Presumed Guilty: The Tragedy of the Rodney King Affair PDF
Preview Presumed Guilty: The Tragedy of the Rodney King Affair
PRESUMED GUILTY PRESUMED GUILTY The Tragedy of the Rodney King Affair Sgt. Stacey C. Koon, L.A.P.D. with Robert Deitz Regnery Gateway Washington, D.C. Copyright © 1992 by Stacey C. Koon All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher, except written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Koon, Stacey C., 1950- Presumed guilty : the tragedy of the Rodney King affair / Stacey C. Koon with Robert Deitz. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-89526-507-9 (alk. paper) 1. Police—California—Los Angeles—Complaints against—Case studies. 2. King, Rodney. 3. Afro-Americans—California—Los Angeles—Crimes against—Case studies. 4. Police training— California—Los Angeles. I. Deitz, Robert, II. Title. HV8148.L552K66 1992 363.2'3'092—dc20 [B] 92-29422 CIP Published in the United States by Regnery Gateway An Eagle Publishing, Inc. Company 422 First St., SE, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20003 Distributed to the trade by National Book Network 4720-A Boston Way Lanham, MD 20706 Printed on recycled, acid-free paper Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 To Mary, Matthew, Gregory, Alicia, Kimberly, and Jennifer. You’ve believed in me through everything difficult. Especially Mary. Acknowledgments First, I must acknowledge all of the magnificent street cops it was my privilege to learn from and serve with on the Los Angeles Police Department for almost fifteen years. There are so many that it would require a complete chapter to name them all. But you know who you are. Thanks, to all of you. Thanks, too, to the Los Angeles Police Protective League and to Cliff Ruff, a director of that organization. The League furnished strong moral and financial support to sustain me and my officers through a long legal process that is not yet over. Besides my wonderful, supportive, loving, and very smart wife, Mary, two other people have been especially helpful in providing me with both spiritual and practical comfort in getting through the personally difficult ordeal that has fol lowed the night of March 3, 1991. The first is my attorney, Darryl Mounger. He is brilliant. Clarence Darrow could not have surpassed his competence in conceiving and executing a stunning courtroom strategy for the defense based upon the truth. The second is Father Robert Rankin—"Father Bob"—of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church. His wisdom and patience have nourished the spiritual determination required to confront adversity. Alfred Regnery at Regnery Gateway is a courageous pub lisher, and I am indebted to him and his associates, Jennifer Reist, Megan Butler, and Patricia Bozell, my editor, for taking on this project and seeing it through to conclusion. Alfred 8 Acknowledgments Regnery is a brave and daring man, who was willing to under take this publishing project despite almost universal hostility in the media toward our cause. Al also enlisted the assistance of Robert Deitz, an author, reporter, and editor for thirty years. Bob has done a fine job in helping organize the manuscript and getting it ready for pub lication. It is a delight to have made a new friend, as well as a new professional associate. In addition, he added to my understanding—if not my total acceptance—of how the American media operate today. Finally, I am deeply obliged to my parents, Helen and Larry Koon, and my brother, Dana. They all were essential in provid ing the moral training and support that has sustained my perception of right and wrong, and the ethical strength to do what I have believed is right even when challenged by seem ingly overwhelming opposition. More immediately, they were excellent editors and a loving, but discerning, sounding board in the preparation of this manuscript. Thanks, folks. I love you. Stacey C. Koon Los Angeles August 1992 Contents Foreword 11 Prologue 17 1: Force in the Foothills 25 The Pursuit, The Stop, Initial Use of Force, The Videotape, More Force, A Bureaucratic Foul-Up, The Hospital 2: The LAPD's Flawed System for Using Force 53 How LAPD Policies Made the Rodney King Affair Inevitable, How to Use Force 3: The Education of a Street Cop 65 Be Ready for Surprises, Don't Be Too Quick to Pull the Trigger, PCP—A Cop's Nightmare, What to Do When a TASER Doesn't Work, You Can't Let a Suspect Go, Things Aren't Always What They Seem, Race Relations, Life on the Streets and the Rodney King Arrest 4: Cops vs. Cops 92 An Internal Affairs Investigation Tries to Prove Conspiracy, Chief Daryl Gates Betrays His Troops, Preparing to Do Battle, Victims Are Chosen 5: The Trial 125 Setting a Strategy, Choosing a Jury, Arguing a Case—and Winning Tragic Consequences 190 The Media's Responsibility 203 Lessons Unlearned 219 Epilogue: The Rodney King Affair—A Story Still Not Over 233
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