where did the la riots of 1992 start

The acquittal verdicts in the Rodney King case against 4 LAPD officers were announced at 3:15pm on April, 29, 1992. Crowds immediately began forming at the Los Angeles County Courthouse to protest the verdicts; however, the first calls of violence came from the intersection of Florence and Normandie in South Central Los Angeles at about 5:25pm. Police arrived, but when they were outnumbered, they retreated. This led to the violence spreading quickly through the area.

At around 6:45pm, at that same intersection, news crews would videotape the beating of truck driver Reginald Denny. He was dragged out of his truck and beaten with a fire extinguisher, tire iron and a brick. Good Samaritans who saw the violence on TV came to Denny’s rescue and took him to the hospital. A total of 53 people would die during the LA riots, and an estimated $1 billion worth of property damage occurred.

Rodney King died on June 17, 2012. He was found unresponsive at the bottom of his pool by his fiancé. An autopsy will be performed on King.