Rodney King poses for a portrait in Los Angeles, April 13, 2012. The acquittal of four police officers in the videotaped beating of King sparked rioting that spread across the city and into neighboring suburbs, leaving cars demolished, homes and businesses burned, 55 people dead, 2,300 injured and more than 1,500 buildings damaged or destroyed.
Twenty years ago on Sunday [April 29, 1992], parts of Los Angeles, California, erupted in race riots that left 53 people dead and caused more than $1 billion in damage. Local leaders recently toured the scene of the violence to see how things have changed. Although there have been many improvements, problems remain.
It was an April afternoon in 1992 when a jury stunned the city by acquitting four police officers who had been caught on video tape beating a black motorist, Rodney King.
