April 29, 1992: Riots break out in Los Angeles when police officers charged with using excessive force in beating of Rodney King are acquitted.

Tuesday 29 April 2008

The Los Angeles riots of 1992 began after a jury acquitted four police officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King. Thousands of people in L.A. rioted for six days after the verdict with widespread looting, assault and arson. Fifty-three people died and hundreds of buildings were destroyed.

In addition to the verdict, other factors were cited as reasons for the unrest, including unemployment among residents of south central L.A., a long-standing perception that the Los Angeles Police Department used excessive force and anger over the sentence given to a Korean-American shop owner for the killing of an African-American girl. The videotaped footage of King being beaten by police officers became a media sensation and a rallying point for activists in L.A.