On this day, April 29, in 1992, the four Los Angeles police officers accused of beating Rodney King were acquitted, triggering six days of riots.
Video footage of the King beating fueled already heated racial tensions in the city. The acquittal, by a jury of 10 whites, one Hispanic and one Asian, ignited the most violent episode of civil unrest in U.S. history.
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Among the first victims was Reginald Denny, a white truck driver who was pulled from his vehicle by a mob and beaten nearly to death as a TV news helicopter hovered above.
A black citizen saw the live report, rushed to the scene and drove Denny to a hospital in the victim’s truck.
Fifty-three people were killed, thousands were injured and nearly $1 billion in damage was done.