Koon Sends Trial Judge Letter of Appreciation
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Unbeknown to his lawyer, Los Angeles police Sgt. Stacey C. Koon sent a short note to U.S. District Judge John G. Davies just after verdicts in the Rodney G. King civil rights case were read.
In the note, Koon referred to Davies’ appreciation of clear and concise language and thanked the judge for a “fair trial,” an unusual compliment given that the sergeant and his lawyer are planning to appeal his conviction in the federal trial.
The handwritten note, obtained by The Times on Tuesday, is dated April 10, a week before announcement of the verdicts. But a clerk to Davies said that it was received by the court on April 17, the day that Koon and Officer Laurence M. Powell were convicted of violating King’s rights. Former Officer Timothy E. Wind and Officer Theodore J. Briseno were acquitted.
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