Payback and Rodney King Redux in Oakland

Payback and Rodney King Redux in Oakland

The Rodney King case is almost 20 years old. King, a drunk pothead, was beaten almost senseless by both black and white LAPD cops after he resisted arrest on March 3, 1991 following a high speed chase.

King was tasered repeatedly but kept getting to his feet and resisting arrest. The ensuing beating by the LAPD to get him to cooperate was videotaped by a bystander. That videotape resulted in the deaths of 53 innocent people in the ensuing riots.

The police officers involved were exonerated by a state jury of their peers but then re-tried in federal court on charges of civil rights violations. Two of the cops were found guilty and sent to prison and two were acquitted.

Prior to the federal convictions and following the state exoneration, Los Angeles blacks erupted in what have been called the 1992 L.A. riots during which the Army, the Marines, and the National Guard were called out. Nevertheless, 53 people died, 2383 were injured, 7000 fires were set, 3100 businesses were attacked, and over a billion dollars in damages resulted.

Fast forward to 2010. . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=1778)