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LOS ANGELES TIMES
Da!:: SAT. MAR 16 , 19 91
Edllion:METRO SECTION, PAGE 5
INVESTIGATION OF A
BRUTAL BEATING
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Character:
or
Classifteation:
CIVIL RIGHTS
80-33B
Submitting Office:
LOS ANGELES
Indexing:
SEARCHED.
SERIAUZEo.
INDEXE0·---1
FJLED1-----1
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MAR 2 2 1991
FBI - LOS ANGELES I
1/171
The Investigation of a ~rutal Beating
Initial indictments only begin to suggest the full dimension of what happened
The first and, we trust, not the last
indictments were announced Friday
in the now nationally infamous police
beating of motorist Rodney King.
More indictments are expected, as the
·Los Angeles County Grand jury looks
further into the disgraceful incident.
Citizens of Los Angeles and beyond
continue to be deeply disturbed by
the beating almost two weeks after it
happened; that's a measure of the
tremendous revulsion generated by
the videotaped pounding.
The five indictments rightly go
r beyond what Chief Daryl F. Gates
had recommended. Even so, descriptions
of the charges do not do justice
' to that unforgettable image of ganglike
assault now burned into the
national consciousness; they tell only
part of the story. Still, it is some story
they tell.
Charge 1: Alleges that Officers
, Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind,
Theodore Briseno and Sgt. Stacey
Koon assaulted King by force likely
to produce great bodily injury and
with a deadly weapon. Charge 2:
Alleges that officers Powell, Wind,
Briseno and Koon "did willfully, unlawfully,
under color of authority and
without lawful necessity assault and
beat" King. Charge 3: Alleges that
Powell "knowingly and intentionally
made statements in the [police] report
which he knew to be false.
Charge 4: Alleges that Koon intentionally
made statements he knew to
be false. Charge 5: Alleges that Koon
knew a fe~ony had been committed
and "did harbor, conceal and aid"
Powell "with the intent that he might
·avoid and escape from arrest, trial,
conviction and punishment."
The investigation is ongoing and
the evidence-gathering is proceeding.
The other 11 officers present at
the beating of King also should come
under scrutiny for possible prosecution.
At the federal level, Justice
Department civil rights lawyers are
considering ways to bring federal
charges against some of the officers
who stood by and watched; on some
level, such inaction could be deemed
to be as reprehensible as doing the
evil deed.
The FBI and Justice .Department
already are aggressively investigating
the beating to determine if any of
the officers should be prosecuted on a
charge of violating King's civil rights.
Federal policy typically postpones
action until state proceedings have
been completed, but because of the
outcry, parallel investigations are
proceeding, as weU they should.
• Prosecutions are typically and often
necessarily lengthy procedures.
The defendants deserve their day in