Rodney King verdict sparked riots 21 years ago

Monday marks the 21st anniversary of the Rodney King beating verdict.
Ventura County jurors will forever be associated with the trail. The trial was moved from Los Angeles to a Ventura County courthouse in Simi Valley in an effort to find impartial jurors.

On April 29, 1992, a panel of 10 jurors, made up of mostly white jurors, found three L.A. officers not guilty of all charges and deadlocked on an excessive force charge against a fourth officer involved. Retired Oxnard police Officer Bryan MacDonald remembers it well. The current Oxnard City Council member was working undercover on a narcotics investigation in Los Angeles when the riots broke out. The LAPD informed him that they were on a tactical alert. Many people think the verdict gave Ventura County and Simi Valley a racist reputation.

Residents said things are better now, but tension still exists.

Simi Valley administrators said they were not marking the occasion in any special way, but the University of Southern California hosted a free forum on campus Monday.

King died in an accidentally drowning last June. King will always be remembered for saying, ” Can we all get along?”