-owned stores were a major target of rioters. In 1994, Ice Cube reunited with
Dr. Dre to record the single
Natural Born Killaz, in which Ice Cube makes reference to the Reginald Denny beating.
★
Sublime's song entitled "
April 29, 1992 (Miami)" is based on accounts of the riots.
★
Tupac Shakur's song 'Souljas Story' mentions Rodney King: "They finally pull me over and I laugh. 'Remember Rodney King?' and I blast on his punk ass"
★
Dr. Dre's song ''The Day Tha Niggaz Took Over'' references the riots.
Snoop Dogg and
RBX also feature on the song, portraying their emotions as the riots started.
★
Ministry's (in their industrial metal phase) music video for the song
N.W.O. features a scene in which a woman representing the
Statue of Liberty is beat down in a similar fashion to the Rodney King beating. Also featured in the video are snippets from various riots including the L.A. Riots.
★ The title song on
Porno for Pyros'
self-titled debut album was inspired by the riots.
★
Downset song "Anger" from their self-titled debut album was inspired by the riots. The cover of the album also featured an image of South Central Los Angeles burning.
★
Ben Harper's song "Like a King" plays on the fact that Rodney King shares the last name of civil rights leader
Martin Luther King.
★ On his
1995 release, ''Rapture'',
Peter Mulvey's song "Smell the Future" repeatedly refers to the 1992 riots.
★ In the song
California Love,
Tupac Shakur rapped the lyrics "only in Cali where we riot not rally to live and die", referencing both the 1965 and 1992 riots in Los Angeles.
★
Rage Against the Machine's second studio album, ''
Evil Empire'', features
Down Rodeo, a song about the LA Riots. Additionally, their third studio album was entitled ''
The Battle of Los Angeles''.
★
Billy Idol's song, "Shock to the System" contains many references to the riots.
★
Bad Religion's songs "Recipe For Hate" and "Don't Pray on Me" (both off the album ''
Recipe For Hate'') were influenced by the riots
★
Tori Amos's clip for the song "1000 Oceans" recreated scenes from the L.A. riots. The film-clip was shot in L.A. and featured local actors who had lived through the riots.
★
Rancid's song "I Wanna Riot" is based on the events.
★ The
Californian African American all-female group
En Vogue released their anti-prejudice song "
Free Your Mind" the same year after the riots. It was a
Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 hit for them.
★ The
Machine Head album ''
Burn My Eyes'' (1994) contains the song "Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies", which features sampled commentary from news reports and interviews surrounding the riots
★
The Offspring's song "L.A.P.D." off the album "
Ignition" is all about the Rodney King incident.
★
Slayer and
Ice-T collaborated on the song "Disorder", which appeared on the "
Judgment Night" movie soundtrack. The song was a medley of 3 songs by the
UK punk rock band
The Exploited. The song "UK '82" (which dealt with police brutality) was renamed "LA '92".
★
Aerosmith's song "
Livin' on the Edge" from their 1993 album ''
Get a Grip'' was inspired by the riots.
★
Black Label Society's music video for the song "Fire it Up" off of their 2005 release Mafia used extensive riot footage, much of which was from the '92 L.A. incidents.
★
The Boo Radleys' 1993 album "
Giant Steps" contains a song entitled "Rodney King (Song for Lenny Bruce)"
★
Lamb of God's song, "Forgotten (Lost Angels)", from the ''Sacrement'' Album, has the following lyrics pertaining to the riots "'92 should have burnt this fucker down"
★ The
D12 song
Fight Music say's "If any nigga looking too hard, we
Rodney King'n 'em"
★
Lloyd Banks song
Playboy Mentions Rodney King: "Nah I ain't pullin over. Learned that from
Rodney King."
★
Juelz Santana's song
Violence Rapped the lyric's: "That pop & Squeeze, Lock's will scream, Guess wut? Coppers we aint neva forgot about
Rodney King."
Film
★ The 1991 film ''
Grand Canyon'', which reflected on the divide between people of different race and class in L.A., was widely seen as a prefiguration of the riots, particularly in a scene with a white driver who was nearly carjacked by young black thugs, then rescued by a black tow-truck driver.
★
Spike Lee's 1992 film ''
Malcolm X'' opens with a scene of the Rodney King beating, juxtaposed with a burning American flag that burns down and forming the letter X.
★ The 1992 documentary film ''
Post No Bills'' follows a political poster that was made of LAPD Chief
Daryl Gates on an NRA shooting target and glued up on the streets of Los Angeles after the Rodney King beating. This poster was also featured in the film ''
Menace II Society'' as well as
Robert Altman's ''
The Player''. ''Post No Bills'' also includes an interview with Chief Gates about the poster and documents some of the events surrounding the resignation of Chief Gates from his position as Chief of Police.
★ The 1992
Walter Hill film ''
Trespass'', starring
Ice T,
Ice Cube and
Bill Paxton, was a siege drama and unconnected to the LA riots, nevertheless had to have its original title of ''Looters'' changed, to avoid sensitivity and controversy - especially since Ice T and Ice Cube were residents of the area affected by the riots and based much of their raps on their locality.
★ The 1994 film ''
Floundering'' explores the alienation and disaffection the main character sees in his neighborhood of post-riot Venice Beach.
★ The 1994 film ''
Reality Bites'' depicts a television show under the name of ''Wedgie, The World of Hip Couture'' in which hostess Cheryl Goode talks about the "phattest gangsta trend." She stands at the intersection of Florence and Normandie, which was ground zero for the riots.
★ ''Sa-I-Gu'' is a short 1993 documentary about Korean women affected by the rioting in Los Angeles in 1992.
★ In the 1998 film ''
BASEketball'', the Los Angeles team is named after the riots.
★ The 1998 film ''
American History X'' has characters argue over the circumstances of Rodney King's arrest.
★ The
2002 film ''
Dark Blue'' is set during the riots, and reenacts several portions of it, as well as showing the two famous videos.
★ The 2005 film ''
Rize'' was a documentary of life in Watts LA. It featured footage of the
Watts Riot in it and also talked about much of the rioting. It also discussed the deaths of many gang members and African American citizens.
★ The 2006 film ''
Bastards of the Party'' briefly touched on the Los Angeles Riots.
★ The 2006 film ''
The L.A. Riot Spectacular'' narrated by
Snoop Dogg and also starring
Emilio Estevez,
Charles Dutton and
George Hamilton. This movie takes a satirical look at the riots.
★ Writer/Producer
John Ridley and director
Spike Lee are attached to a proposed
Imagine Entertainment film based on the L.A. Riots.
[2]
★ In the 1993 movie production, Falling Down, Michael Douglas's character is shown to enter a Korean convenience store in a predominantly African American neighborhood in Los Angeles. An altercation occurs between Michael Douglas's character and the Korean store clerk played by Michael Paul Chan, wherein the stereotypes of over-charge and lack of cultural assimilation by the Korean store owners is implied.
★ The 2007 film,
Freedom Writers, starred
Hilary Swank as a school teacher in a Long Beach highschool two years after the riots. The movie opens with scenes of the riots, and is set two years after, in 1994.
Television
★ The ''
Family Guy'' episode "
Brian Does Hollywood" contains a scene where Peter Griffin goes to Los Angeles and is beaten by the police in a similar fashion to that of Rodney King.
★ The
NBC drama ''
L.A. Law'' seventh-season opener was set on the day of the riots.
★ In the 1992-1993 season premiere of the
NBC sitcom ''
A Different World'', Dwayne and Whitley's Los Angeles honeymoon coincides with the riots. Rapper/activist
Sister Souljah is among the guest stars.
★ The fourth-season opener of the
ABC sitcom ''
Doogie Howser, MD'' was fully devoted to the 1992 riots in Los Angeles.
★ The third-season opener of the
Fox comedy series ''
In Living Color'' focused on the L.A. riots, and subsequent third-season episodes featured skits focusing on the L.A. riots (example: "The L.A. Riots Anniversary Special" promo).
★ An episode of ''
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' saw
Will Smith and the Banks family contributing to the post-riot clear-up, and pondering its implications.
★
Peter Kay in an episode of
Phoenix Nights argues with a police officer, stating "You'll have another Rodney King on your hands".
★ The third season episode of
The Closer, starring
Kyra Sedgwick, dealt with the discovery of a man who was killed during the riots.
Other
★ Stage actress
Anna Deavere Smith created a play, '', based on interviews with people about the riots.
★ Video game '' contained a section in which the player had to wade through a strikingly similar riot to complete the final missions of the game. The riots were in
Los Santos, the game's version of Los Angeles, and followed the acquittal of corrupt police officer Frank Tenpenny (voiced by
Samuel L. Jackson), the game's primary antagonist. The game is also set in 1992. However, Tenpenny is black, so at least one major difference between fact and fiction is immediately recognizable. During the riots, buildings and cars smoke, cars speed and are chased more often, people attack others, and some can be seen running with stolen televisions.
★ ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' also contains a random quote said by a police officer who is in pursuit of the African-American protagonist Carl Johnson. The police officer exclaims "There ain't no video cameras around to catch this beating" - a clear reference to Rodney King and the LA riots.
★ The spoken-word album ''
Everything'' by
Henry Rollins is a chapter out of his book ''Eye Scream'', which contains accounts of Rollins's life in LA during the riots as well as his opinions of the cops and the reaction of the residents.
★ In the fourth ''
Police Quest'' game it is, at one point, commented that Los Angeles has not yet recovered from the riots.
★ The posthumous
Bill Hicks album ''
Arizona Bay'' is a collection of stand-up routines about the L.A. Riots,
Reginald Denny and the
Rodney King trial. This routine is also featured on his UK albums: ''
Salvation'' and ''
Live at The Oxford Playhouse''.
★ The
Len Deighton novel "Violent Ward" (1993) is a detective mystery in the Raymond Chandler vein set against the background of the 1992 riots.
★ "
Can't we all just get along?" has been a popular, almost cliched catchphrase, ever since
Rodney King's public statement of "People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?" It is used in various contexts of conflict, most often as a sarcastic response to immature bickering.
See also
★
L.A. Four
★
Watts riots
★
American Civil Rights Movement Timeline
★
Zoot Suit Riots
★
Sister Souljah moment
★
Maxine Waters
★
2005 Cronulla riots
★
Los Angeles Police Department
★
Police brutality
★
2005 civil unrest in France
★
Freedom Writers
★
3rd Battalion 1st Marines
★
Rodney King
Notes
1. The L.A. 53 Crogan
2. Jennifer Lee, ''Civility in the City: Blacks, Jews and Koreans in Urban America'' (Harvard University Press 2002), at 192; ''see also'' ''Sa-I-Gu: From Korean Women's Perspectives'', Dai Sil Kim-Gibson, dir., 1993; The Impact of the Los Angeles Riots on the Korean-American Community, AsiaSource: AsiaTODAY (Asia Society), May 3, 2002
3. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/trials24.htm
4. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lapd/white.jpg
5. The National Geographic Channel (US version) program "The Final Report: The L.A. Riots" aired originally on October 4, 2006 10pm EDT, approximately 27 minutes into the hour (including commercial breaks).
6. The National Geographic Channel (US version) program "The Final Report: The L.A. Riots" aired originally on October 4, 2006 10pm EDT, approximately 38 minutes into the hour (including commercial breaks).
7. Multiculturalism in the United States: Current Issues, Contemporary Voices, , , , Pine Forge Press, 2000,
8. Ralph Keyes. ''The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When''. ISBN 0-312-34004-4 [1]
9. 12 Years After the Riots, Rodney King Gets Along Charlie LeDuff
10. Address to the Nation on the Civil Disturbances in Los Angeles, California
11. Bradley Ready to Lift Curfew He Says L.A. is 'under control'
12. Los Angeles TV Shows Restraint Howard
13. Verdict in Los Angeles; Fear Subsides With Verdict, But Residents Remain Wary Seth Mydans
14. All Quiet on the Western Front After King Verdicts
15. Los Angeles Police Chief Will Be Let Go B. Drummond Ayres Jr.
External links
★
The L.A. Riots: 15 Years after Rodney King from Time.com
★
Military operations during the 1992 Los Angeles riots - by a participating guardsman
★
Lessons in command and control from the L.A. riots - Parameters, journal of the
Army War College
★
Flawed Emergency Response during the L.A. riots - professional article
★
The L.A. 53 - full listing of 53 known deaths during the riots, from the ''L.A. Weekly''
★
L.A.'s darkest days - ''Christian Science Monitor'' retrospective and interviews with victims and participants
★
Charting The Hours of Chaos - a Los Angeles Times article
★
The Rodney King Trial key figures
★
The LA Riots 1992 - An anarchist perspective focusing on riots, characterizes riots as political uprising.
★
The Rebellion in Los Angeles - analysis of the LA riots as a proletarian revolt, by libertarian marxist journal Aufheben.
Photography
★
Urban Voyeur - black and white photographs taken during the riots
★
Aftermath of the Rodney King riots - photographs
★
1992 Los Angeles Riots Photos from
Streetgangs.com
Video
★
Footage of the Rodney King beating
★
Day 1 -
Los Angeles Times/
KTLA
★
Day 2 (Part 1) -
Los Angeles Times/
KTLA
★
Day 2 (Part 2) -
Los Angeles Times/
KTLA
★
Day 3 -
Los Angeles Times/
KTLA
★
iFilm Video
★
Final Report on the riots
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