Samstwitch
Senior Member
Rodney King found dead in swimming pool
Click on headline above for details.
For those who weren't around when it happened...On March 3, 1991 a group of L.A. Police Officers beat-up 25-year-old Rodney King and it was caught on video by a bystander. It was a horrible incident that Rodney King survived, but he had serious health problems from the beating.
In April 1992, the Cops went on trial in court for "assault and use of excessive force". On April 29, 1992, the jury acquitted all four officers of assault and acquitted three of the four of using excessive force.. That triggered mass L.A. riots, buildings throughout the city were set on fire. "Widespread looting, assault, arson and murder occurred, and property damages topped roughly $1 billion. In all, 53 people died during the riots and thousands more were injured." (Wikipedia)
"In the aftermath of the riots, pressure mounted for a retrial of the officers, and federal charges of civil rights violations were brought against them...Two officers - Officer Laurence Powell and Sergeant Stacey Koon - were found guilty, while officers Theodore Briseno and Timothy Wind were acquitted." (Wikipedia) All four of the officers involved either quit or were fired from the LAPD.
WARNING: The video above is of the actual beating incident. It is very disturbing. *King suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the incident, which I'm sure contributed to his problem with substance abuse.
The video below is aftermath news coverage of the riots.