Verdict That Could Leave LA In Flames - 9th April 1993

Daily Express 9th April 1993

THE   television   evening news here showed tanks on the streets this week, but 'the   bright   and breezy  commentators said  we  should  not  worry — these armoured vehicles would be painted with red crosses and were to "save" people, not kill them.

Nearly 7,000 armed police are on alert as the trial of four white policemen involved two years ago in the beating of black motorist Rodney King nears its end, and all police leave has been postponed.

Part-time troops are on standby at National Guard armouries as the city braces itself for the verdict by a jury which is expected to begin deliberations on new charges of civil rights violations this weekend.

This country got "mugged" last April in the riots which followed the acquittal of the four charged with ' assaulting King on March 3, 1991.

Despite extremely complex legal positions, a jury is again being asked to give a verdict on the videotaped events.

It has now gone a great distance from right or wrong. It is to do with THEM and US. But it is not a racial issue any more. It was. Now we're all in the sinking ship. The politics of blame are really no longer something for people living here to be concerned about. They are now only wondering if they and their families will survive what happens.
The Los Angeles Times carried a photograph of Korean David Chu leaving a gun shop with an automatic pistol — one that can let off 100 rounds in seconds. Mr Chu looked very confident and it made you wonder if you should have been joining him in the suburban armaments race. Thoughts on that matter were reinforced when it was announced that the three major police agencies for* Los Angeles and the city's fire department had asked the Federal Aviation Administration to ban flights under 2,000 feet over all of Los Angeles County on the day of the verdicts.

There are also emergency measures to be brought in if the decision is arrived at during school hours. No matter what the timing, officials are being asked not to make announcements at these periods. A year ago, the afternoon verdicts prompted vast problems and distress for parents and children.

ALL   the   precautions were ordered by Mayor Tom  Bradley and  LA Police Chief Willie Williams in a bid to head off a repeat of last year's appalling scenes, when 53 people died and $1 billion worth of property was damaged.

Bradley pleaded with the city's people not to give in to panic, rumour-mongering, or the urge to buy weapons.

"Let us tone down the hysteria," he said at a Press conference carried live on TV. "Let us calm ourselves. Let us not create self-fulfilling prophecies based solely upon speculation."

Both he and Williams said any trouble would be met with swift and overwhelming force.
"We're not going to fail you this time," said Chief Williams, a black officer who took over from white Chief, Darryl Gates, who was forced to resign last June in the wake of the riots. "You will have all the officers on the street between the time the jury begins deliberations and the verdicts."

But last Sunday, as tens of thousands of people went to church and prayer meetings in the City Of Angels, just as many went out and bought weapons.
"It's just time to buy a big gun, man!" is what you hear. And, of course, the possibility of exploiting an already explosive situation is ongoing.
For all the emergency plans, the real situation was defined by the lawyer for one of the three black men accused in the beating of white truck driver Reginald Denny during last year's riots.
"We are like runaway trains coming at each other."
The Denny and King trials are now running in tandem.
Despite Williams's assurances, in real life, thousand's are out on the streets and more  than  ready for civil disturbance.

They can't wait for the verdicts in the King case which, if you follow the evidence and testimony, could legally only result in acquittal.

Williams is a daily source of reassuring quotes. But would you want tanks on your streets? Or special arms and protection ensured from the U.S. National Guard?
LA is turning into a vigilante city. People are arming themselves, making plans to barricade and patrol streets, setting up cellphone networks, and making arrangements to look after each other's families and pets.
"We are now entering an era when we have to protect ourselves," said Les. Rensen who lives in the Hollywood Hills. "We have to think in terms of what we can do for ourselves. Some people might say this is vigilantism, taking the law into our own hands, but desperate times require desperate measures."

It is desperate thinking. But it is being provoked every day. We had one report that American gang leaders had a "summit" in Chicago to decide the best way to violently cash in on the situation.

WILLIAMS, a big and gangly man, says this will not happen, but however nice he is, most people don't believe him. A survey here says there are more guns on the streets of Los Angeles than ever before.

They are worn by schoolchildren, criminals and parents. These are people who fear the police. Other cities dread the spread of violence. In Washington, Housing And Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros told the Police Foundation any trouble could be mirrored elsewhere.
"The white-hot intensity of Los Angeles was the combustion of smouldering embers waiting to ignite," he said. "Like piles of dry wood with red-hot coals underneath, scores of cities can ignite."

Los Angeles has fewer policemen than ever before. Morale among them is low. "On the job" shootings and other "complications" like the King case have not encouraged recruitment.
"We're developing an extensive plan to prevent an occurrence of last April's trouble," said Police Chief Hourie Taylor who commands the vast suburbs of Los Angeles.
"We are prepared," he insists.
A more street-orientated observer commented: "It's going to blow. This is the OK Corral"

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