Looting and Arson

Looters and arsonists were ethnically mixed including African-Americans, Latinos, and Mexican-American among others. About 10% were illegal aliens (Los Angeles Times, May 6, 1992b). This is consistent with changes in the ethnic composition of South Central Los Angeles (Los Angeles Times, May 11, 1992). Looters accidentally cut themselves on glass when looting (Los Angeles Times, May 11, 1992). Emergency department staff saw many deep lacerations possibly caused by reaching through or attempting to step through broken windows. Mayor Bradley felt that greedy opportunists, not people angered by the verdict, did much of the looting and arson. There is some support for this assertion in that at least 40% of those arrested had criminal records, and 30% were on active probation (Los Angeles Times, May 19,1992). Also, some looters drove to the area from as far away as Bakersfield and San Diego (Sacramento Bee, May 1, 1992a). On the other hand, some looters living in the area, driven by their poor circumstances, tried to better their immediate living conditions. Newspaper stories give the impression that this group acted after the looting in their area was well under way. For example, one looter took beds because his family sleeps on the floor (Los Angeles Times, May 13, 1992). Another looter, a mother, said that: "Well, I better get out there and get stuff for my kids too. ... We don't know if there were going to be any stores standing. We didn't know if we were going to have food." She took diapers, potatoes, and canned goods. Another woman stated: "I didn't have anything in my refrigerator.... I just got the little food and thanked the Lord for that" (San Francisco Chronicle, May 11, 1992). For this group of people, the issue was not so much anger about the Rodney King trial verdict, as it was day-to-day survival that propelled them. Los Angeles City fire reports that from 10% to 12% of the fires were fraud cases (Koehler, 1992). Rioters deliberately set the rest. Interestingly, neither field personnel or hospitals interviewed for the study reported many burn injuries. Three bodies were found in burned out buildings (Sacramento Bee, May 4, 1992). However, as noted, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner assigned only one of these to arson.

Medical Care for the Injured

Continue to Law Enforcement Caused Iniuries and Deaths Compared to Civilian Related Deaths

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