Village of Yellow Springs, Ohio

On March 3, 1991, King was beaten by LAPD officers.  An uninvolved individual, George Holliday, filmed the incident from his nearby balcony.  The footage showed an unarmed King on the ground being beaten after initially evading arrest. It was announced the four officers involved would be disciplined, Los Angeles police chief Daryl Gates said: "We believe the officers used excessive force taking him into custody. In our review, we find that officers struck him with batons between fifty-three and fifty-six times."

The LAPD initially charged King with "felony evading," but later dropped the charge. On his release, he spoke to reporters from his wheelchair: a broken right leg in a cast, his face badly cut and swollen, bruises on his body, and a burn area to his chest where he had been jolted with a 50,000-volt stun gun. He said he was scared for his life as they drew down on him. Four officers were eventually tried with three acquitted, and the jury failed to reach a verdict on one charge for the fourth. Within hours, the 1992 Los Angeles riots started lasting for 6 days.

The federal government prosecuted a separate civil rights case, obtaining grand jury indictments of the four officers for violations of King's civil rights. Their trial in a federal district court ended with two of the officers being found guilty and sentenced to prison. The other two were acquitted of the charges. In a separate civil lawsuit in 1994, a jury found the city of Los Angeles liable and awarded King $3.8 million in damages.

Poster courtesy of the Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center.

The four police officers indicted for brutalizing black motorist Rodney King in a videotaped attack are shown in these police mug shots taken March 14, 1991. From left, Sgt. Stacey C. Koon, Officer Theodore J. Briseno, Officer Timothy E. Wind and Officer Laurence Powell. Two served time in prison and all four lost their careers. (AP)

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