Reaction to Los Angeles Police Trial

President George H.W. Bush addressed the nation from the Oval Office two days after the announcement of the “not guilty” verdict in the trial of four White Los Angeles police officers charged with using excessive force against Rodney King a Black suspect. The case received national publicity after a resident of Los Angeles videotaped the scene of the arrest and the videotape was subsequently shown on national television. After the announcement of the verdict residents of Los Angeles and several cities across the nation rose up in protest which sometimes took the form of property destruction and violence. President Bush declared the protests to be illegal and dismissed them as unreasonable. The president vowed to use whatever force necessary to restore order in Los Angeles. The President pleaded for calm in the wake of the verdict and noted the Justice Department’s budding investigation to bring civil and criminal charges if appropriate. close