White Supremacy 

In the pre-dawn hours of March 3, 1991, California Highway Patrol officers in Los Angeles, California, attempted to pull over a driver for speeding. The driver, a 26-year-old black man named Rodney King, tried to evade the officers to avoid arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol but was stopped by several police cars after a brief high-speed pursuit.

Mr. King exited the car and Los Angeles Police Department officers used physical force and tasers to force him to the ground. Instead of arresting him, the officers continued to kick and beat him with wooden batons, causing severe injuries. Officers then restrained his arms and legs and dragged him to the side of the road to await emergency medical treatment. Mr. King suffered a fractured facial bone, broken right ankle, and multiple bruises and lacerations.

Nearby resident George Holliday was awakened by the beating and, from the window of his apartment, filmed the violent encounter using a personal video camera. He contacted police but received little information about what he had witnessed and decided to take the footage to the media. Local KTLA News broadcast the video in its entirety, creating a sensation and making police brutality a national issue. The incident, which might have been forgotten and ignored if not for the video evidence, would result in both civil and criminal trials and a period of city-wide violent unrest.