1992 Los Angeles riots

The 1992 Los Angeles riots, also known as the LA riots, the Rodney King uprising or the Rodney King riots, was sparked on April 29, 1992 when a mostly white jury acquitted four police officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King. 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 and arson.

The riots

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 (mainly whites and Koreans) were beaten, and rioters (mainly black) shot at police with assault weapons. 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.

Related Topics:
Assault weapon - National Guard - Federal

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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% were 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 anarchy to their own benefit, and street gangs settled scores with each other and with the police.

Related Topics:
African-American - Hispanic - Korean - Asian - Race riot - Luxury - Anarchy

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Smaller, concomitant unrest occurred in other United States cities, especially Las Vegas, Atlanta, and San Francisco, but also including Oakland, New York, Seattle, Chicago, Phoenix, Madison, and even the Canadian city of Toronto.

Related Topics:
Las Vegas - Atlanta - San Francisco - Oakland - New York - Seattle - Chicago - Phoenix - Madison - Toronto

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First day (Wednesday, April 29)

The unrest began at various points, intersecting with rush hour, as the news of the verdict spread. Protesters at the Los Angeles County Courthouse were generally peaceful, but protests at the Parker Center, the headquarters of the Los Angeles Police Department, resulted in several arrests. 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. Violence appeared quickly, especially in the historically black South Central neighborhood around the intersection of Florence and Normandie, which would soon be infamous.

Related Topics:
Rush hour - Los Angeles County Courthouse - Parker Center - Los Angeles Police Department - Daryl Gates - Racism - Corruption - Fundraiser

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Reginald Denny beating

In the late afternoon, Reginald Denny, a white truck driver stopped at a traffic light, was dragged from his vehicle and severely beaten by an angry mob of black youths as news helicopters hovered above, recording every blow, including a cinder block dropped on the head of the prostrate Denny. 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.

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Occurring just minutes after Denny was rescued and at the same intersection, another victim would be 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 would smash his forehead open with a car stereo as another rioter would attempt to slice his ear off. After Lopez blacked out, the crowd spray painted the married father's chest, torso and genitals black. Lopez would survive the attack after extensive surgery to reattach his partially severed ear and months of rehabilitation.

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Arsonists struck in that neighborhood and others, taking out their anger on unguarded businesses. 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. Snipers shot at rescue personnel. By darkness, stores were being openly looted and fires burned unfought as fire officials refused to send firemen into personal danger. The LAPD deployed in riot gear but were unseen in broad sections of the city.

Related Topics:
Molotov cocktail - Sniper - Firemen

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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, 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.

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California Highway Patrol reinforcements were airlifted to the city. L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley declared a state of emergency and announced a dusk-to-dawn curfew. President George H.W. 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.

Related Topics:
California Highway Patrol - Airlift - L.A. Mayor - Tom Bradley - President - George H.W. Bush - California - National Guard - Los Angeles Times

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Third day (Friday, May 1)

The third day was punctuated by live footage of a shaken Rodney King asking, in a phrase that would become a sarcastic catchphrase, Can't we all get along? 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.

Related Topics:
Sarcastic - Catchphrase - California Governor - Pete Wilson - Humvees - Power outage

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Friday evening, President George H.W. 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 thoughtful 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. http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/research/papers/1992/92050105.html

Related Topics:
President - George H.W. Bush

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Fourth day (Saturday, May 2)

With the fourth day, 4,000 soldiers from the United States Army and Marines were ready to deploy from Fort Ord to suppress the crowds and restore order. Calm began to reappear as the federal presence spread. With most of the violence under control, Korean citizens held a march defending their community (as well, many carried signs calling for justice for Rodney King). By the end of the day a sense of normalcy began to return, although many middle-class Angelenos had simply fled the city for the weekend. Others simply holed up at home and watched television coverage. Saturday night partying apparently fed a slight resurgence of lawlessness.

Related Topics:
United States Army - Marines - Fort Ord

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Whether in response to the riots, or simply the verdict, on May 2 the Justice Department announced it would begin a federal investigation of the Rodney King beating.

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Fifth day (Sunday, May 3)

Sixth day (Monday, May 4)

Although Mayor Bradley lifted the curfew, signalling 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.

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