Man Acquitted in ‘Mini-Riot’ Case

A man accused of throwing a 10-inch pipe at a police officer during a “mini-riot” last December at Florence and Normandie avenues was acquitted of all charges Friday after a four-day trial.

Cerman A. Cunningham, 29, was the only person to stand trial on a felony charge stemming from the disturbance, which occurred six months after the Los Angeles riots at their most famous flash point. Felony cases against three other men have been dismissed for lack of evidence.

In all, 56 people were arrested Dec. 14, 1992, after a peaceful demonstration by supporters of the men accused of beating trucker Reginald O. Denny erupted into a melee in which rocks and bottles were thrown. The incident led to a full police alert to prevent a possible replay of the riots.

The jury in the Cunningham case deliberated slightly more than two hours before deciding that he was not guilty of assaulting Officer Brian Liddy of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Some of the jurors later said that the case should never have gone to court.

“It was a waste of the taxpayers’ money,” said Teresa Smith, 42. Another juror, S.L. Wilson, 47, agreed. “There were too many holes” in the prosecution’s case, Wilson said.

A third juror, who asked not to be named, said she believed that Liddy and two other officers who testified against Cunningham had lied.

Evans told the jury that the Dec. 14 arrest stemmed from Liddy’s anger over Cunningham’s acquittal two weeks earlier on a charge of inciting a riot. On April 29, 1992, Liddy had arrested Cunningham at Florence and Normandie and accused him of instigating violence during the first hours of the riot.

In testimony Friday, Cunningham acknowledged that he had taunted Liddy on Dec. 14 while Liddy stood in a skirmish line with other riot-ready officers.