officers - The Black Vault

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LOS ANGEl.
LOS ANGELES, CA
o.te: FRI., 5/8/92
TIMES
Jurors Tell of I Edition: FRONT SECTI01~, PAGE 3
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Angry, Bitter
Title:
I JURORS TELL OF ANGRY,
BITTER DELIBERATIONS
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Deliberations
«
80-33B
• Trial: Heated debate centered on
counts against Powell. 'I felt he was
guilty,' a panel member says. 'But I
couldn't prove it to myself.'
By SHERYL STOLBERG and MACK REED
TIMES STAFF WRITERS
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C-.cter. 44A-
Clasalfic:ation:
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It was Sunday, shortly before noon, the fourth
agonizing day of deliberations in the case of four Los
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Angeles Police Department officers accused of I
Most of the 1 urors have re p eatectly ctec!med
beating Rodney G. King, and emotions were running ; interviews, many of them frightened by the riots
high. The jurors were arguing heatedly over wheth- i that erupted in Los Angeles after their verdicts and
er Officer Laurence M. Powell, who had been seen : fearing that publicity will bring them harm. Some,
worldwide on a videotape strikiug a prone King, was i such as the male juror who asked not to be named,
guilty of assault with a deadly weapon.
; have moved out of their homes. Others have
When they finally cast their votes-a unanimous' switched-their telephones to unlisted numbers. One
not guilty on that count-one male juror broke down woman was so rattled by the threats she received
and cried. As hard as he tried, he said, he could not that, a relative said, she is under a doctor's care and
persuade himself that the blows Powell inflicted has orders not to talk.
were "likely to cause great bodily injury," as the law":. On Wednesday, the Simi Valley Police Departrequired.
. ment opened a criminal investigation into threats
"I felt he was guilty," he said. "But I couldn't made to the juror;:; on the King panel, as well as
prove it to myself, so I had a real tough time, a real threats against prospective jurors who were not
tough time putting in a not guilty vote."
selected and people whose names are similar to. those
In an extensive interview with The Times, this of the jurors. Lt. Bob Klamser said police are
juror-who asked not to be named-provided the working with the jurors to ensure their safety.
most detailed account yet of what happened inside "It's a scary situation," said one male juror who
the small second-floor jury room in the Simi Valley declined to be identified and would not talk at
courthouse. It was there that six men and six W!)men length. "You 'need to keep a low
met for seven days to pass judgment on Powell and· profile." ·
fellow officers Timothy E. Wind and Theodore J. The jury panel-10 whites, a
Briseno, and their sergeant, Stacey C. Koon. Latina and an .Asian-American-
His remarks, coupled with recent comments from began its work on Thursday, April
the handful of jurors who have broken a pact not to 23. Like everything else in the
talk, paint a portrait of a jury panel that at times spanking new East Valley Courtfought
bitterly over Powell, which resulted in. the house, the jury room had never
judge declaring a mistrial on one count, but had little before been used. It was bare, save
trouble deciding to acquit the other three officers. A for a table that sat 12, a television
female juror, who also asked not to be· identified, set that had been used during the
said: !'Our biggest effort was ~ut in on Powell. . . . It trial to view the videotape, and t.he
was very emotional."
. , evidence-including the batons
that Powell and Wind used against
King. The blinds were drawn, and
they remained that way throughout
the jury's discussions.
MAY 14 1992
LOS ANGELES L
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