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LOS ANGELES TIMES
, . (Mount CUpping In Space Below) LOS ANGELES, CA
Justice Dept. Resiime~1tS =.,~~Ro ~'~~i;N, PAGE 1
RevieW of King Beating
..
• lnve~tigation: Fe~eral probe, wpich was on hoid d~rin~ triai of
'four officers, will f9cus on possible civil rights violations. . · . ·. . . ·
/ . ~
By J]ENRY WEINSTEIN
:and RONALD J. OSTROW
TIMEs ST~FF WRITERs
·.WASHINGTON-U.S. Atty. Gen. William
P. Barr said Thursday that the
.. Justice Department is resuming its 'review
iof the Rodney G. King incident to deterimine
whether there has been a criminal
'violation of federal, civil rights laws.
. "It's important for people to remember,"·
Barr said, "that the verdicts [Wednesday]
on state charges are not the end of the
'process. The Department of. Justice is
responsible for enforcing the :civil rights
laws of the United States and it will do so
vigorously."
·. Barr said the department and the FBI
have closely monitored the King case since
ra videotape of the beating brought the
incident to worldwide attention 14 months·
;ago. Federal agencies deferred action while
• the state completed its criminal proceed-
( ings, he said. .
·, Now, Barr said, the department"is moving
forward to complete its investigation.
Another federal law enforcement source
~ said" that a major portion of the federal
' probe is completed: ·
' Wayne Budd, the Justice Department's
"third-ranking official and its highest-rank~
ing black, and two other department lawyers
were sent to Los Angeles on Thursday,
Barr said.
Federal sources said that the Washington
l~~yers met with U.S. Atty. Lourde_s G.
Title: JUSTICE DEPT. RESUMES
ITS REVIEW OF KING
BEATING
· Cheracter:4 4A-
«
Classification: 80-33 B
' Submitting Office:
Brurd and Charlie Par~~ns, the FBi agent in
charge in. Los Angeles, to plan strategy
LOS ANGELE'S
·soon after they arrived. No details about Indexing: 1
the meeting were·available.
Barr said he had instructed federai
SEARCHED l C\ I~DEXEO ./
offiCials to complete their review of the
SERtAUlEU \_i"' '-'fllEO... l.-'
case "as soon as possible."· .. ·
·A former federal -prosecutor familiar
:with such cases said it is conceivable that
MAY 05 1992
there could be an indictment within a
. month, perhaps sooner. .
I=RI - LOS ANGELES
Asked if the investigation was i.imited to
the four acquitted officers, a high federal n I to~
. law enforcement offici~, gpeaking on conditi~m
of anonymity, said: "We are looking
at the entire incident of the beating· of
Rodney King." . ·
Last June, the Times reported .that
. Justice Department .attorneys ·were
doubtful that any of. the 17 Los Angeles
Police Department officers who stood by
and watched as King was beaten could be
prosecuted on federal .charges, but federal
prosecutors in Los Angeles said charges
against the bystanders had not been ruled
.out. _,. ...:. --·· ~- _.
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