Stacey Koon

Stacey Cornell Koon (born November 23, 1950) is a former sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department who rose to national prominence in the wake of the Rodney King incident. Koon has a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in criminal justice from California State University in Los Angeles, and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.

Rodney King incident

On 3 March 1991, in Los Angeles, a high-speed chase was initiated by California Highway Patrol officer Melanie Singer after motorist Rodney King was observed behind the wheel of a 1988 white Hyundai Excel allegedly traveling at a high speed. The chase ended on the right shoulder of Foothill Boulevard. Koon and four other officers - Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseño and Rolando Solano - attempted to arrest King. The officers stated that King resisted arrest and Officers Powell, Wind and Briseño had to use force to subdue him. The incident was videotaped by a nearby resident, George Holliday, who sold it to local TV station KTLA. The station aired parts of the video and CNN aired it the next day. The police officers were tried for the use of excessive force in state court in Simi Valley in 1992 and acquitted on April 29 of that year. Later the same day the 1992 Los Angeles riots erupted, which went on to claim the lives of fifty-three...
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