From Verdict to Verdict

After a three-month state court trial in Simi Valley, the not guilty verdicts touched off the worst urban riots this century. They took at least 52 lives and prompted U.S. officials to reopen a federal investigation into the March 3, 1991, beating of Rodney G. King. Here are some of the key events:

1992

The First Verdict

Apr. 29: Jury finds all four Los Angeles police officers not guilty on all charges except one count against Officer Laurence M. Powell. The jury deadlocks on that charge.

May 1: A federal grand jury begins hearing evidence and issues subpoenas in the investigation.

July 23: King tells federal grand jurors that he never threatened or attacked police officers who beat him and does not accuse any officer of using racially derogatory language.

July 28: Three of the four police officers are invited to appear before the grand jury in their own defense, but none do so.

The Indictments

Aug. 4: The four officers are indicted on federal civil rights charges. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge John G. Davies.

Sept. 15: The Los Angeles City Council rejects a $5.9-million settlement sought by King, but offers to award him a lump sum of $250,000 and establish an investment fund that would pay him $75,000 annually. King’s attorney vows to take the civil case to trial.

Oct. 12: Steven A. Lerman, King’s attorney, is dropped from the civil case and replaced by Orange County criminal defense lawyer Milton C. Grimes.

Nov 12: Davies rules that jurors will not be allowed to hear evidence that three of the police officers were implicated in other alleged abusive behavior. A racially charged computer message by Powell the night of the beating is also prohibited.

Nov. 19: The Times reports about a confidential federal government memo that questions the credibility of King as a witness and lists other potential weaknesses in the case against the officers.

Dec. 12: King launches a national campaign on a radio call-in show, defending himself as “a decent human being just like anyone else.”

Dec. 22: Prosecutors decline to pursue charges that King drove while intoxicated and tried to evade arrest before the beating.

1993

Jan. 19: Defense lawyers file motion that would require prosecutors to prove that the officers beat King because he is black in order for them to be convicted of violating his civil rights.

Jan. 22: Judge reverses his stand and rules that prosecutors are not required to prove that the beating was racially motivated. Prosecutors still must show that the beating was an intentional use of unreasonable force.

Jan. 25: Judge rejects defense request to delay the trial even though a lawyer warns that new riots could erupt if the postponement is not granted.

Feb. 2: Judge rejects another defense request to delay the trial.

Jury Selection

Feb. 3: Trial begins with jury selection. A 53-page, 148-item questionnaire, intended to gauge whether prospective jurors can serve impartially, is handed to 333 people.

Feb. 4: Judge imposes a gag order on defense lawyer Harland W. Braun, barring him from publicly discussing matters that involve the jury and from criticizing the motives of prosecutors in the case.

Feb. 11: Lawyers meet with judge and dismiss at least 26 potential jurors whose questionnaire answers render them unfit to serve.

Feb. 12: A federal appellate panel denies motions filed by news organizations seeking access to completed juror questionnaires.

Feb. 16: Oral questioning of prospective jurors begins.

Feb. 22: A jury consisting of one Latino, nine Anglos and two African-Americans is selected.

Feb. 23: The Times reports that a team of military doctors has concluded in a preliminary report that King was struck at least five times in the head and face with “a baton or similar instrument.”

Feb. 24: Judge rejects defense mistrial motions involving an African-American juror’s possible bias.

Opening Arguments

Feb. 25: Opening arguments in the trial.

Feb. 26: Two civilian witnesses testify that King never tried to strike the officers and one witness recalls that King pleaded for the officers to stop.

March 1: Officer Rolando Solano, ex-partner of Officer Theodore J. Briseno, contradicts statements of four defendants by testifying that he had little trouble holding King down, and that King did not fall face-first to the ground during the opening moments of the videotape that recorded the beating.

March 2: Solano defends the actions of his fellow officers, but testifies that Briseno had angrily said that Sgt. Stacey C. Koon should have handled the arrest better.

March 3: Sgt. Mark John Conta, head of LAPD’s self-defense training unit, testifies that baton blows early in the beating were justified, but should have stopped once the suspect was on the ground.

March 4: Defense lawyers attempt to erode Conta’s credibility as an expert on the use of force and to demonstrate that the officers acted reasonably.

March 8: Judge rules that prosecutors cannot introduce evidence that a passenger in King’s car the night of the beating was struck while in police custody. Nurse at hospital that King was taken to testifies that Powell joked of “playing hardball” with King.

King Testifies

March 9: King takes witness stand and tells jury that he suffers from nightmares about the beating. “I was just trying to stay alive,” King testifies, in an effort to explain his actions during the incident.

March 10: King admits false statements prior to the trial, but also testifies that he is now telling the truth.

March 11: Dr. Harry L. Smith, a medical expert, testifies that King suffered his most serious injuries from baton blows to the head and face, not from falling.

Defense Begins

March 17: LAPD officer who witnessed the beating testifies he advised rookie Officer Timothy E. Wind on the use of force and that Wind told him that he “didn’t enjoy” using force on King.

March 18: Gov. Pete Wilson announces that verdicts may be delayed temporarily to give law enforcement agencies--and possibly the National Guard--time to take to the streets to prevent any outbreaks of violence.

March 19: Sgt. Charles L. Duke, a highly decorated LAPD officer, testifies that every kick and baton blow used on King was reasonable and necessary to arrest him and may have protected him from more serious harm.

Koon Takes Stand

March 23: Koon takes the stand and defends his actions and those of his officers, telling jurors that King appeared to be under the influence of PCP and that he defied repeated attempts to get him on the ground.

March 26: California Highway Patrol Officer Melanie Singer testifies about the high-speed chase and King’s erratic behavior. Asked to describe baton blows by Powell, Singer breaks down and cries.

March 29: Singer weeps a second time in her emotional account as she describes blows to King’s face.

March 30: Dr. Dallas C. Long testifies that the most serious injuries were the result of falls to the ground, not baton blows that hit King in the head.

March 31: Powell rests his case without taking the witness stand.

Defense Rests

April 1: Wind and Briseno also rest their cases without taking the stand. Judge rules that during rebuttal the prosecution can use an edited videotape of Briseno testifying against his co-defendants during last year’s state trial.

April 3: Defense attorney files emergency writ with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to prohibit prosecutor’s use of Briseno’s testimony.

April 5: The federal appeals court allows use of Briseno’s taped testimony.

April 6: Jurors see Briseno’s videotaped testimony and federal prosecutors rest their case.

April 8: Closing arguments begin with the prosecutor alleging that the officers ruthlessly beat King into submission and defense attorney suggesting that King was to blame not only for the incident but for last year’s riots.

April 11: Defense lawyers finish their closing arguments. Judge Davies instructs the jury. At 3:07 p.m., the jury begins its deliberations.

April 16: After seven days of deliberating, jurors reach a verdict but the judge withholds it, allowing law enforcement agencies to mobilize. He tells the jury to return at 7 a.m. Saturday.

April 17: Jury finds Koon and Powell guilty of violating King’s civil rights, but acquits Briseno and Wind. Koon and Powell each face up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Sentencing is set for Aug. 4.