Slow Burn: The L.A. Riots | 6. No Peace

Date: December 15, 2021
Host: Joel Anderson, Slate Podcasts

Episode Overview

In this episode of Slow Burn, Joel Anderson takes listeners hour-by-hour through the first, chaotic afternoon and evening of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, sparked by the acquittal of four LAPD officers who brutally beat Rodney King. Drawing on first-person interviews, news footage, and police testimony, the episode explores the immediate community response to the verdict, the breakdown of law enforcement, and the violence that erupted at the intersection of Florence and Normandy. Anderson highlights the shock, anger, and historical context behind the unrest, the failure of city leadership, and how quickly order collapsed in America’s second largest city.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Shock and Disbelief at the Verdict

• Tim Goldman, a resident and witness, recalls missing the news while out with friends; the shock upon learning all officers were acquitted (00:55).
  • “Them cops got off. And my stomach, man, just like, I was stunned.” – Tim Goldman (01:49)
• The episode contextualizes the verdict as a devastating confirmation for Black Angelenos of systemic injustice:
  • “The criminal justice system guaranteed black victims, especially victims of police violence, nothing.” – Joel Anderson (03:38)
• Goldman reflects: There was “no hope;” the videotape had been clear, to no avail (02:47).

Early Community Response and Tension

• Black leaders attempted to organize a peaceful rally (“Operation Cool Response”) believing there would be at least one conviction (08:02).
  • Activist Danny Bakewell: “...we will accept a verdict that’s in our best interest without violence. We’re not just trying to spark into violence for violence’s sake.” (08:10)
• LAPD Chief Daryl Gates was convinced the city was prepared, planning mostly for nighttime unrest based on prior events (08:28).
• Within moments, large crowds began to gather at critical spots in LA—anger and disbelief spreading quickly (04:22–05:00).

Law Enforcement’s Failed Response

• Despite warnings, the LAPD showed a lack of urgency and misread early signs; Metro unit leaders wanted to deploy earlier but were told not to (09:53–10:41).
  • “I was a madman well in advance of this thing because people were not paying attention.” – Lt. Michael Hillman (10:10)
• Reporter Jim Newton describes officers at headquarters celebrating the acquittal, then quickly shifting to concern as protestors stormed the building (11:19–12:13).

Breakdown at Florence & Normandy

• Florence and Normandy becomes the flashpoint:
  • Police are surrounded by angry residents, severely outnumbered and lacking riot gear.
  • Tensions rise with the arrest of a teen accused of throwing rocks. The crowd is hostile; at one point, the boy yells, “I can’t breathe” while being cuffed (15:52–16:01).
  • Tim Goldman and others film the scene as 35 officers confront 200 residents (16:33).
    • “They were definitely scared. You could see it in their face ... You know, they didn’t teach this at the academy.” – Tim Goldman (16:50)
• Police withdraw after 5:43pm, leaving the intersection to the crowd (18:59).
  • “I just thought they were going to regroup, come back in force ... And they never came back. They never came back.” – Tim Goldman (18:59)

Escalation & Violence Toward Civilians

• With police gone, the crowd’s anger turns toward civilians:
  • The first victims are a Latino family whose car is attacked; soon after, truck driver Larry Tarvin is pulled from his vehicle and savagely beaten (22:47, 23:20).
    • “That’s how fucking Rodney King felt, white boy. That’s how Rodney ...” (23:20)
  • Kiki Watson, later convicted for his actions, participates in the attacks:
    • “Anything that came through that intersection that wasn’t black was asked out ... we won a battle.” – Kiki Watson (21:08)
• The most notorious attack: the beating of truck driver Reginald Denny, broadcast live from above by helicopter pilot Zoe Tur (24:23–26:57).
  • Denny is pulled from his truck, viciously beaten, having bricks and objects smashed on him while no police intervene.
  • “This is attempted murder.” – Zoe Tur narrating live (26:14).
  • Kiki Watson: “I didn’t go down there. I just got swept up into the moment ... Before I know it, shit, I was hooking and jabbing and sticking and moving like everybody else.” (28:27–29:06)

The Absence of Leadership

• During these critical hours, the city’s leadership falters:
  • Mayor Tom Bradley issues calls for calm (13:48), but LAPD Chief Gates is absent, attending a fundraiser in affluent Brentwood (32:11).
    • Zev Yaroslavski, City Council: “If there was anything, any metaphor for this whole fiasco, it’s that Daryl Gates, the chief of police, was not on post because he was out raising money to stop the reforms that would prevent something like this from happening.” (32:55)
  • Gates does not return to headquarters until after 8:15pm, by which point major fires and violence are widespread.

Nightfall: The City Burns

• Fires erupt across the city, emergency services are overwhelmed, and the National Guard isn’t called for hours (34:26, 36:07).
  • “Hell on Earth. It looked like flying over a war zone. Just plumes and plumes of smoke everywhere.” – Zoe Tur (36:07)
• The episode ends on the note that, despite official claims, the worst had yet to come.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tim Goldman:
  • “What’s going through my mind is, man, there’s, like, no hope. They can get caught on videotape beating the hell out of somebody, damn near killing him … And that sent a message to them. Now we beat the hell out of you … and nothing gonna happen to us.” (02:47)
  • “I don’t know what I would have been doing if I didn’t have that camera in my hand, man. I probably would have been out there beating the hell out of people, too.” (30:25)
• LA Times reporter Jim Newton:
  • “I assumed that Gates would be personally in control of this … so to discover he wasn’t there was shocking.” (12:31)
• Kiki Watson:
  • “I didn’t go down there [planning violence]. I just got swept up into the moment ... Before I know it, shit, I was hooking and jabbing and sticking and moving like everybody else.” (28:27–29:06)
  • “The biggest gang in our city, and they ride around and they bang on motherfuckers, man. So, you know, fuck the police, man.” (30:25)
• Zev Yaroslavski:
  • “It was a Pearl Harbor for LA … the chief of police was not on post because he was out raising money to stop the reforms that would prevent something like this from happening.” (32:11, 32:55)
• Zoe Tur, on helicopter reporting:
  • “Hell on Earth. It looked like flying over a war zone … plumes and plumes of smoke everywhere.” (36:07)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:55 — Tim Goldman learns of the verdict
• 03:38 — Context of systemic injustice in LA
• 08:02 — Plans for peaceful community response
• 10:10 — LAPD’s internal dismissal of riot risks
• 11:19 — Officers’ reactions to acquittal at headquarters
• 15:52 — Tense arrest at Florence and Normandy
• 18:59 — LAPD retreats, leaving intersection to crowd
• 21:34 — Looting escalates, violence turns on civilians
• 23:20 — Beating of truck driver Larry Tarvin
• 24:23–26:57 — Helicopter footage and live narration of Reginald Denny beating
• 28:27 — Kiki Watson describes being swept up in violence
• 32:11 — Zev Yaroslavski on Gates’s absence
• 36:07 — Helicopter pilot Zoe Tur describes the burning city

Tone and Language

The episode is raw, urgent, and emotionally charged, reflecting both the horror of the moment and the generational anger and disappointment felt by LA’s Black residents. Testimonies from witnesses and participants are included unvarnished, with strong language, frustration, and at times, introspective regret.

Summary Conclusion

Episode 6, “No Peace,” offers a ground-level, minute-by-minute account of how the Rodney King verdict ignited violence, the immediate failure of law enforcement, and the absence of meaningful city leadership. Drawing on striking interviews and real archival audio, it demonstrates how decades of injustice, ignored warnings, and festering community tensions converged to plunge Los Angeles into chaos within hours. The episode is both a case study in civic failure and a searing reminder of unresolved racial trauma—ending with the chilling promise that the worst was yet to come.