On this day in 1993 (4th Aug.), two Los Angeles police officers were sentenced to jail for their brutal assault of which African-American motorist?
"Mayor of Los Angeles, a role he'd hold for 20 years. L.A.'s first African American mayor, Bradley served over five terms, prior to the establishment of successive term limits, making him the longest-serving mayor of Los Angeles. In 1991, Rodney King was beaten by police officers. His videotaped beating was controversial, and heightened racial tensions in Los Angeles. Just 13 days after the videotaped beating of King, a 15-year-old African-American girl named Latasha Harlins was shot and killed by a 51-year-old Korean store owner named Soon Ja Du. A jury found Du guilty of voluntary manslaughter, an offense that carries"
"Attorney charged the four officers with assault with a deadly weapon and use of excessive force. A year later, after a change of venue from Los Angeles to Ventura County, a jury of ten whites, one Asian and one Hispanic, acquitted the four officers of the assault charge, but deadlocked on the excessive force charge for Powell. The verdict led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The four officers were later indicted on federal charges for violating Rodney King's civil rights. Powell and Koon were convicted in 1993 and were sentenced to 30 months in prison. The 1992 song ""Guerillas"
"a high-speed car pursuit on March 3, 1991. After seven days of jury deliberations, the jury acquitted all four officers of assault and acquitted three of the four of using excessive force. The evening after the verdict, thousands of people in the Los Angeles area rioted over the six days following the verdict. Widespread looting, assault, arson, and murder occurred, and property damages totaled one billion dollars. In all, 53 people died during the riots. On 12 October 1996, LAPD Officers Rafael Pérez and Nino Durden entered the apartment of Javier Ovando. They shot the man in the back, paralyzing"
"1993, about 11 p.m., Compton Police Officer Kevin Michael Burrell, 29, and Reserve Officer James Wayne MacDonald, 24, made a routine traffic stop in Compton, at the intersection of Rosecrans Avenue and Dwight Avenue, on a red 1992 Chevrolet 454 pickup truck being driven by Thomas. As the officers exited their patrol car and approached the pickup truck, Thomas exited his vehicle and opened fire on both officers. Both officers were knocked down to the ground by bullet wounds to their limbs. According to trial testimony, Thomas shot at their heads execution-style. Both officers were wearing bulletproof vests and were"
"beating of a person in custody, usually while handcuffed, and usually taking place somewhere between the scene of the arrest and the station house. In March 1991, members of the Los Angeles Police Department harshly beat an African American suspect, Rodney King, while a white civilian videotaped the incident, leading to extensive media coverage and criminal charges against several of the officers involved. In April 1992, hours after the four police officers involved were acquitted at trial, the Los Angeles riots of 1992 commenced, causing 53 deaths, 2,383 injuries, more than 7,000 fires, damage to 3,100 businesses, and nearly $1"
"What if the checks had never arrived? No doubt the blacks would have fully privatized the welfare state through continued looting. But they were paid off and the violence subsided."" In the aftermath of the riots, public pressure mounted for a retrial of the officers. Federal charges of civil rights violations were brought against them. As the first anniversary of the acquittal neared, the city tensely awaited the decision of the federal jury. The decision was read in a court session on Saturday, April 17, 1993 at 7:00 am. Officer Laurence Powell and Sergeant Stacey Koon were found guilty, while"
"Willie L. Williams Willie L. Williams (October 1, 1943 – April 26, 2016) was the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) from 1992 to 1997, taking over after chief Daryl Gates' resignation following the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Williams was the first African-American police commissioner of both the Philadelphia Police Department and the LAPD. During his term as chief of the LAPD, he tried to create a positive image of the department and close the rift created between the police and black neighborhoods by the violent arrest of Rodney King in 1991. In June 1988, Philadelphia Police Chief"
"when his perch was stormed by Austin police. Deaths: 18 (including Whitman) On April 6, 1970, California Highway Patrol officers engaged heavily armed criminals Bobby Davis and Jack Twining in a shootout in the parking lot of a restaurant near Newhall, California. In a span of five minutes, Davis and Twining killed four CHP officers, making it the deadliest day in the history of Californian law enforcement. Davis was later arrested, while Twining killed himself following a long standoff with police. Deaths: CHP officers: 4; Twining: 1 August 7, 1970. In an attempt to free his brother, imprisoned Black Panther"
"Obama, Johnnie Cochran, Will Smith, Gary Sheffield, and Eric Holder. There have also been accusations of excessive force by police officers against black drivers. In this example, a police officer tries to explain a fear of blacks: Breaion King, an African-American elementary school teacher, was stopped for speeding in June 2015 in Austin, Texas. Officer Bryan Richter ordered King out of her car, and then threw her violently to the ground while arresting her in a parking lot. King felt the officer's reaction was because she was responding too slowly to the officer's orders. She was charged with resisting arrest"
"as well as five other motorists and two firefighters who were driving past the intersection of Florence and Normandie shortly after the start of the Los Angeles riots on April 29. At the trial, Denny faced his attackers for the first time since they had assaulted him. On August 12, 1993, a jury of five whites, three blacks, three Latinos, and one Asian was chosen. As in the Rodney King police trial, the prosecution relied heavily on video shot by a third party, this time in a helicopter. They also planned to build up portraits of Watson and Williams as"
"feigning interest in him, then blowing up his tanker truck full of gasoline. The most infamous image of the 1992 Los Angeles riots was the Reginald Denny incident. Denny was a white truck driver who was assaulted in a black neighborhood during the riots, and was almost beaten to death. The footage received nationwide media coverage, and the defendants in the case (the ""L.A. Four"") claimed to be fighting ""economic oppression"". Long-haul trucker Keith Hunter Jesperson made headlines in 1994 when it was discovered he was the ""Happy Face Killer"". The 1998 film ""Black Dog"" starred Patrick Swayze as a"
"victim black, the story caused large scale disruption and controversy across New York. As well as racial discord, there was also controversy over the actions of police officers and their conduct and the increasing number of officers accused of using excessive force. Collechia, who had a history of civilian complaints made against him to the NYPD, was sentenced to a maximum of 5–15 years in prison for homicide, the city's third police officer to be sentenced for committing the crime while on active duty. Nathaniel Levi Gaines Nathaniel Levi Gaines (1971 – July 4, 1996) was an African-American resident of"
"had fired on them first. Ovando, paralyzed from the waist down, was sentenced to 23 years in prison based on the officers' testimony. On September 16, 1999, Ovando was released from prison after Perez recanted his earlier testimony. The District Attorney's office filed a writ of habeas corpus overturning Ovando's conviction. Ovando had spent two-and-a-half years incarcerated. On November 21, 2000, Ovando received a $15 million settlement, the largest police misconduct settlement in Los Angeles history. <br> Javier Ovando Javier Francisco Ovando (born 1977), is a Honduran man who became a central figure in the LAPD Rampart scandal when he"
"on charges of use of excessive force; three were acquitted, the jury failed to reach a verdict on one charge for the fourth. Within hours of the acquittals, the 1992 Los Angeles Riots started, sparked by outrage among African Americans over the verdicts and longstanding social issues. The rioting lasted six days, during which 63 people were killed and 2,373 were injured; it ended only after the California Army National Guard, the United States Army, and the United States Marine Corps provided reinforcements to re-establish control. The federal government prosecuted a separate civil rights case, obtaining grand jury indictments for"
"Attack on Reginald Denny The attack on Reginald Denny was an incident in the 1992 Los Angeles riots in which Reginald Denny, a white construction truck driver, was beaten nearly to death by a group of black men who came to be known as the ""L.A. Four"". The attack was captured on video by a news helicopter, and broadcast live on US national television. On March 3, 1991, a plumbing salesman and amateur videographer named George Holliday video-recorded motorist Rodney King at the end of a police pursuit, being beaten by Los Angeles Police Department officers. The outrage resulting from"
"one bi-racial male, one Latino, and one Asian American. The prosecutor, Terry White, was black. On April 29, 1992, the seventh day of jury deliberations, the jury acquitted all four officers of assault and acquitted three of the four of using excessive force. The jury could not agree on a verdict for the fourth officer charged with using excessive force. The verdicts were based in part on the first three seconds of a blurry, 13-second segment of the videotape that, according to journalist Lou Cannon, had not been aired by television news stations in their broadcasts. The first two seconds"
"Ferry Avenues, near a city park and firehouse, according to police reports. Saran, a licensed physician in India who was awaiting licensing in the United States, was discharged later from University Hospital in Newark. The unprovoked attack left Saran in a partial coma for over a week with severe damage to his skull and brain. In September 1992, Thomas Kozak, Martin Ricciardi, and Mark Evangelista were brought to trial on federal civil rights charges in connection with the attack on Saran. However, the three were acquitted of the charges in two separate trials in 1993. Saran testified at both trials"
"CHP Officer Timothy Singer and CHP Officer Melanie Singer (Timothy Singer's wife), arrested him and two other occupants of the car. After the two passengers were placed in the patrol car, five white Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers – Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseno, and Rolando Solano – surrounded King, who came out of the car last. They tasered him, struck him dozens of times with side-handled batons, and tackled him to the ground before handcuffing him. Sgt. Koon later testified at trial that King resisted arrest, and that he believed King was under the influence"
"on the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles on the morning of April 4, 2007. The crash occurred when an SUV crossed the median and struck Clark's Infiniti I30, causing the closure of the highway for eight hours. Police determined that the SUV's driver, Hector Velazquez-Nava, who was in the country illegally, had a blood alcohol level of three times the legal limit and was driving without a license. He initially pleaded not guilty to two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, but changed his plea to no contest in August. On October 12, 2007, Velasquez-Nava was sentenced to"
"Stacey Koon Stacey Cornell Koon (born November 23, 1950) is a former sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department who became nationally notorious in the wake of the Rodney King incident. On March 3, 1991, in Los Angeles, a high-speed chase was initiated by California Highway Patrol officer Melanie Singer after motorist Rodney King was observed behind the wheel of a 1988 white Hyundai Excel traveling at a high speed of over 100 MPH. The chase ended on the right shoulder of Foothill Boulevard. Koon and four other officers (Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseño and Rolando Solano) attempted to"
"jail with minimal fines. On May 2, 1959, four white men, William Collinsworth, Ollie Stoutamire, Patrick Scarborough, and David Beagles, set out together to find a black woman to sexually assault. They approached a car at Jake Gaither Park armed with shotguns and switchblades. Patrick Scarborough pressed his shotgun against the African American driver's nose and ordered the occupants out of the car. Four African Americans stepped out of the car, two men and two women. All four people in the car were students at Florida A&M University (FAMU). Scarborough forced the two black men to kneel on the ground,"
"unlawful imprisonment and received a sentence of 2 to 8 years in August, 1990 and was released in 1998. A fourth man, Joseph Serrano, was convicted on the charge of unlawfully possessing a weapon and sentenced to 300 hours of community service on January 11, 1991. The acquittal of Vento on a murder charge, and the light sentence handed out to Serrano, sparked more protests by the African-American community in Bensonhurst. Shortly before that march was set to begin on January 12, 1991, Al Sharpton was stabbed and seriously wounded by Michael Riccardi in a Bensonhurst schoolyard. Sharpton later recovered"
"men in 2009 and subjected them to a barrage of racial insults after they were illegally forced from their car. The judge in the case called the policemen's action ""extreme, profane and racially motivated."" In July 2012, the city council agreed to pay $60,000 to the two men beaten by three police officers. Press report show that in March 2010, Officer Hector Paez used threats of arrest to force himself on a woman. In December 2012, Officer Paez was found guilty of sexual assault, kidnapping and filing a false report. In 2013, he was sentenced to eight years in prison."
"passed to charge King with evading arrest; he also noted that the statute of limitations on drunk driving had passed. The Los Angeles County District Attorney subsequently charged four police officers, including one sergeant, with assault and use of excessive force. Due to the extensive media coverage of the arrest, the trial received a change of venue from Los Angeles County to Simi Valley in neighboring Ventura County. The jury was composed of nine whites, one bi-racial male, one Latino, and one Asian American. The prosecutor, Terry White, was black. On April 29, 1992, the seventh day of jury deliberations,"
"dynamics of gang culture. On the night of February 22, 1993, veteran Compton police officer Kevin Burrell and reserve officer James MacDonald rode together. James had just gotten hired full-time as a police officer in Northern California and was working his last night as a part of the Compton force. Both men were brutally murdered by ""Bounty Hunter"" Bloods gang member Regis Deon Thomas. Brennan and Ladd were a part of the task force that was formed in the wake of these murders that ultimately led to the arrest and conviction of Thomas, who was sentenced to California's Death Row."
"another man. The attack was allegedly racially motivated and caused Moisiako to be hospitalised due to his injuries. Vicki Momberg, a prominent real estate agent, was sentenced to two years in prison for racist remarks she made against black people in Johannesburg. She was the victim of a smash and grab incident and a black police officer approached her to assist her. She responded by verbally abusing him and making racial remarks about the ""low caliber of black people in Johannesburg"" and used the derogatory K-word 48 times in a video-clip of the incident. In 2013 Wayne Blaauw, a 25"
"injuries sustained in the struggle where he died. A subsequent report presented by experts testifying for the defense at the trial stated that Green died of heart failure, caused in part by an enlarged heart due to years of substance abuse, and aggravated by the struggle with police. Green was black and the two officers were white and decorated (though with a history of excessive force complaints). The incident occurred only months after the Los Angeles riots of 1992, which protested the acquittal of police officers in the video-taped beating of Rodney King. Prior to jury selection, Detroit Mayor Coleman"
"to church officials in Sri Lanka, requesting that they return Father Jayawardene to Los Angeles. In 1993, a transient named Filiberto Maldonado, assaulted and attempted to rape a 73-year-old woman who was alone praying inside the sanctuary at the church. The man was later sentenced to eleven years in prison. In June 1997, Incarnation was the site of two tragic and publicized funerals. The first was for Glendale Police Officer Charles ""Chuck"" Lazzaretto, a man who the ""Los Angeles Times"" reported ""would have become chief had he not been ambushed by a gunman."" Officer Lazzaretto was shot to death in"
"63 people were killed, 2,383 people were injured, and more than 12,000 were arrested. LAPD chief of police Daryl Gates, who had already announced his resignation by the time of the riots, was attributed with much of the blame. On the evening of March 3, 1991, Rodney King and two passengers were driving west on the Foothill Freeway (I-210) through the Lake View Terrace neighborhood of Los Angeles. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) attempted to initiate a traffic stop. A high-speed pursuit ensued with speeds estimated at up to , along freeways and then through residential neighborhoods. When King stopped,"
"the written guidelines of the department regarding force,"" and that bias related to race, gender, and sexual orientation were regularly contributing factors in use of excessive force. The commission's report called for the replacement of both Chief Daryl Gates and the civilian Police Commission. The Los Angeles County District Attorney subsequently charged four police officers, including one sergeant, with assault and use of excessive force. Due to the extensive media coverage of the arrest, the trial received a change of venue from Los Angeles County to Simi Valley in neighboring Ventura County. The jury was composed of nine White people,"
"and Derek Sells. 150 people gathered at the site of the incident on the first anniversary of the deaths. The playground next to the site has been renamed Herrera-Peña Park. Rapper Talib Kweli mentions the incident in his song ""The Proud"" from the album ""Quality"" (2002): August 4, 2001<br> A drunken police officer mows down an entire family in Brooklyn<br> The judge lets him go with no bail<br> It reminds us, of just how worthless our lives are to the justice system<br> I struggle, to explain the situation to my son, it's hard Joseph Gray (police officer) Joseph Gray is"
"through the following week. In November 2018, three police officers, Dustin Boone, Randy Hays, and Christopher Meyers were charged with the assault of an African American undercover officer on the evening of September 17. In text messages written on the day of the verdict, Boone wrote “It’s gonna get IGNORANT tonight!! It’s gonna be a lot of fun beating the hell out of these s---heads once the sun goes down and nobody can tell us apart!!!!” and Myers suggested they ""whoop some ass."" Messages following the attack show ""the officers bragging about assaulting protesters, with Hays noting that ""going rogue"
"to protect a cop I'm gonna."" The audio from the incident was recorded by dashboard camera, and was reportedly full of vulgar language. On 7 January 2010, Police Chief Chad Wagner fired five officers involved in the incident. The officers were by that point in their sixth month of paid leave. On 10 April 2012, Officer Joel Francisco was sentenced to ninety days in jail after he pleaded guilty in the original accident. He had been talking on his phone when he hit the other car with his official vehicle. His record shows eight traffic accidents in his twelve years"