West Las Vegas riots
Encyclopedia
The West Las Vegas riots were sparked on April 29, 1992, after the Rodney King
verdict, where all four white
Los Angeles Police Department
officers were acquitted for the beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles, California
. After the Los Angeles riots were sparked, Black residents of West Las Vegas
had already started to loot and burned several stores. Gun battles had started with snipers on intersections and one white motorist was pulled from his vehicle and beaten.
The violence was just 7 miles away from the Las Vegas Strip
. Las Vegas
police officers placed buses under Interstate 15
to keep rioters from crossing out of West Las Vegas and into the downtown area. After the riots, $6 million in property was damaged and the tensions with the police lasted the next 18 days.
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King is an American best known for his involvement in a police brutality case involving the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991...
verdict, where all four white
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
officers were acquitted for the beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. After the Los Angeles riots were sparked, Black residents of West Las Vegas
West Las Vegas
West Las Vegas is an historic neighborhood in Las Vegas, Nevada. This area is located northwest of the "Spaghetti Bowl" interchange of I-15 and US 95. It is also known as Historic West Las Vegas and more simply, the Westside. The area is roughly bounded by Carey Avenue, Bonanza Road, I-15 and...
had already started to loot and burned several stores. Gun battles had started with snipers on intersections and one white motorist was pulled from his vehicle and beaten.
The violence was just 7 miles away from the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
. Las Vegas
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is a joint city-county police force for the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada. It is run by the Sheriff of Clark County, elected every four years. The current Sheriff of Clark County is Douglas C...
police officers placed buses under Interstate 15
Interstate 15
Interstate 15 is the fourth-longest north–south Interstate Highway in the United States, traveling through the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Montana from San Diego to the Canadian border...
to keep rioters from crossing out of West Las Vegas and into the downtown area. After the riots, $6 million in property was damaged and the tensions with the police lasted the next 18 days.