officers - The Black Vault

•
If convicted, each officer faces
·up to 10 years in prison and a
·$250,000 nne, prosecutors said.
.. The federal indictment sets the
:stage for a reprise of a Ventura
~County Superior Court trial that
tcleared the officers on 10 of 11
:criminal charges and sparked
1 three days of rioting that left 60
~dead and caused more than $800
~million in damage.
{ "There will be some optimism
~atsomejustice wm be brought to
tbear in this case," said Joe Hicks,
:ex-ecutive director for the Southern
~Christian···Leadership Conference
1
in Los Angeles.
f~ ~other'Civic and community leadrers~.feared
the indictments could
·,speWiiew trouble·for a city looking
~ttQ:.heat. , :
~ "I'm going· to ·be holding my
lrbreath" and· crossjpg. my fingers,
;tfioping·:that I don'~ wake up to the
~V.eooi~tn we got Apt;l 29," · said
~p~:.':Bakewell of. the Brother­
'diobd!:Crtisade, a civil rights group.
~~ But "Baird, in a~nouncing the
~mqictment; sought to reassure th~
~ommunity; "I'In: -.not .thi.~ng·.
~outi_an·l;agquittat;"· she said.
~ r :eowellf;.29, facing an October
~e.m.aJJu.~te coul;i: on a criminal
•charge of assault under color of
i~ufhority. ;-Said yesterday he is
llJ!nocen~ qf the charges.
1"-· • ~·1 dian~t do anything wrong "
J~... """-~ '
"Powell said. "I can't believe
:they're doing this again to me. I did
;:What I was supposed to. do in that
·~ituation." ·
; 1 Baird .said the officers were
iinvited to surrender to authorities
:]'today. in u;s. District Court -in Los
.iAngeles, and an arraignment has
l.t>een scheduled for Monday.
;: The ·officers are expected to be
·released on personal recognizance
: guarantees.
:: Rodney King was at a friend's
~Jlouse when he heard the 9:30 a.m.
-;announcement on television, according
.to his lawyer, Steven A.
·J:.erman.
· · "I hope now they can see what
·;those men did to me," Lerman
~uoted King as saying. "I want my
'Chance to tell a jury what it was
~ike being beaten and stomped.
I've done nothing wrong. I hope
•
they get justice. beyond a reasonable doubt - the
Baird said the investigation was standard required for a criminal
continuing and that other indict- conviction.
ments were "very likely" but she Still, prosecutors may need to
declined to comment on specifics show racism to prove the charge
of the case or evidence. that the officers intended to de-
Stone,said that Powell's defense prive King of his civil rights, said
would be the same. ·· Laurie Levenson, a former federal 1
"I don't see this case is any prosecutor in Los Angeles who now
1
different from any other police teaches at Loyola Law School. .
use-of-force case," Stone said. "It's "One important way of showing .
simply a question of use of force intent is to show a motive, and in
and whe~er or .not ~t is reason- t_his case the claim may be a racial
able." ·' · . · .motive." Levenson said.
Mounger also denounced the · Levenson and other experts said
indictments. · conspiracy is difficult to prove -~
·"I understand the politics about especially in a case such as this
it, but .I don't think it's legally where events transpireq quickly
correct or morally correct," with little time for. planning.
Mounger ·said. "The notion that these ofil~ers .
Charlie Parsons, agent-in- as they 'were engaged. in a high- :
charge ,q.f;•. ttl~\f:Bt:~ :~s ..A:~gele~ ),;.~~p~~~~ch~e -were·somehow,~gr~e- I
office, s~IQ)tl).at¥~.:m~nY:-'as~l7· f:Bl:':·Y~'I.ilg· With· ea~ll. otl!~r t~Lb~~t I}lng'
agents tii'V.e~~een· V{orkirig oil lh'e. :··sfr~ils ·creduiicy;" saiq UQiV¢~ifi:
King case full-time· since it' w~.
. . of Calif(>rnia, Los· :Angeles, L;iw
revived· after ~e not-guilty v~f.fj,·rt~ :~chool J~ro(~or Pet~r Arenell.a.
diets. " . · . . . · , ': i.~N· ~.'(. ... -~·r~~- f~d~rru.. gzw1d j~ has lJ~n
· An e!lfli~r ·:federal probe W.~v~~ meetir~g .:fn secret Si~ce Sh(>rtly
suspendec;l ,.'while the state case·~'. '· afte~ ·. Ui¢ .i:iots,. when'' 'J;'resident
proceedeq;: · , _'' · ·. B¢1h·imbli~ly den9un¢e'}~the v~rr '
"This ·iS: .not. a .normal