An earlier version of this story originally appeared on Gallup.com on April 29, 2016.
Twenty-five years ago, on April 29, 1992, riots erupted in Los Angeles after four white police officers were found not guilty in the beating of a young black man, Rodney King. The vast majority of U.S. adults believed the verdict was unjustified. But just as many denounced the violence that ensued.
| Yes, justified% | No, not justified% | No opinion% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Do you think the verdict finding the policemen not guilty was justified or not justified? | 10 | 76 | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Do you think the violence [post-verdict in LA's black community] was justified or not justified? | 16 | 79 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gallup/Newsweek, April 30-May 1, 1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
King's beating came after he had led police on a high-speed chase to evade a traffic stop, and then, according to the police, was volatile during the arrest. However, the severity of the beating -- caught on videotape for all to see -- convinced the vast majority of whites (73%) as well as blacks (92%) that the not guilty verdict against the police was unjustified.
The decision by a largely white jury to acquit the police officers tapped into the Los Angeles black community's broader frustration about police brutality and the criminal justice system's treatment of blacks. Nevertheless, 75% of blacks joined 79% of whites in calling the violence unjustified. This was a case of racial tension and anger where whites and blacks agreed that two wrongs don't make a right.
A year later, two of the officers charged with beating King were found guilty in federal court of violating his civil rights. And a year after that, LA became embroiled in another case pitting a black man, O.J. Simpson, against the police.
These data can be found in Gallup Analytics.
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