LA Riots Erupt: Rodney King Verdict Sparks Chaos
The acquittal of four LAPD officers in the beating of Rodney King on April 29, 1992, triggered six days of rioting across Los Angeles. The violence began within hours of the verdict at the intersection of Florence and Normandie, where truck driver Reginald Denny was pulled from his cab and nearly beaten to death on live television. By the time the National Guard restored order, 63 people were dead, over 2,000 injured, 12,000 arrested, and an estimated $1 billion in property destroyed. Korean-American businesses in Koreatown suffered disproportionate damage. The riots exposed decades of tension between the LAPD and Black and Latino communities. The federal government subsequently convicted two of the four officers on civil rights charges.
April 29, 1992
34 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on April 29
A single mountain of rock in North Africa swallowed an army and spat them out into Europe. Tariq ibn-Ziyad didn't just land; he burned his own ships to ensure h…
The basilica of San Paolo Fuori le Mura cracked open while Rome slept in 801, shaking the Central Apennines hard enough to rattle Spoleto too. It wasn't just st…
Byzantine Emperor Alexius I crushed the Pecheneg army at the Battle of Levounion, ending their threat to Constantinople. By annihilating the nomadic force with …
A Lithuanian cavalry charge at the Vikhra River crushed Smolensk's hopes in minutes. Prince Vasily's army, outnumbered and outmaneuvered by Algirdas's son, didn…
Joan of Arc arrived at the besieged city of Orleans on April 29, 1429, accompanied by a supply convoy and several hundred troops. The 17-year-old peasant girl h…
A seventeen-year-old girl in a white suit walked into a starving city where the French army had been too terrified to move for months. She didn't just talk; she…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.