In the Spring of 1992 five days of rioting laid waste to South Central Los Angeles, took scores of lives, cost the city more than $900 million in property damages and captured the attention of horrified people worldwide. Lou Cannon, veteran journalist, combines extensive research with interviews from hundreds of survivors, offering the only definitive story behind what happened and why. Official Negligence takes a hard look at the circumstances leading up to the riots. Cannon reveals how the videotape of the brutal beating of Rodney King had been sensationally edited by a local TV station, how political leaders required LAPD officers to carry metal batons despite evidence linking them to the rising toll of serious injury in the community, and how poorly prepared the city was for the violence that erupted.
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About the Author
Lou Cannon, a longtime political reporter and White House correspondent for The Washington Post, was the paper's Los Angeles bureau chief from 1977 to 1980 and again from 1991 to 1993. He is currently a special correspondent for The Post in the West.
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THE LAST THING THE LEADERS OF LOS ANGELES EXPECTED IN THE early 1990s was that their city would become the scene of the nation's deadliest urban race riot since the Civil War. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
THE LAST THING THE LEADERS OF LOS ANGELES EXPECTED IN THE early 1990s was that their city would become the scene of the nation's deadliest urban race riot since the Civil War. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
An outstanding piece of reporting that takes the long view of the effects of the Rodney King trial and subsequent events, "Official Negligence" makes some fresh points about a sequence of episodes most people are tired of talking about. Of the fascinating cast of characters profiled in this book, the only one who emerges as anything approaching a hero is perhaps the least likely candidate: Stacy Koon, the sergeant who oversaw the original arrest of King and was later convicted of violating King's civil rights. Cannon's argument, at root, is that it is highly debateable whether a crime was committed in Pasadena in March, 1991, when King was pulled over and eventually beaten, and that racial animosity played virtually no role in the event. What is NOT debateable, according to Cannon, is the "official negligence" of the L.A. city council, Mayor Tom Bradley, the L.A. court system, and the LAPD leadership that produced the poorly trained officers who originally confronted King and the subsequent chaos that engulfed Los Angeles. Cannon is a terrific reporter who refuses to engage in policy prescriptions, but he does an outstanding job of detailing the sequence of communication breakdowns, judicial fiat, local political arrogance and LAPD miscalculations that produced an environment where riots were a natural consequence. The only (minor) flaw is a sense of repetition that suggests another editorial pass at the manuscript would have been useful, but overall, "Official Negligence" is an absolutely compelling read that will, despite whatever preconceptions you have of Rodney King, the LAPD, or the causes of the 1992 riots, challenge your preconceptions and force a rethinking of basic assumptions surrounding law enforcement, urban America, and Los Angeles.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
This is the most engrossing book that I have read in a while.. It is gripping and unbiased. Lou Cannon states the history behind the Los Angeles Police Department, with straight forward, objective proof. Cannon describes the transformation from the beginnings of the LAPD and how it was molded into the elite law enforcement agency in the world. It then goes into great deal behind the whole Rodney King incident and the riots, giving indepth thought to what happened and why. An unbelievable book!!!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Lou Cannon's "Official Negligence" is a welcome surprise: he has a cool take and fresh insights on events we all thought we thoroughly understood. Cannon succeeds in looking, with some sympathy, at the major participants in the various incidents, and how small misjudgments accumulated to cause disaster. An excellent read; modern history & social interpretation at its best.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Should be required reading for Politicians&Police Managers
Lou Cannon has put together an account of the culture and climate within the city of Los Angeles preceding the Rodney King incident and the ensuing riots that really hits the mark. Read more
Published on 21 Jun 1998
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally! Clear-cut dissection of L.A. City's politicos.
As a Los Angeles Police officer who has worked in L.A. since 1988, I found that Joe Cannon took a refreshing look behind the scenes of what it's like to live and work in Los... Read more
Published on 3 April 1998
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enlightening overview of LA's problems before the video
As a police officer in New York the repercussions of the Rodney King beating were monumental and felt by all law enforcement agencies around the country. Read more
Published on 16 Mar 1998
5.0 out of 5 stars
The shortcomings of media
Not only does the book give an authoritative account of the Rodney King incident, as well as loosely related ones, the book also indirectly cautions against media's often... Read more
Published on 7 Mar 1998
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