here's a poem i wrote the day the cops that beat rodney king got acquitted and the riots started:
THE VERDICT
if you make a tool
& it does the job
& you use it
long as you can
till it gets old
& starts to fall apart
& doesn't work well
& even makes you risk
getting hurt
if you use it
what do you do?
you take a good look
& see if you can fix it
& if you can
you fix it
& if you can't
you throw it away
& make a new tool
4/92
in simi valley in april 1992, 3 LA cops were found not guilty and the jury failed to reach a verdict for the fourth. the riots that followed caused 53 deaths and 2000 injuries and destroyed 600 buildings.
regarding the march 1991 incident, wikipedia says:
King was taken to Pacifica Hospital immediately after his arrest. He suffered a fractured facial bone, a broken right ankle, and numerous bruises and lacerations. In a negligence claim filed with the city, King alleged he had suffered "11 skull fractures, permanent brain damage, broken [bones and teeth], kidney damage [and] emotional and physical trauma." Blood and urine samples taken from King five hours after his arrest showed that he could be presumed intoxicated under California law. The tests also showed traces of marijuana (26 ng/ml), but no indication of PCP or any other illegal drug. At Pacifica Hospital, where King was taken for initial treatment, nurses reported that the officers who accompanied King (including Wind) openly joked and bragged about the number of times King had been hit. King sued the city over the beating, settling for $3.8 million.his book, just published in april to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the trial, will undoubtedly and ironically be a bestseller.
"Can we all just get along?"
RIP
