officers - The Black Vault

• •( lndocate pe;;>e, n«ne of
new~. city and atate.)
THE OUTLOOK
SA.NTA MONICA, CA
tMo.~.,tCupp 111 g"'SDac:eBelow)
r-----------------~~~-~------~----------------j~~HURS., 8-6-92
gcase
Ecmion: FRONT PAGE
shift not
~
C~:80-33B
l~orfica:
cedente
LOS ANGELES
Tll!ii:KING CASE SHIFT NOT
UNPRECEDENTED
By Rene~ Lynch
LOS AN~EtES DAILY NEWS
Prosecuting law enforcement officers under the
federal civil rights statute cited in the indictment
of fo~ Los Angeles Police Department officers in
the Rodney King beating case is unusual but not
Unprecedented, legal authorities ·said.
The federal laws under which Sgt. Stacey C~
Koon,officers Laurence M. Powell and Theodore
J:-BJ:isen6;. and- ex-officei Timothy E."Wma..-are I
-"Charged were designed to take over when state
prosecutions fail - as happened in the King j
b.~a#ng case when juror~ acquitted the officers on
alLbut one .count on whiCh they could not reach a 1
unanimous verdict.
l . ; The laws evolved out of a desire to make sure
l ,
that Mrican-Americans were abl. e to find justice
in the South at a time when local iaw enforce-.'
ment officials - prosecutors, judges and even 1
! juries- often refused to treat minorities equally, I
~ said. Kevin Reed, western regional counsel of the
NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund.
U.S. Attorney Lourdes Baird said Werlnesday
that the charges do not incl~de allegations th~~·
l
there was a racial element" tb ·tl1e beating of King;
who is Mrican-American, by w}lite poljce officers~
They allege a violation of civil ·rights that could
be applied to anyone of .any race, she .said. ·
But many legal authorities and activists said
that the officers' actions and words before and
after.:the incident show that race played a' role· in
the· attack. Many also say race will become an
issue as the prosecution tries to prove its case.
. Tbe unusual prosecution raises a series of other
questions, including: .
• Question: How do the federal charges differ
from state charges stemming from the March 3~
. 1991, beating in the Los Angeles area of Lake
View Terrace?
·I II Answer: The state case alleged the officers
l
• AUG 0 ·:' 1992
1
FBI -
lOS ANGELES
assaulted Ki?g ~d abused,. 1
~he, authQi'ity granted ~
them· as police ·officers. Tlie. federal\.~ase ·assez:ts I
thafKjng's civil rights. V?e~~·vio.l!i~'t ¥c1. ~:basel\ ··
on. the Justice·.Dep~ine~t s· atitll~.>r!tY·:t9:protec~. ·
'ili~ .. cbnstftutional nghts of all citiZens; ' ·· · 1 .
ra·'Q:' Why c~'t the four office~ be·t:tie