[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 72 (Thursday, April 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2628-S2629]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 147--COMMEMORATING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1992 
                        LOS ANGELES CIVIL UNREST

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Ms. Harris) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 147

       Whereas Saturday, April 29, 2017, marks the 25th 
     anniversary of the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest;
       Whereas the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest is also referred 
     to as the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the South Central riots, 
     the Rodney King riots, the Los Angeles uprising, the 1992 Los 
     Angeles civil disturbance, and ``Sa-I-Gu'', which means April 
     29 in Korean;
       Whereas the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest began in South 
     Central Los Angeles, California, following the acquittal of 4 
     Los Angeles Police Department officers who were charged with 
     using excessive force against an African-American taxi driver 
     named Rodney King;
       Whereas the acquittal immediately resulted in the formation 
     of large crowds and a public outcry over concerns of racial 
     injustice and police brutality, which soon led to civil 
     unrest at the intersection of Florence Avenue and Normandie 
     Avenue in Los Angeles and continued throughout Los Angeles;
       Whereas, during the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest, more 
     than 60 individuals lost their lives amid the looting and 
     fires, more than 2,000 individuals suffered injuries, and 
     more than 11,000 individuals were arrested;
       Whereas more than $1,000,000,000 of property damage was 
     incurred during the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest, with 
     approximately 3,600 fires set and destruction to over 1,100 
     buildings throughout Los Angeles;
       Whereas the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest continued for a 
     total of 6 days, during which the unrest spread through 
     multiple neighborhoods, including Koreatown, Inglewood, 
     Hawthorne, Lynwood, Compton, and Long Beach;
       Whereas the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest ended following 
     the deployment of thousands of United States Armed Forces 
     personnel;
       Whereas, on May 2, 1992, an estimated 30,000 individuals 
     gathered in a peace march in Koreatown during the 1992 Los 
     Angeles civil unrest, calling for healing and supporting 
     merchants in Koreatown whose businesses were decimated; and
       Whereas, on April 29, 2017, local leaders, business owners, 
     and individuals in the African-American, Latino, and Korean-
     American communities will join together to remember the lives 
     lost during the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest and to discuss 
     continued work to promote unity in Los Angeles: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes and offers condolences to all who lost their 
     lives, suffered injuries, and suffered losses to their 
     businesses and property during the 1992 Los Angeles civil 
     unrest;
       (2) recognizes and commends the communities throughout Los 
     Angeles for the work done to bring different constituencies 
     together to recover and rebuild Los Angeles, improve police 
     oversight, and continue the momentum for change gained in the 
     ensuing months and years following the 1992 Los Angeles civil 
     unrest; and
       (3) expresses hope that the memory of the 1992 Los Angeles 
     civil unrest will promote greater dialogue, civility, and 
     unity among all of the communities throughout Los Angeles.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I wish to introduce a Senate 
resolution to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the 1992 Los Angeles 
civil unrest.
  On March 3, 1991, an African American named Rodney King was driving 
on a Los Angeles interstate when officers attempted to pull him over 
for allegedly speeding. By the time he pulled over and exited his car 
following a high-speed chase spanning 8 miles, there were multiple LA 
police department units on the scene.
  King was tasered two times, and camcorder video footage recorded by a 
civilian witness--George Holliday--from his nearby apartment balcony 
depicted the brutal beating of King by four officers who surrounded 
him. The officers struck King repeatedly until he was bloodied and 
disfigured with a fractured cheekbone, 11 broken bones at the base of 
the skull, and a broken ankle. The video footage shows King being 
struck by batons over 50 times,
  Holliday's video was sent to news outlets and aired around the world. 
It shook the Nation and raised outcries about excessive force by police 
officers. But even before the videotape had become public, community 
leaders in Los Angeles had highlighted on numerous occasions the use of 
excessive force by LAPD officers.
  In fact, in the immediate aftermath of the Rodney King beating, then-
Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley formed

[[Page S2629]]

the Christopher Commission to thoroughly examine thousands of excessive 
force complaints made against LAPD officers in the late 1980s. So 
when--a year later on April 29, 1992--the four LAPD officers caught on 
tape were acquitted after standing trial for using excessive force 
against Rodney King, the entire Nation was in shock. The verdict 
appeared completely incompatible with the brutal videotape footage that 
flooded our TV screens at the time.
  When the verdict became public, hundreds gathered at the Los Angeles 
County Courthouse to protest, and a national debate immediately began 
over racial injustice and excessive use of force by police against 
racial minorities. Shortly thereafter, at the intersection of Florence 
and Normandie in South Central Los Angeles, the public's frustration 
boiled over and violence erupted, setting off a flash point that the 
police simply could not quell. Looting, vandalism, and physical attacks 
became rampant, and I will never forget the image of Reginald Denny 
being dragged out of his semi-trailer truck to be severely beaten in 
the middle of the street.
  From then on, the unrest overtook the city, including neighborhoods 
like Koreatown, Hawthorne, Compton and Long Beach. The city, quite 
literally, was on fire. For 6 days, the city was in a state of 
emergency.
  All told, there were more than 60 individuals who lost their lives 
amid the looting and fires, and thousands of individuals were injured 
or arrested, while countless more lost their businesses and places of 
employment. Over 3,600 fires were set and over 1,100 buildings in Los 
Angeles were damaged or destroyed.
  Images of the smoke clouds over the city evoked the devastation felt 
by so many Angelenos. The 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest was felt so 
deeply and so personally by so many communities throughout the city.
  The African American community decried not only the verdict returned 
against Rodney King but also mourned the death of high-schooler Latasha 
Harlins and so many other victims of violence and excessive use of 
force. The civil unrest was symptomatic of the deep frustrations felt 
by the African-American community against a criminal justice system 
that continually failed to protect them.
  Similarly, the 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest was sharply felt by the 
Latino community in Los Angeles.
  According to one report following the unrest, one-third of those 
killed and half of those arrested were Latino, and countless Latino 
businesses were looted or destroyed.
  The Korean-American community in Los Angeles was also deeply 
impacted, referring to the unrest as ``Sa-I-Gu,'' to commemorate the 
date ``April 29'' in Korean to mark it as a significant date in Korean 
history. Amidst the torched and decimated businesses, 35 to 40 percent 
of the property damage was suffered by those businesses owned by 
Korean-Americans--with estimates of up to 1,600 Korean-American-owned 
stores completely destroyed.
  There is no question that those fateful 6 days have impacted 
generations of Angelenos. We must resolve to never forget the 1992 Los 
Angeles civil unrest and what emerged from those fires.
  We must offer our condolences for the families who lost their loved 
ones or who bear the scars, both mental and physical, from that time 
and commend those who have worked so hard to come together to heal 
community rifts, rebuild a stronger Los Angeles, and continue to 
promote ongoing dialogue, civility, and unity among all communities.
  That is the purpose of this resolution we are introducing today.
  I want to thank Senator Harris for working with me on the resolution 
to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of this historic event in 
California.
  I yield the Floor.

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