When white officers from the Los Angeles police department clubbed an unemployed black construction worker named Rodney King 56 times in the early hours of March 3, they had no idea that as a result of their act, the L.A.P.D. would never be the same. They had been videotaped by a bystander, and within days television stations nationwide were replaying the grisly images, provoking a national outcry against police brutality. An inquiry determined that 23 L.A.P.D. officers had appeared on the scene of the beating. Two weeks later a sergeant and three officers were indicted on felony charges, including assault with...
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