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Presumed Guilty: The Tragedy of the Rodney King Affair

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If you were shocked by the video of the LAPD beating Rodney King in 1991; if you were dumbfounded by the trial that found the police officers innocent of wrongdoing; if you cheered when Rodney King was awarded a multimillion dollar settlement from the city of Los Angeles; READ THIS BOOK! In fact, anyone interested in learning the truth about the "Rodney King beating" should read this book. It is an insightful exposure of media frenzy at it's worst and clearly illustrates the fact that a picture (in this case a video) is not an argument.

Koon provides his side of events in a way that is surprisingly convincing. Moreover, the book (though sometime redundant in its accounts) is a brisk read. The courtroom sequences bring to mind a Grisham page-turner.

The crux of this account is Stacey Koon's observation that when ALL of the evidence (and not just a few seconds of videotape, punctuated by activist oratory) was lawfully presented to a trial jury, and explained in a reasonable fashion, the jury determined that the officers were not guilty of the primary crime with which they had been charged. Everything after that was society's emotional reaction based upon irresponsible media inflammatory over-dosage.

It's odd how Americans heard of the atrocities commited by the Los Angeles police department based on a short video segment, but fail to hear the side of the police and fail to find out the law concerning the incident. Officer Koon does a brilliant job of explaining police procedure, and, rather than appeal to the blind emotions of the masses, he explains what happened and why it happened. Take the time to hear his side.

It is a shame this book is out of print and that is wasn't given much publicity. It is a fast read and eyeopening to the side of the story that the media kept from the public. I recommend it highly.

The author, a Los Angeles police sergeant, describes events leading up to the managed and controlled use of force that made Rodney King, a convicted felon on parole, a household name. After reading the book, you see that King was just another criminal - a drunk driver who fled from the police and got thumped not becasue he was black but becasue he resisted arrest. The real crime, apart from those committed by King, appears to be the biased reporting by the media.

"Presumed Guilty" is a compelling, skillfully written first-hand account of the tragedy and drama surrounding the apprehension of Rodney King. The author, Stacey Koon, does an excellent job of depicting police life and he tells the story in a true, real way. His style is detailed and persuasive as he takes you from the fast-paced arrest to back-stories of his police career, and finally to the trial and the brilliant strategy created by the defense.

This is unquestionably a fascinating story. While this is an easy plot to follow, I do recommend getting some background information before reading this account, because you will better understand Koon's writing.

An excellent well-written defense of the infamous police who beat Rodney King. Koon, of course, was the Sgt. in charge at the scene, so he can hardly be considered to be an unbiased source. He makes his case with some skill, and he is able to present himself successfully as a sympathetic character. He points out that most of those who condemn him out of hand really have no idea what went on that night. He lays his defense out carefully and goes point by point explaining his own thinking and his perception of what happened. Koon emphasizes his belief that King was on PCP and his contention that if the police had been able to employ a chokehold the whole incident would never have occurred. He also takes a few well aimed shots at his old boss, the controversial Police Chief Darrel Gates... He also makes a deft attack on the media's evident bias against him, and ruefully points out that the media's `public person' defense of their actions was self created since they made Koon a `public person'. He also rightly points out that the Federal Case was double jeopardy. One need not be convinced by the argument to appreciate the importance of the book. The picture on the back with Koon looking sorrowful and sheepish though, is a bit much.

I know a number of people who actually knew Sergeant Koon when he was on the police department. His reputation, both in terms of character and professionalism, was stellar. I also actually watched the entire trial held in state court. If one was to be objective and impartial, one would understand why the jury came back with not guilty verdicts. The defense did not simply win, they demolished the prosecution. The testimony of two of the most important witnesses, one a member of the LAPD command staff who had authored the agency's use of force policy and the other, an LAPD sergeant who was a world renowned use of force expert, was riveting. The entire trial is no doubt available at many university libraries.

Frame by frame, the author of the policy delineated each and every strike that had violated the policy that he had written. The problem was, it had been years since he had made an arrest and he had never made an arrest under the policy that he had developed and instituted. Conversely, the use of force expert, after exhaustively relating his impeccable credentials, went frame by fame articulating why each and every strike was executed pursuant to the existing policy, a dictate that exceeded the state's requirements. It was no contest. Of these two critically important witnesses, the sergeant had buried the commander.

Over my thirty year career in law enforcement, I had been involved in a number of violent arrests. One that occurred in Oklahoma City at the site of the federal building bombing involved the arrest of a black man who had penetrated the secured crime scene. In the waste band of his pants, he carried a fully loaded semiautomatic hand gun. When encountered, he immediately and unexpectedly started viciously fighting. Unbeknownst to us at the time, this individual had an extensive criminal record. He was also exceptionally well toned, muscular, and powerful. At least eight officers, from different agencies, responded. During the attempt to seize his gun before he had a chance to get it, two of our officers became physically exhausted to the point that they had to stop in order to recover. This was an all out fight to try to control this person. Had someone videotaped this arrest, it could easily have been construed as eight mostly white male officers "beating up a black man." In reality, nothing could have been further from the truth. During one part of the altercation, when we were finally able to get this person onto the ground, with one officer each holding onto his arms and legs, the man literally did a push up and threw all the officers off. We were all very lucky that no one, including the suspect, had been seriously injured.

Stacey Koon's book is an analysis of Rodney King's arrest. If one is interested in that topic, or simply interested in exploring the development and implementation of use of force policies, or the politics endemic to the judicial process, or the dangers of "political correctness" inherent to prosecutorial decisions, or the effect of politically motivated "race conscious" values, the book is indispensible. It is concise, fast paced, and highly readable. What happened to Stacey Koon should outrange any person of any race or creed. If you disagree with that, fine. But you should read the other side of the story to either re-affirm your re-evaluate your beliefs. If you do that, you will understand why the jury in the state court proceedings was valorous and remarkable. They literally put their lives on the line to do the right thing. That is a quality that exemplifies the best that humanity has to offer.

When I first saw the home video shot by George Holliday I, like the rest of the world, was shocked at what appeared to be the utter brutality of the beating of Rodney King. Based on the eighty seconds of video tape I saw, of a man who appeared defenseless getting beaten by "thugs" in blue uniforms, while Koon and other officers stood by just watching. I thought, "Hmm, there's absolutely no justification for this..."

I bought Koon's book at a garage sale, the title caught my eye, and began to read from the middle of it. I read for about five minutes until the home owner asked me (rather shortly) if I wanted to buy the book. I paid her my $2, went home, and read it in its entirety in two sittings.

When I first bought the book, I thought it was just going to be a guilty officer's SOB tale, relating only arguments that I had heard before, or thought up myself; I was wrong. Koon writes his side of the story, sticking to facts and avoiding emotional appeal. He writes vividly, bringing to you to the other side of the camera on the infamous night in 1991, you're seeing what he was seeing, second by second. He opened my eyes to a whole new side of the story; the police officer's side.

After I got through the first couple of chapters, I began empathizing with him (something I never thought I would do). I got on my computer and checked out some of the claims he made (looking for primary sources / documents to back him up), and just about every claim he made checked out.

I recommend this book to anybody whose seen the Rodney King video. And especially, towards those who sided with King (like I originally did). This book has been the only piece of writing that has completely changed my mind about something. Well done, Sgt. Koon. I can now clearly see how you were found "not guilty".