officers - The Black Vault

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witness. White said that decision
was made by Reiner and "management"
in the District Attorney's
Office, rather than by the trial prosecutors.
"I'm just a deputy DA," White
said. 'Tm not trying to take the
blame off me and put it on Ira
Reiner, but he is the district attorney
and ·he makes the decisions.'~
White said the decision to keep
King off the stand was based on
concern that defense attorneys
would try to make an issue of his
criminal history. King was on parole
after serving a prison term for
robbery when the beating occurred.
"The rationale was if you don't
call King (to the stand) you keep ·
the focus on the case and not on .
King's past," White said.
"We had the video and we didn't
need Rodriey King and the liability
Rodney King was going to bring to
that case," he said. "Looking back,
that was still a sound decision. No
question.''
During the six weeks of testimony,
White said he never sensed
the case was in trouble.
"It was a relatively good trial as
far as the evidence and witnesses
we called," he said. "There is no
decision during this trial that I
would have changed.''
Asked whether he would like to
prosecute Powell a second time on
the outstanding charge, White declined
comment.
"That's the DA's job to :talk
about decisions," White said. l'It's
not my decisi~I_l to make."
He also declined to say whether
,King might be called to testify if
Reiner decides to go ahead witfi, a
new trial. · -·
"I don't want to prejudge. our
strategy on the second trial," he
said.
White, 35, is one of 12 attorneys
in the District Attorney's Special
Investigations Division, which
prosecutes public officials accuse~
of criminal wrongdoing.
The King trial was White's first
prosecution case ~nvolving polic~
officers since joining the District
Attorney's Office in 1984. He sai4
police officers are difficult to pro~ecute
because they are respected 'l;>y
most citizens. .
"Police officers come in.to a
courtroom with enhanced credibility,"
he said. "They have a different
status than your normal criminal
defendant. Jurors are reluctant to
second-guess police officers." .
In an interview with the DailY.
News this week, one juror said she
and other holdouts were pressured
into going along with the not-guilty
verdicts even though she felt the.officers
acted improperly.
"It was like we were on trial too/'
said Virginia Loya, om: of four
jurors who l)/.!ld their ground on•the
single count against Powell, forcing
a hu~gjury ...