April 29
On this day in 1992 Los Angeles erupted in violence after the verdict of the trial of Rodney King was read to an eagerly awaiting nation. The four officers that were at the scene were acquitted and rioting commenced throughout the city. I was 11 years old when this occurred and the video evidence along was more than enough for me to believe that this was a crock of shit. Justice was served in the civil court when Rodney King was awarded over 3 million dollars and two of the officers were sentenced to two years in prison. Remarkably there were no riots anywhere when that decision went down. I firmly believe that this incident had a little to do with the verdict in the OJ Simpson trial. Like it or not both of these trials had a lot to do with race, and I'm sure the jurors of the Rodney King trial feel somewhat guilty for what transpired after. Maybe a hung jury, but to be acquitted? That's messed up.
But hey, the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas when the game was moved because of the riots. Suck on that Lakers!
That quick shot of Ace Glass in the video, yeah, they got their windows smashed, but once they got those fixed, boo-yeah, everyone needed windows, business be boomin'!
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