The Rodney King riots, also known as the 1992 L.A. riots, decimated the city and led to the costliest form of civil unrest the country had ever seen. The LAPD historically had a reputation of being corrupt and carrying an unwarranted racial bias against African Americans. This played a part in people's distrust toward the police. However, what is regarded as the spark for the protests and riots was the verdict of the Rodney King beating.
On March 3rd of 1991, George Holliday filmed a video of a group of police officers vigorously beating an unarmed black man by the name of Rodney King. The four main officers involved were acquitted, but the predominately white jury that oversaw their trial ruled that these officers were innocent.
In perhaps the most infamous retaliation against police brutality in the United States, protesters began to organize themselves almost immediately after the verdict in South Central. With the protests growing into a chaotic riot, a white truck driver by the name of Reginald Denny was pulled out of his car and brutally beaten. A news helicopter captured the whole incident. At the same time, the riots led to many people looting business and setting other things ablaze. As a response, Korean store owners in Koreatown became involved as they began defending their business with weapons.
On the same day, the mayor called a state of emergency, and the governor ordered the National Guard to be mobilized. Curfews were also implemented, but the police, in general, were very slow to respond. The National Guard was finally deployed on April 30th On May 1st, President Bush ordered military troops to keep things under the control. Rodney King also appeared on television to ask for peace. On May 2nd, the Marines arrived and order was shortly restored after that.
In the aftermath, there were 7,000 arrests, 55 killed, 2,000 injured, and almost 1 billion in damages. The four officers were once again prosecuted but now under federal law. With this trial, two of them were found guilty of violating King's rights. Though some of the officers involved were punished to an extent, the riots and the beating itself reinforced the public's distrust in the LAPD. Their questionable credibility led their work to be questioned and had direct ramifications in cases like the O.J. Simpson murder trial.
Sources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/riots-erupt-in-los-angeles
https://www.thenation.com/article/want-understand-1992-la-riots-start-1984-la-olympics/
http://timelines.latimes.com/los-angeles-riots/
Wow I can't believe I had never heard of the Rodney King Crisis before given that it was such a massive event. After doing more research, I found that George H.W. Bush was president during that time. In response to the court case that let King's assailants off the hook, Bush took a very calm approach saying "Let us respect the law. The law has decided," instead of qualifying the court's prejudicial bias. In this way, Bush augmented violence that he was trying to stop, (he sent 4,500 military troops and 1000 federal officers to Los Angeles.) because those rioting became even more angry at his ignorance. For more info, go to: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-05-05/news/1992126127_1_verdict-pure-and-simple-tinderbox and http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/george-bush/videos/bush-on-los-angeles-riots
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