Key Players: An Update

STACEY C. KOON: Koon was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. Since his conviction, he has made many public appearances, though he has limited most of his interviews to organizations offering money. Koon, who has five children, has gone for more than two years without a police paycheck. Before the sentencing, his lawyer said Koon needed money. Koon, who wrote a book about the King case, has spent most of the past three months with his family, getting his affairs in order, friends say.

LAURENCE M. POWELL: Friends say that Powell, also sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, was badly shaken by the verdicts in the federal case. Since then, he has spoken publicly on only two occasions. He wrote a long letter to LAPD colleagues in the police union newspaper, thanking officers for their support and attacking the jury for its verdicts. Last month, he spoke briefly to a Times reporter and said he was spending most of his time at home answering mail and dreading his likely prison term.

THEODORE J. BRISENO: Briseno is the only defendant who stands a chance of regaining his job with the LAPD. Since his acquittal, Briseno has spent most of his time preparing for his administrative hearing next month, in which he is charged with using excessive force against King. If he prevails, Briseno could regain his position with the LAPD or--more likely--apply for the pension that he would lose if he is dismissed.

TIMOTHY E. WIND: Wind was an LAPD rookie when the March 3, 1991, beating occurred and was the only one of the four officers to be fired. The most reclusive of the four defendants, he also was the only one to decline all interview requests after the federal verdicts. Wind was badly unnerved by the two trials, but people close to him say he has begun to readjust after having been acquitted twice. He recently got a job as a part-time clerical worker for a Southern California firm.

RODNEY G. KING: Although the federal verdicts brought King some satisfaction, the case continues to influence his every move. He has made a few public appearances, most recently after federal agents uncovered an alleged white supremacist plot to kill him. Mostly, he remains out of view, working toward a high school diploma and preparing for his civil suit against the officers and the city. Said King recently: “This is one chapter in my life that I’d like to shut the door on so that my family, the people around me and the city of Los Angeles could have some peace.”

GEORGE HOLLIDAY: The man who videotaped the beating feels “ignored and left out in the cold,” said his attorney, Ronald W. Grigg. Holliday has been reluctant to make public appearances because he believes the media have unfairly branded him as someone “just in it for the money,” Grigg said. Holliday lost a $100-million lawsuit in which he alleged that the major networks failed to properly pay him for use of his video. He has appealed the ruling. Holliday has moved from the Lake View Terrace apartment where he shot the video. He has separated from his wife.