local television station, which edited it slightly be-
fore putting in on the air. Soon, it was picked up by
the Cable News Network (CNN) and shown nation-
ally many times. The reaction to the televised tape
was very strong. It was followed by a criminal investi-
gation of the officers’ behavior as well as a “blue rib-
bon” commission headed by Warren Christopher.
Its report was highly critical of the LAPD. Four of the
officers were indicted for their actions.
Although the trial of the officers would normally
have taken place in Los Angeles, their attorneys
asked for, and received, a change of venue. Conse-
quently, the trial was held in the largely white suburb
of Simi Valley. There were no blacks on the jury,
which acquitted all of the officers of all charges. Af-
ter the verdict was announced, riots broke out in
South Central Los Angeles. The officers were subse-
quently indicted under federal law. That trial, which
did take place in the city and which did contain a
multiethnic jury, led to the conviction of two of
them.
Impact The riots that followed the acquittal in the
state case lasted about four days and were the worst
in modern American history. They resulted in the
deaths of more than fifty individuals, more than two
thousand injuries that needed hospital attention,
and the destruction of nearly one thousand struc-
tures. Property losses added up to more than $900
million. One of King’s best moments came during
the riots, when in a televised interview he pleaded
with the public for calm, asking “Can we all get
along?” The reputation of the LAPD, which had
been high in many quarters, was severely shaken.
King eventually received an award of $3.8 million af-
ter he filed a civil suit against the city of Los Angeles.
He used the money to start Alta-Pazz Recording, a
rap record label.
Further Reading
Cannon, Lou.Official Negligence: How Rodney King
and the Riots Changed Los Angeles and the LAPD.
New York: Random House, 1997.
Skolnick, Jerome, and James J. Fyfe.Above the Law:
Police and the Excessive Use of Force. New York: Free
Press, 1993.
David M. Jones
See also African Americans; Christopher, Warren;
Los Angeles riots; Louima torture case; Police bru-
tality; Race relations.
King, Stephen
Identification American author
Born September 21, 1947; Portland, Maine
Long a prolific best-selling horror and suspense author,
King branched out with new forms of publishing in the
1990’s.
During the 1990’s, Stephen King experimented with
selling novels in serial format, as withThe Green Mile
(1996), as well as with genre. He wrote novels from a
female perspective—Gerald’s Game (1992), Dolores
Claiborne(1992),Rose Madder(1995), andThe Girl
Who Loved Tom Gordon(1999)—and the screenplay
for the television miniseries Storm of the Centur y
(1999). King also spent the decade as a key member
of the Rock Bottom Remainders, a charity rock group
consisting of published authors. In 1999, King was se-
riously injured when he was struck by a minivan.
Early in the decade, King worked on two novels
that had their genesis as a single novel:Dolores
ClaiborneandGerald’s Game. The two works reference
each other at a key point in their respective narra-
tives, and both novels deal with physically and sexu-486 King, Stephen The Nineties in America
Stephen King.(Tabitha King)