officers - The Black Vault

F[)l;~50•{Rev. 5·8·81)
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•{Indicate page, name of
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;,·cameraman' s··Test· Puts
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,~Him in the Spotlight ·
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1
By STEVE PADILLA
. and LESLIE BERGER
• TIMES STAFF WRiTERS
broadcast nationajly by .Cable News
Network and other networks, its
graphic portrait of police violence
stirring a public outcry and prompting
investigations by the Los Angel-'
es Police Department, the county
George Holliday wasn't thinking
about civil rights early Sunday
" when he aimed his new video cam- district attorney and the. FBI.
.·era at the street below his second- "1 really didn't think jt was· going
floor apartment and documented a to turn out this w~y," said Holliday.
~ ·scene that has shocked the nation. . Like ·many tenants .of the Moun-
;i · Getting the gadget to work and tain Back Apartments at 11777
capturing "just a bit of action on my Foothill Blvd., Holliday, 31, was
new camcorder" were the chief awakened by the sound of helicop­
. concerns of the Lake View Terrace ters and went to his balcony where
... resident, who admits he was barely .. he saw an arrest taking_ place at the
aware of what was unfolding as he . co~er of Osborne Street.
filmed it.
Holliday, who manages a plunib-
M Only when he popped the tape ing business in. North Hollywood,
. into his VCR a few minutes later did had been taping just about anything
-Holliday begin to appreciate what·· to practice usiqg his SONY Handi­
• he had. Even then, he said Wednes- . cam-"a cat ·licking its paw," he
, day, he figured it might earn a short said, giving one example. The same
f·spot on the local news. . . tape depicting the beating of Rodf.
. Instead: the tape he sold to televi- ney __ Gl_eqn King of Altadena in-
['- sron statron KTLA for $500 was - eludes footage Holliday shot at a
neighborhood bar, where Arnold
Schwarzenegger has been filming
"Terminator II." ,
"By the time 1 got the CaJllera on
they were hitting him, and I just
happened to get that action,'' Holliday
said. "I guess I didn't realize
until I watched it on TV that they
were hitting him."
Holliday phone·d the· TV station
· the next day and was nonchalantly
told to drop- off his tape. An hour
.after he -brought it in his phone
.rang: It was the station, saying "we
want to talk to you right now." ·
The 'pnone .hasn't stopped ·ringing
since-at work or at home.
·"I haven;t ,been ·able to do any
'Work tOday;'' said 'Holliday, who
seemed barely fazed by calls from
TV stations as far away as Atlanta
:and Minneapolis.
Nor is he worried about possible
repercussions.
··"A lot bf people are telling me,
')iey, watch out!' I personally don't
Date:
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Edition: THURS • , MAR 7 , 19 91
Metro Section, Page 1
TiUe: CAMERAMAN'S TEST PUTS HIM
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Character: Civil Rights
or
Classlftcation: 44A-LA-119 954; 80-33B
Submitting Office:
IDS ANGElES
Indexing:
SEARCHED·--- INDEXED'----1
SERIAtiZED,,..._,...,.,..~ fii.EO,...,.....,_ __ ,
MAR 2 0 1991
FBI
LOS ANGELES I
1/1 fi]
{/
..
think anything's going to happen
but my wife is afraid,'' said Rolliday,.
who said ]J.e is reserving
·judgment on his now -famous tape.
· "1 didn't see .what :?tarted the
beating/' Holliday said. "All I
know ·is when I came out, this was
~oing on." . .. J
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FBI/DOJ