UNDERSTANDING THE RIOTS PART 2 : IMAGES OF CHAOS : About This Section and This Series

These pictures hurt. They upset. But they have become ingrained in our minds. The rioting that followed the Rodney G. King verdicts has set off an intense scrutiny of values in Los Angeles and across America. to explain the causes and effects of the dramatic upheaval, the Los Angeles Times is publishing this five-section series. Photographs help remind, they keep alive strong emotion. We hope they provoke thought.

‘I was stunned. I was shocked. I was outraged. I was speechless when I heard that verdict. Today this jury told the world that what we all saw with our own eyes was not a crime. Today that jury asked us to accept the senseless and brutal beating of a helpless man.’

Mayor Tom Bradley

‘You think rational people will be at least semi-rational. You think civil people will be at lease semi-civil. But to come back and see them completely whitewash something that the whole world witnessed. This is a brutalization of truth.’

-Rev. Cecil L. Murray, reacting to the verdict on television.

‘I’m glad people are raising hell. I don’t think it’s good but it’s got to happen. ... This is just the beginning.’

Millie Feldman, A South Los Angeles resident

‘ No justice. No peace’

Demonstrators, graffiti

‘I’m really not like this. Everybody else is grabbing and taking what they can take. Why not me?’

Karen, A 24-year-old looter

‘ This is just people who are greedy and immoral and opportunistic. They don’t give a (expletive) about Rodney King.’

Jim Galipeau, Probation officer

‘The way things are now, I’m not going to disarm these people in any way. They have a right to protect their property.’

Joe Beruman, LAPD detective

‘It should never have happened, the way it went down.’

A 21-year-old at a South Los Angeles funeral

Understanding the Riots

To help explain the rioting in Los Angeles, The Times will be publishing these sections this week:

On Tuesday, The Times will revisit the emotional images of the riot to feel the scope of the chaos.

On Wednesday, a section will look at the turmoil through the words of participants to hear what was going through their minds and what lessons were learned.

On Thursday, essays will try to examine what has happened to the image and sense of Los Angeles as a multicultural city, to give a sense of how we see ourselves and how others see us.

On Friday, The Times invites public policy analysts and citizens to discuss what we need to do.

THE STAFF FOR IMAGES OF CHAOS Art Director: Tom Trapnell Designers: Lily Dow Kuroda, Chuck Nigash Director of Photography: Larry Armstrong Assignment Editors: Bob Chamberlin, Cindy Hively, Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Marsha Traeger-Gorman Photo Editors: Scott Braucher, Con Keyes, Tammy Lechner, Jerome McClendon, Anacleto Rapping, Iris Schneider Lab Manager: Matt Randall Staff Photographers: Lacy Atkins, Tony Barnard, Aurelio Jose Barrera, Larry Bessel, David Bohrer, Mark Boster, Gerard Burkhart, Bob Carey, Cassy Cohen, Rick Corrales, Larry Davis, Ricardo DeAratanha, Richard Derk, J. Albert Diaz, Ginny Dixon, Patrick Downs, Robert Durell, Steve Dykes, Michael Edwards, Gary Friedman, Robert Gabriel, Dave Gatley, Alan Hagman, Ken Hively, Larry Ho, Hyungwon Kang, Rosemary Kaul, Joe Kennedy, Randy Leffingwell, Ken Lubas, Joel Lugavere, Kirk McKoy, Mike Meadows, Rolando Otero, Lisa Romerein, Jim Ruebsamen, Al Seib, Lori Shepler, Karen Tapia, Brian Vander Brug, George Wilhelm Contributing Photographers, Technicians: Veronika Andrasovsky, Oscar Bechtle, Todd Bigelow, Harold Crawford, Alan Duignan, Tonya Evatt, Ron Garrison, Guy Goodenow, Scott Harrison, Axel Koester, Kathy Kottwitz, Theadora Litsios, Randy McBride, Mel Melcon, Marissa Roth, Mike Serfieff, Jeff Share, Marilyn Weiss, Debbie Winder, Mike Zacchino. Copy Editor: Jim Hollander