CRISIS IN THE LAPD: THE RODNEY KING BEATING : The Internal Affairs Report

Before the beating, Sgt. Rick Distefano had conducted a training session on the use of the baton during roll call at Foothill Division headquarters. Among the participants were Timothy Wind and Laurence Powell, both of whom have been indicted in the King beating.

Rodney G. King told investigators that the beating began after he got out of his vehicle. King’s version of events contrasted sharply with that of the officers. King said he was handcuffed and “hog-tied,” while the officers said he was handcuffed afterward.

Officer Laurence Powell described King’s actions just after his white Hyundai was stopped by police.

Sgt. Stacey Koon described King’s appearance as King got out of his car. Koon fired his Taser at King. Koon is one of four officers indicted in the incident. He said the officers feared King was under the influence of PCP.

Melanie Singer, a CHP officer first engaged King in a car chase on the Foothill Freeway.

Bryant K. Allen, a passenger in King’s car, told investigators that he was being handcuffed while King was beaten and did not see much of the incident. But Allen said he could hear King screaming.

Officer Rolando Solano was one of 17 LAPD officers at the scene who did not participate in the beating. None of the 17 have been criminally charged in the incident.

Eloise Camp was one of more than a dozen private citizens who witnessed the beating, most of them residents of a large apartment complex on Foothill Boulevard. Camp watched from her patio.

CHP Officer Timothy J. Singer joined LAPD officers at the hospital where King was treated after the incident.

Corina Smith, a Foothill Division police officer, received computer messages which, when made public, stirred a controversy because of their apparent racial overtones.