officers - The Black Vault

FD·350 (Rev .. s-a,a1)
. " '
(Indicate page, name of
newspaper, city and state.)
(Mount Clipping in Space Below)
~King suffered 9'
skull fraCtUres :
LAPD ~fficers suppo~t Gates
By Norma Meyer
and Howard Gantman
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
As a doctor disclosed Wednesday
that police beating victim
Rodney King suffered nine
skull fractures, Los Angeles police
officers closed ranks behind .
embattled Chief Daryl F. Gates,
labeling those who have demanded
his ouster over the as.:
sault a "lynch mob."
New details about the extent
of King's injuries emerged as a
county grand jury concluded its
third day of a closed-door inquiry
irito the videotaped beat-
. ing of the black motorist by
three white police officers, who
.are expected to be indicted on
felony charges.
In other developments: ··
·• A federal grand jury report:
edly began issuing subpoenas as
part of a civil rights probe into
the March 3 incident, ·which
was witnessed by a dozen· other
officers who did nothing to stop
it. Some or all of those officers
may also be indipted by either
the state Qr'fed~r~j~ ...,...- _:_
• A proposal for a June 4 ·
ballot measure that would
make it easier to. fire pt>lice
chiefs met resistance in. the
·City Council, which scheduled
·the matter for committee
· hearings - seriously jeopar- .
dizing its chances of making
-the June 4 ballot.
ill Gates, who has con­
-demned the beating and recommended
charges be filed
against the three officers who
participated, is ·st;:heduled ~
answer questions about it today
before the city Police
· Commission. · · . ·.
• Civil rights ·groups and
minority organizations plan to
demonstrate outside the commission
hearing room at the
.. Police Department's .down-
'town Parker Center.
. The prospect ·of a large pro­
. test had ·some city ()fficials
• .:worried about a possible vola­
: tile confrontation.
; King's physician, Dr. Ed­
; mund Chein, told the City
l' Council that tests revealed
: King had suffered worse inju­
' ries· than originally .~ought.
! · X-rays showed. the unem- ·
I
ployed construction worker's
skull was' broken in nine places
and .the presence .Qf en-
I
THE OUTLOOK
Date:
THURS. MAR 14,
Edition:
FRONT SECTION,
Title:
199 1
PAG E
KING SUFFERED 9 SK ULL
FRACTURES
Character: CIVIL RIGHTS
or
Classification: 8 0-33 B
Submitting Office:
LOS ANGELES
lndexm;.;.· ;,::.9;...:-----~-----.
SEARCHED--- INDEXED·---1
SERIALltEO , fiLED~o.-.----1
MAR 2 0 1991
FBI
LOS ANGELES J
zymes indicated possible heart
· muscle damage from a .Tasar
stun-gun dart that officers had
.fired into his chest, Chein
said.' . .
·'Surprised he liv~d'
· "With the extreme ·fracture
of th~ skull, I'm surprised he
lived, brainwise/' Chein said.
King is scheduled to have a
steel plate inserted in his skull
! during surgery today to repair
I one fracture.
j The doctor said "King has
t been "confused" and has no
.t ·control over his. emotions as a
1 result of being kicked and
t clubbed more than 50 times.
-~ Gates, who later Wednesday
·: ~tified in an unrelated federt
al .civil trial challenging the
i 'Police Department's practice
;~!Jlgg:t~ so~e ~~pects, ~1¥1
1
' saluted at a lunCheon of police
1 administrators. ·
1
' • A union representing most
rank-and-file officers in the
8,400-member department· also
held a news conference to
express CQnfidence in Gates.
The chief ·again dismissed
calls that he resign. After the
.annual luncheon gathering
wit;Q. 300 members of the Los
.AngeleS County Peace Officers
1
FBI/DOJ