LOS ANGELES, AUG. 4 -- Two Los Angeles police officers convicted of violating Rodney G. King's civil rights by beating him after a high-speed pursuit today received lenient 30-month sentences that dismayed prosecutors, the black community and at least one juror.
U.S. District Judge John G. Davies, in sentencing the two white officers, found that "recalcitrant behavior" by King, who is black, had "contributed significantly to provoking" the incident.
Sgt. Stacey C. Koon and Officer Laurence M. Powell could have been sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $250,000. But Davies, who declined a prosecution request for fines and restitution, said they already had suffered unusually because of the "notoriety" of a case that had made them national symbols of police brutality and because they had undergone two criminal trials.
"The second prosecution has the specter of unfairness," Davies said before imposing sentence. He added that the federal government had behaved legally in prosecuting the officers after they were acquitted of state charges of excessive force by a suburban Simi Valley jury.
The sentences, which appeared to shock the prosecution, added to the tension in a city in which the 1992 riots are a vivid memory. Los Angeles police were ordered on tactical alert, and Mayor Richard Riordan appealed for calm. Resumption of the slow-paced jury selection for two black defendants accused of beating white truck driver Reginald O. Denny during the riots was delayed until Friday.
At the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in south-central Los Angeles, where the worst rioting occurred last year, some people attending a vigil said the sentences were an injustice.
"If you're a cop, you can beat someone as badly as they beat Rodney King and only get 30 months. I don't think that justice was done," Gerald Chestnut, 40, who attended the vigil, told the Associated Press.
Davies acknowledged before sentencing Koon and Powell that he felt sympathy for them but said the law required him to deny bail while appeals are pending. He ordered them to surrender to federal authorities on Sept. 27. They are free until then, but Powell's appeals lawyer, William Kopeny, said he would appeal the no-bail ruling before Sept. 27, which could delay the date they begin serving their sentences.
If the officers are denied bail, Kopeny added, they could serve most of their sentences before their appeals are heard. With time off for good behavior, Koon and Powell could be released after 27 months.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven D. Clymer, one of two lead prosecutors, appeared stunned by the sentences. He had sought seven to nine years for Powell and nine to 10 for Koon and said in court today that neither defendant had shown "any shred of remorse" for the injuries they inflicted on King. The prosecution can appeal the sentences if it believes they violated federal guidelines, and U.S. Attorney Terree Bowers said he would discuss this possibility with Attorney General Janet Reno.
Michael Stone, Powell's attorney during both trials, said he thought prosecutors would appeal the sentences because of the high-profile nature of the case.
While Stone said he was pleased with many of Davies's findings, he said the sentences would be "extremely harsh" for the defendants, even in a minimum-security prison, because of their notoriety.
But Dan Caplis, a Denver-based criminal attorney who attended the trial, said Davies was "as lenient as he could have been under the law." Loyola law school professor and former federal prosecutor Laurie Levenson said Davies had "bent over backwards to accommodate the defense."
A white juror in the federal case, Erik Rasmussen, 55, of Fullerton, said in a telephone interview tonight: "I was disappointed. I thought they should have received five to seven years."
A key element of Davies's determination was his finding that the 15 facial fractures and broken leg sustained by King occurred while the officers were acting lawfully. He found that King had engaged in a "remarkable consumption of alcoholic beverages," had led the police on an eight-mile chase, refused to obey police commands and had charged Powell.
Davies said that Powell had "stepped over the line" only during the last 19 seconds of the 126-second videotape when he delivered five to seven blows to an unresisting King that Davies said caused bruising on King's upper torso.
Stone said the judge's findings were "nothing short of a total vindication of the defendants. It may come as a shock to the average person on the street: I think they'd be surprised to find out that the actions of Rodney King were a big factor in this case."
Today's sentencing climaxed a tumultuous series of events that led to the most destructive urban riot in U.S. history and the discrediting and eventual replacement of the police chief and mayor.
It began on March 3, 1991, when King, admittedly intoxicated, was pursued at speeds of up to 100 mph on freeways and city streets by the California Highway Patrol. Los Angeles police joined in the pursuit, which ended on a darkened roadway near a dam. Two passengers in King's car surrendered, but King charged in Powell's direction and was beaten into submission.
When a videotape of the beating was shown on television, it caused a national furor and triggered an investigation that blamed Police Chief Daryl F. Gates for repeated, unpunished incidents of excessive force and racism.
Koon, Powell, officer Theodore J. Briseno and former officer Timothy E. Wind were indicted on state charges. Their acquittal on April 29, 1992, by a jury that included no blacks, ignited the deadly riots, which raged three days and took more than 50 lives.
After the riots, Gates was forced into retirement, District Attorney Ira Reiner quit his reelection campaign after being blamed for a bungled prosecution, and Mayor Tom Bradley decided not to seek reelection.
The four officers were indicted on the federal civil rights charges a year ago today. Koon and Powell were convicted April 17 by a racially mixed jury that deliberated 40 hours over seven days. Briseno and Wind were acquitted.
Attorney Paul DePasquale, who represented Wind, said Davies showed signs of judgment during the sentencing procedure that "were kept out of the trial until the end."
Special correspondent Jessica Crosby contributed to this report.