European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 1, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A 3 pol co Chlof Daryl Gator hit waa urged to a Alan altar White Bambara of tha Loa Angelaa police department above clubbed a prostrate Black Man. At right Rodney King Showa a Beulaa on Hla cheat. The Rodney King trial by Linda Deutsch the associated press it is a stationary shot lasting two minutes the scene is in Black and White in More ways than one White police officers club a prostrate Black Man 56 times and kick him seven times fast Forward nearly one year. The attack on the 26-year-old Black Man Rodney King is about to be replayed a not on the Small screen but in the courtroom courtroom conferences for the trial of four officers Are scheduled monday a 11 months after the incident to the Day a with jury selection set to Start wednesday. Quot in a Happy to get a final Resolution of the matter Quot said Deputy District attorney Terry White Quot obviously i assume there Are going to be guilty verdicts so i m Happy to see that Justice will be  but the officers lawyers assert that All is not Black and White that there is More Here than meets the Eye or the millions of eyes that have seen the Amateur videotape that made the Case infamous. The officers they say were justified in using Force in a dangerous situation. Quot i think this is a defensible Case if the optical illusion on this videotape is cleared up Quot said attorney Michael Stone who represents officer Laurence Powell. Quot once the jury understands there Are a lot of things going on that you can t see everything will be cleared up Quot there is Little consensus about anything that happened on March 3, 1991 California Highway police say King s Hyundai was speeding on the foothill freeway and led them on a 100-Mph Chase King acknowledges he was speeding but he says his offence was overblown he merely was going 45 in a 35 Mph zone Fie says and he pulled Over. King claims he in no Way provoked the assault that followed. Last March he told reporters he heard no racial comments and did not think his beating was Quot a racial thing Quot but according to tapes of his later interviews with prosecutors King maintains the officers were racially abusive Quot i remember a whole Bunch of name calling Quot King was quoted As saying. Quot they said Lay Down  they said How do you feel now Nigger they said what Are you going to do now killer they said a shut up Nigger Quot the defense contends King came at officers in a threatening manner and alted so strangely that they thought he was under the influence of drugs. But that they say was before George Holliday 31, aimed his new Sony Handicap out the window of his apartment bedroom across the Street. He had been awakened by the clamor he did not know what he was shooting he later said. On a reel that also featured a House cat Licking its Paw Holliday had captured perhaps the most famous bit of videotape of 1991. He sold it to Independent local station Kola for $500 it shared the tape with can a move that Holliday intends to Challenge with a suit and soon All the networks had it replaying it again and again and again. King s swollen visage was proof that the events on the tape were All too real. His leg was broken Bones in his face were fractured some of his Teeth were knocked out he was severely bruised and gravel was embedded in his face when officers dragged him along the ground his lawyer. Steven Lerman says King is still in pain uses a Cane and is under a psychotherapist s care. He has not worked since within two weeks after the incident sgt Stacey Koon and officers Powell Theodore Briseno and Timothy wind were indicted on charges of felony assault under color of authority. Koon Powell and Briseno were suspended. Wind a Rookie was fired the Case inspired a review of the los Angeles police department by a panel led by former u s Deputy Secretary of state Warren Christopher its report released in july chronicled patterns of brutality and racism in a police Force deemed too unresponsive to citizens especially minorities the commission suggested dozens of reforms that Are scheduled to go before the voters in june they include putting More officers on foot patrol setting up local police citizen committees streamlining citizen complaint procedures and giving civilian authorities More say in officer discipline. But the focus of the uproar in the incident s aftermath was Daryl f. Gates police chief since 1978 and a by Law a chief As Long As he wanted to be. The panel urged that Gates resign and urged term limits for future chiefs. After some hedging Gates announced he would resign in april. But he has since said the Date was not firm a he May stay on to fight those reforms he feels would leave the department at the mercy of politicians. And he says he May run for mayor if no candidate inspires his Confidence. The 8,300-member Force he Heads has suffered greatly. Police commander Rick Dinse selected by Gates to supervise the reforms says Quot the whole process has had an intimidating effect on beat cops. They Are not doing their Job like they were a year ago. I think they have More apprehension about what they  meanwhile civil rights leaders say the trial s outcome will help determine whether the land can earn the Confidence of minorities who have complained for years of police harassment. Quot if those police officers Are allowed to take a walk. It will communicate the message to the average South Central los Angeles resident that it your tace is Black you Don t really count Quot said John Mack president of the los Angeles Urban league an appeals court ruled last year that it was impossible to find an impartial jury for the King Case in los Angeles the trial was moved to the recently opened East Simi Valley courthouse in suburban Ventura county but John Hatcher Iii president of the Ventura county a act chapter noted that Blacks make up Only 2 percent of that county s population compared with 10 5 percent of los Angeles county. And the area where the trial is to be held is known As a bedroom Community for police officers from both los Angeles and Ventura counties concern has grown that George Holliday shot the videotape of los Angeles police beating King. The jury for the trial could be filled with the pro Law enforcement friends and relatives of officers. Still prosecutor White proclaims himself Quot optimistic. We have reasonable people All Over  the court has called up a record 2.000 prospective jurors to report for duty before Superior court judge Stanley Weisberg. From that group officials say a Pool of about 500 who do not have obvious schedule conflicts or hardships will be available for questioning. A 40-Page written questionnaire will elicit prospective jurors views on issues including racism and the extent to which police May use Force in arresting a suspect. In mid february after questionnaires Are returned and studied by lawyers in person questioning of prospects will begin. Testimony is expected to commence in Early Margh. The Star witness is King who could spend up to two weeks on the stand. But the key evidence obviously is a piece of electromagnetic tape. The videotape has Only muffled sound and what was said on the night of the beating is Likely to be disputed in court. Defense attorneys have said that scientific enhancements of the audio will be offered As evidence in an Effort to clarify what was or was t said Page 16 the stars and stripes saturday february 1, 1992