LAPD

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Jun 21 2012

After 20 years, more of his story

Twenty years after inadvertently finding himself in the center of a firestorm that scorched Los Angeles, Rodney King once again faced the harsh glare of public scrutiny in late May.

He was part of a panel at the California African American Museum reflecting on the events of April 29, 1992, that played a vital role in reshaping the City of Angels and the life of the then-27-year-old L.A. native.

Jun 18 2012

Corner of Crenshaw and Vernon at 6 p.m.

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A community tribute will be held in Leimert Park today to honor Rodney King, the motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers led to the city’s worst riots.

The 47-year-old King was pronounced dead early Sunday after being pulled from the bottom of the backyard swimming pool at his home in the 1000 block of East Jackson Street in Rialto in San Bernardino County.

Jun 18 2012

He was 47

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Rodney King, whose videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers spawned widespread reforms and led to the worst urban riots in a generation, died today at age 47.

King’s fiancee found him in a swimming pool at about 5:25 a.m. at his home in Rialto in San Bernardino County.

Arriving officers in their uniforms jumped into the water to pull him to the surface and start resuscitation efforts, Rialto police Lt. Dean Hardin said.

Gregg Reese  |   OW Staff Writer
Jun 7 2012

Legacy of James Q. Wilson discussed

“Take a group of four year olds; put ‘em at a table. Put a marshmallow in front of each and say ‘I’m going to leave the room for 10 minutes. When I come back, everybody who still has his marshmallow in front of him gets a second marshmallow, and you can eat both. But if you eat the marshmallow while I’m gone, that’s all you get.’”

Jun 5 2012

Twenty-seven departure flights delayed

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—What turned out to be a microphone in a piece of checked luggage led to the partial evacuation of a terminal and flight slow-downs today at Los Angeles International Airport.

A screener detected something unusual in a piece of baggage, and authorities started evacuating a passenger screening area in Terminal 6 at 7:12 a.m., said Nancy Suey Castles of Los Angeles World Airports.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.