The Los Angeles Riots

Paper Summary:

A twentieth century event that was sparked by racial controversy was the Los Angeles riots following the not guilty verdicts of four white officers accused of beating black motorist Rodney King. The paper shows that the riots in April of 1992 caused extensive damage totaling in the hundreds of millions and caused the deaths of at least 45 persons. By far it was the worst civil unrest of this century, surpassing even the Watts riot of 1965 in terms of destruction and lives lost. The paper shows that beyond the physical and economic damage to L.A., was the damage to race relations caused by the riots. Even though the events of the Rodney King beating involved white officers and a black man, the riots knew no racial boundaries as almost every race was affected by the violence, looting and destruction of Los Angeles.

From the Paper:

"The officers justified their actions by stating they thought King was on the powerful mind-altering drug, PCP, but tests showed he only had alcohol in his blood (Wall, 2). In light of all this evidence, the all-white Simi Valley jury determined the officers were not guilty of any wrongdoing in the beating. Even though King may have resisted arrest and attempted to attack an officer, no human being or animal deserved such a beating. The television viewers; black, white, Latino, or Asians who saw the videotaped beating knew that this was excessive use of force and that King's civil rights had been violated by these officers."

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