officers - The Black Vault

•
count of assault under color of
authority, with a special allegation
that he used force likely to produce
great bodily injury. If convicted, he
faces a maximum of six years in
prison.
Friday's decision was greeted
with praise from Mayor Tom Bradley
and relief from other black
leaders, who say they hope it is the
first step toward healing the city
after the devastation from the riots
and looting of 2\12 weeks ago.
But for some, the relief was
tempered with anger. They were
quick to compare the videotaped
beating of King to another, more
recent videotaped beating with racial
overtones: the assault on white
truck driver Reginald 0. Denny,
which occurred as the riots broke
out. This week, four young black
men were charged in the Denny
case.
"If that medium [videotape] is
good enough to arrest four black
men," said state Sen. Diane Watson
(D-Los Angeles), "it is certainly
good enough to get justice for
Rodney King. We're waiting to see
if justice is indeed blind, and not
colorblind."
Others, among them Joe Hicks,
e~ecutive director of the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference,
said the healing will not begin
unless the U.S. Justice Department
brings criminal charges in the case
J
The department is investigating
whether Powell and the three
other officers violated King's civil
rights.
"We certainly applaud the attempt
to bring Mr. Powell to justice,"
Hicks said, "but we think
that it is only one part of the puzzle
around this Rodney King situation.
What needs to happen now is the
Justice Department needs to step
up to the plate .... There are still
three other officers who the whole
world saw beating Mr. King who
are walking about on the streets,
vindicated."
Powell's three co-defendants­
Sgt. Stacey C. Koon and Officers
Theodore J. Briseno and Timothy
E. Wind-were acquitted April 29
of all counts against them, after a
trial in Simi Valley that lasted 21h
months. Powell was acqUitted of
two counts. but the jury deadlocked
8 to 4 in favor of acqUittal on
a third count of assault under color
of authority.
F'riday's hearing marked the
first public appearance by the 29-
year-old officer since the verdicts
were issued. The proceedings were
held under tight security, with four
sheriff's deputies standing guard
and bulletproof glass separating
Powell, the judge and the attorneys
from spectators, who were required
to walk through a metal
detector before entering.
Camera crews and reporters
packed the hallway outside the
courtroom, waiting for a glimpse of
Powell. But the accused officerwho
is suspended from the force
and remains free on $30,000 bailskirted
them by entering and leaving
through a back door. Looking
tired, Powell made no remarks in
court except to agree to waive his
right to a trial within 60 days.
During Friday's hearing, Deputy
Dist. · Atty. Alan Yochelson told
Weisberg that the prosecution was
ready to proceed with the case
against Powell, who is shown on an
81-second amateur videotape delivering
the most blows to King.
Earlier in the week, Los Angeles
County Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner had
announced that his office would
seek a retrial because of compelling
evidence against Powell-in
particular the videotape.
But defense lawyer Stone, who
indicated that he might not represent
Powell in the second trial,
asked the judge to dismiss the case.
He argued that there is no reason
to believe a second jury would vote
to convict Powell and that in any
event, no jury could give the officer
a fair trial in light of the riots and
the threats that have been made
against jurors in the first trial.
"Even if a new jury were
persuaded that the prosecution
had failed in its effort to prove
the truth of the charge beyond a
reasonable doubt," Stone told the
judge, "it is probable that they
would convict anyway in order to
avoid risks to their own personal
safety, a great deal of condemnation
from the community, and the
risk of sparking another series of
riots in urban centers across the
United States."
Yochelson replied: "We cannot
simply throw up our hands and
refrain from prosecuting this matter
simply because there is widespread
public interest."
Lawyers for both sides are due
back in court Friday to discuss
where the t1·ial might be held. The
first trial was moved out of Los
Angeles County after an appeals
court ruled that the officers could
not get a fair trial because of
pretrial publicity and the political
fallout after the King beating.
We;sberg noted that with the
extcns1ve television coverage of
the first trial. jurors in all parts of
•
the state have been exposed to
publicity about the case. And, he
said, with the city about to get a
new police chief and an election on
police reforms two weeks away,
the political climate in Los Angeles
has changed considerably since the
appeals court ruling.
If the judge decides to move the
case back to Los Angeles, it is
likely the defense would appeal. At
a news conference after the hearing,
Reiner said prosecutors will
argue vigorously to keep the trial
in Los Angeles, or in. an urban
setting if the venue is changed.
But Reiner declined to discuss
specifics of the prosecution strategy
for the second trial. During the
first trial, prosecutors did not call
King to the witness stand, a move
that has drawn widespread criticism
of Reiner, who made the
decision. Nor was there any testimony
from citizens who witnessed
the beating from apartment balconies
fronting the Lake View Terrace
site.
Reiner on Friday refused to say
whether he will tap new prosecution
witnesses now available: the
acquitted officers. Briseno, testifying
in his own defense during the
first trial, drew particular attention
when he said he tried to stop
Powell from beating King and that
he "thought the whole thing was
out of control."
Although the district attorney
said prosecutors will consider calling
additional witnesses, the underlying
trial strategy will remain
unchanged. "I~ssentially," Reiner
smd, "it will be the same trial, and 1
the fundamental evidence in thiJ
case will be that videotape." _
~--