It is nearly a year since the image of a white officer smashing the face of a handcuffed black teenager into the boot of a police car was shown almost continuously on TV news across the US. On Monday that officer will stand trial.
The case has echoes of that of Rodney King, who was videoed being beaten by four white officers. When in 1992 they were acquitted, the verdict led to riots in LA and 55 deaths.
Now civil rights leaders in LA are anxious to ensure that, if history repeats itself in the courthouse, it does not do so on the streets. Jeremy Morse, 25, from Inglewood, the LA suburb where the incident took place, will appear in a courthouse in the shadow of LA airport charged with assaulting Donovan Jackson, 17.
Morse, caught on video as he struggled with Jackson, faces a three year jail term if convicted. The trial will be watched across the nation in the wake of riots this week in Benton Harbor, Michigan, after a black biker died in a police pursuit.
”When I witnessed that child [Jackson] being beaten by the police officer, I really thought back to 10 years ago, this is Rodney King all over again,” said Najee Ali of Project Islamic Hope, an LA civil rights organisation, yesterday. ”Except that this is worse, this is a child who is handcuffed and cannot defend himself. I was outraged, and I wanted to make sure that these rogue officers would not get away with what they did.”
Ali has organised protests over the beating, and is now trying to ensure that, whatever the verdict, it does not follow the pattern of 1992. Recalling that verdict, Ali said: ”We just looked at each other in disbelief. We saw a range of reactions: from old women running out of their houses with pots and pans banging them on Crenshaw Boulevard, to youths throwing rocks through store windows. There were fires and looting going on for two days until the National Guard arrived. Before the verdict, life was normal.
”That’s what makes this case so intriguing. This is going to be a litmus test, not only for law enforcement and the judicial system, but for everyone involved — to see how far LA has progressed in 10 years. The whole world will be watching.”
There are differences. The LA police chief in 1992, Daryl Gates, defended his officers and was not known for his racial sensitivity. The Inglewood police chief, Ronald Banks, is black and has made every effort to avoid confrontation. Morse has already been sacked. Other officers present have been disciplined, and one will stand trial with Morse, though on a minor matter.
Demonstrations outside the police station passed off peacefully, as did rallies addressed by the Rev Al Sharpton, comedian Dick Gregory, and Martin Luther King III.
”The police are not seen like an occupying force the way they used to be,” said Ali, a former gang member.
He and colleagues had been working with youth groups and talking to local gangs in a bid to head off violence should Morse be acquitted. ”Their [the gang members’] attitude is that they don’t want to risk going to jail and tearing down their neighbourhoods. But at the same time they’re tired of young blacks being victimised by white police officers.”
On Century Boulevard in Inglewood where the incident took place, there was also uncertainty as to what might happen. ”I don’t think it [acquittal] will happen again,” said Louis Wilson yesterday. ”I believe he will be found guilty. People still remember it.”
Julio Avalo, who works in the petrol station where the beating took place, said that the community was relaxed about the trial. Photographer Greg Barfield, waiting for a bus on Century Boulevard, said: ”Hopefully, history won’t repeat itself. But it’s hard to tell – look at what has been happening in Michigan.”
‘Organised’
Dwayne Dickson, who grew up in the area, works for Families Against California’s Three Strikes (Facts) seeking to reform the imposition of automatic jail for three convictions. He said: ”The police have been behaving like that for years and years, whether it’s in Long Beach or Compton or Inglewood. But it’s very different from last time. I think the atmosphere has changed tremendously. People are much more organised.
”I don’t think he’ll be acquitted. People like the revolutionaries and the old guns will make sure it isn’t a kangaroo court and that there is justice this time. It [the trial date] hasn’t been broadcast in the media to keep it as quiet as possible.”
A local man, an ex-con, said: ”They’re talking about $250 000 [compensation] for Jackson — I think anyone’d let their head be slammed on a car for that.”
Morse has his supporters, including a group called Citizens for the Police, who claim he has been ”railroaded”. This organisation, which has called for money and support for Morse, says on its website: ”The videotape was shown repeatedly, but hardly ever put into context with the entire incident. The incident was inaccurately portrayed as a ‘beating’ and irresponsibly compared to the Rodney King incident. This type of inflammatory coverage did nothing but incite anger.”
Lawyers for Morse will argue that Jackson grabbed the officer’s genitals in a prelude to what was captured on video. His friends have said that he is no racist and has been unfairly pilloried.
One person has been jailed as a result of the incident: Mitchell Crooks, who was staying at a neighbouring motel and shot the incident on his video camera, thus bringing it to the world’s attention. It transpired he was wanted by police for a parole violation, and was arrested outside a TV station and sent to jail.
Ali said that it was hard to tell what might happen. ”The pulse beat of the community is uneasiness and uncertainty, because passions still run high. We’re not sure what the community’s reaction will be once the trial begins and, more importantly, once the verdict is announced. We’re working to make sure that, whatever the outcome is, there’s peace in LA that day. As someone who lived through the last LA riots, we can’t afford to have another one.” – Guardian Unlimited Â