What Ulster fears!!!

[Cell]

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 mostly white jury acquitted four police officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King, after he fled from police. Thousands of people in Los Angeles, mainly young black and Latino males, joined in what has often been characterized as a race riot, involving mass law-breaking, including looting, arson and murder. In all, 50 to 60 people were killed during the riots.

In addition to the immediate trigger of the Rodney King verdict, there were many other factors cited as reasons for the unrest, including: the extremely high unemployment among residents of South Los Angeles, which had been hit very hard by the nation-wide recession; a long-standing perception that the 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 President Bill Clinton); and specific anger over the sentence given to a Korean shop-owner for the shooting of Latasha Harlins, a young African-American woman. Additionally, in the time between the public revelation of King's beating and the trial verdict, the two largest L.A. street gangs, the Crips and the Bloods, agreed to a truce with each other, and began working together to make political demands of the police and the LA political establishment.

Acrimony between Koreans and blacks peaked in a video documented incident involving a 49-year-old Korean woman, Soon Ja Du, who shot and killed Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old African-American girl. The incident occurred on March 16, 1991, which shortly followed the Rodney King beating. Du confronted Harlins over a $1.79 bottle of orange juice sticking outside of her backpack. The security video recording of the incident shows Du initiating physical contact by tugging at Harlins' sweater during a verbal exchange before Harlins countered by punching her four times in the face, hard enough to knock her to the floor. Du responded by throwing a stool at Harlins. As Harlins walked away, Du fatally shot her in the back of her head. Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to four hundred hours of community service.

Commentators on the eruption of violence emphasize tensions arising from the changing demographics of South Los Angeles as building factors to the riots. The racial makeup of historically black neighborhoods changed as Hispanics took up residency and Koreans bought formerly black-owned liquor and small grocery stores. According to census data, in the historically black areas affected by the riots, the Hispanic population increased 119% over the decade leading up to the violence.[1] Economic competition between races in the labor force and in small enterprise provoked more racial animosity; in particular, the 1980s saw downtown Los Angeles' businesses fire most of their black-dominated janitorial staffs and replace them with Latino immigrants earning half the wages paid to their unionized black predecessors. The fracture between Korean-owned businesses and the black residents they served was also especially pronounced. The black community complained of poor treatment by store owners and inflated prices.

[Cell]

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 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 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; about 42% African-American, 44% Hispanic, 9% white, and 2% other. These numbers are proportional to the number of residents in the areas of Los Angeles where the events occurred, although they are not proportional to the racial make-up of Los Angeles as a whole. 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, black, Hispanic, and white, 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 with the police.

Smaller, concomitant unrest occurred in other United States cities. San Francisco police arrested 1400 rioters in the downtown area and established a curfew. The Nevada National Guard was deployed to Las Vegas and 200 people were arrested. Seattle was hit by overnight mobs of up to 100 people rampaging through business districts. New York saw racial beatings, a mob looting a shopping mall, and another at Madison Square Gardencitation. Hundreds of protesters confronted police in Atlanta. Minor incidents were reported in Tampa, Pittsburgh, Birmingham, and Omaha. Major incidents took place in Dallas and Madison, Wisconsin Violence even spread to the Canadian city of Toronto.

[Cell]

First day (Wednesday, April 29)
The acquittals of the LAPD officers came at 3:15 PM 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. In the hours between 5 and 6 PM, a group of two dozen officers confronts a growing crowd at the intersection of Florence and Normandie. Outnumbered, these officers retreat and do not come back. A new group of protesters appears at Parker Center, the headquarters of the Los Angeles Police Department, by about 6:30 PM, and 15 minutes later, one of the most famous 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 PM, Reginald Denny, a white truck driver stopped at a traffic light on the intersection of Florence and Normandie Ave, was dragged from his vehicle and severely beaten by an angry mob of young black men as news helicopters hovered above, recording every blow, including a concrete fragment connecting with Denny's temple and a cinder block dropped on his head as he lay prostrate 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. Denny was rescued by black neighbors who, seeing the assault live on television, rushed to the scene. Denny would recover after brain surgery; due to the live coverage he remains the best-known victim of the riots.

Just minutes after Denny was rescued and at the same intersection, another victim was beaten 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 rehabilitation.

Arsonists struck in that neighborhood and others, taking out their anger on unguarded businesses. LAFD's first fire call relating to the riots came at about 7:45 PM. 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 darkness, stores were being openly looted and fires burned unfought 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 and 8 PM, rioting focused in South Central Los Angeles began, and between 7 and 9 PM, rioting began in Inglewood.

By 9:00 PM, the protest at the Parker Center had turned violent, and protesters 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 path of incoming jets to LAX was modified because of shots fired at a police helicopter.

Police chief Daryl Gates, long criticized for 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 PM, prompting Governor Pete Wilson to activate 2,000 members of the national guard.


Comments of Public Officials
In response to the violence, Los Angeles Mayor, Tom Bradley, commented that the verdict in the King trial "will never blind us to what we saw on that videotape." President George H.W. Bush said "The jury system has worked. What's needed now is calm, respect for the law."


Second day (Thursday, April 30)
By the second day the violence appeared widespread and unchecked. Open gun battles were televised as Korean shopkeepers (many of them veterans of the Korean War) took to using firearms to protect their businesses from crowds of looters. Organized 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. 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 unfortunately 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. 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?"[5] 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 outage.

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.[6]


Fourth day (Saturday, May 2)
On the fourth day, 4,000 soldiers from the United States Army and Marines were ready to deploy from Fort Ord and Camp Pendleton to suppress the crowds and restore order. Calm began to reappear 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 normality began to return, although many middle-class Angelenos had simply fled the city for the weekend.[citation needed] Others simply holed up at home and watched television coverage. Saturday night partying fed a slight resurgence of lawlessness.[citation needed]

Whether in response to the riots, or simply to the verdict, on May 2 the Federal 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".[7] 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, reluctant to leave residents unprotected, would not stand down until May 9; the state guard remained until May 14; and some soldiers remained as late as May 27.

[Cell]

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 Stacy Koon were found guilty and another two 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. 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. No violence broke out.

Peter Ueberroth, president of the Organisation Committee of 1984 Summer Olympics in L.A., attempted to spur development of damaged areas as head of Rebuild L.A., which fell short of its monetary goals by more than half and failed to attract substantive corporate investment in poor areas. The effort lasted until its charter expired in 1997.

[Pape]

Good Read! Short! Quick! and Sweet!

[Cell]

I especially like the part where the white guy gets beaten by the mob and then gets hit with a piece of concrete while he's unconcsiense.

[poutismalakas]

what is the purpose of this thread????? Beside historical info and some what racist comment that the part wasthe best is a white man getting beaten for bring white! ALL four cops should have went to jail BUT that doesn't deaney should have been beaten like that!

[Cell]

This is what Ulster is afraid will happen!!!
My parents said i was laughing and clapping my hands as a toddler watching the fires on tv.

[Bosanac]

Don't worry much attention to Cell guys, he's just another troll. (Sorry man, but it's true) I mean, to create a thread like this, he's got to be. He's a on the track that can only lead to a ban.

[Pape]

he has been picking me out for the last few weeks with troll posts

[ricoo9]

yea that cell is nothing but a cheap troll

[Cell]

Im sorry if u guys are so frightened of inter city violence. I am not a troll, I just wanted to give Ulster a scare of what actually happens when minorities take over. I will not show up in the Away from Soccer Section again. I lost my respect to everyone in SFN except Fenerlym, King Adriano, Stacetimojeime, and the Mexican Section user. I will make it clear to all of you that i no longer care about SFN except the Mexican Section. If it wasnt for us Mexicans then this board would be dead.

[Bosanac]

You're taking a personal vandetta too far, it can only mean you are trolling. This forum doesn't care what Ulster fears, trust me

[Cell]

Alright I wont write here anymore. I'll just write in the Mexican Section and wherever Satce invites me to predict.

[Bosanac]

Poutismalakas, do me a favor and close this thread

[poutismalakas]

Poutismalakas, do me a favor and close this thread
NO prob