Editing Stacey Koon

{{Important}}
{{Villain Infobox
|image = Stacey Koon.jpg
|fullname = Stacey Cornell Koon
|origin = Lynwood, California, U.S.
|occupation = Police sergeant <small>(formerly)</small><br>Limo driver
|skills = Authority<br>Police training
|goals = Get away with brutalizing Rodney King <small>(failed)</small>
|crimes = [[Police brutality]]<br>Assault<br>Civil rights violations<br>Drunk driving
|type of villain = Brutal Corrupt Official}}
'''Stacey Cornell Koon''' (born 23 November 1950) is a former Los Angeles police officer and the ringleader of the 1991 Rodney King incident, a [[police brutality]] incident in which African-American motorist Rodney King was beaten up by four white police officers. King suffered a fractured skull, a broken leg and several burns as a result of the attack. Koon and the other officers were indicted by a grand jury but acquitted, sparking the [[1992 Los Angeles riots]]. 

In 1993, Koon and the other officers were re-tried in federal court for violating King's civil rights. Koon and another officer were convicted and sentenced to 2.5 years in jail. 

==Biography==
===Rodney King beating===
On 3 March 1991, Rodney King was pulled over by the Los Angeles Highway Patrol while driving drunk. As King was arrested by Officer Melanie Singer, LAPD officers Stacey Koon, [[Laurence Powell]], [[Timothy Wind]], [[Theodore Briseno]] and Rolando Solano (who did not participate in the beating) arrived and announced that they were taking command. Koon then ordered the other LAPD officers to "swarm" King in order to overcome potential resistance. As they did so, King stood up and was tasered by Koon to get him back to the ground. When he got up again he was kicked down and beaten by Powell. Koon then ordered the other officers to subdue King with "power strikes". Powell, Wind and Briseno obliged, beating King's wrists, knees, elbows and ankles with their batons and kicking him until he was unable to get back up. He was then handcuffed and dragged to the side of the road to await an ambulance.<ref>[https://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/march-1991-rodney-king-videotape-9758031 Video: March 7, 1991: Video of Rodney King Beaten by Police Released], ''ABC News''</ref><ref>[https://milwaukeecourieronline.com/index.php/2012/06/23/rodney-king-symbolized-police-brutality/l Rodney King symbolized police brutality], ''The Milwaukee Courier''</ref><ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-03-07-mn-3544-story.html CHP Officer Describes Chase, Beating of King : LAPD: One defendant tried to stop another's baton blows to motorist's head, she says.], ''Los Angeles Times''</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/ChristopherCommissionLAPD Report of the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department (Christopher Commission Report)]</ref>

===Aftermath===
King was treated for a fractured skull and leg and multiple burn marks from when he was tasered. Nurses at the Pacifica Hospital where King was treated testified that the officers accompanying him had bragged about how many times they beat him. Overall, he had been hit 33 times and kicked seven times. 

George Holliday, an amateur videographer, had filmed the arrest and beating from his apartment. The video was given to KTLA TV and immediately became a national news story and one of the most infamous incidents of police brutality in history.<ref>[http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lapd/kingvideo.html The Holliday Videotape, George Holliday Video of King Beating], University of Missouri Kansas City Law School</ref>

Koon, Powell, Wind and Briseno were indicted, arrested and charged with assault and excessive use of force. Due to the extensive media coverage of the incident the trial was held in Simi Valley rather than Los Angeles to avoid juror bias. On 29 April 1992, after seven days of deliberation, the jury acquitted Koon, Powell and Wind and were unable to reach a verdict on Briseno.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100812192824/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/authors_corner/jan-june98/cannon_4-7.html All 4 Acquitted in King Beating : Verdict Stirs Outrage; Bradley Calls It Senseless: Trial: Ventura County jury rejects charges of excessive force in episode captured on videotape. A mistrial is declared on one count against Officer Powell.], ''Los Angeles Times''</ref> Prosecutor Terry White theorized that the acquittal was due to the jury being desensitized to the violence, as the defence had repeatedly played the footage in slow motion during the trial.<ref>''Official Negligence: How Rodney King and the Riots Changed Los Angeles and the LAPD'' by Lou Cannon</ref> After the verdict was read out, Koon had to be escorted to his car by county sheriff's deputies in order to protect him from angry protestors. Within hours rioting broke out across Los Angeles and lasted for six days, resulting in 63 deaths and 2,383 injuries.

===Civil rights trial===
Following the riots, the Department of Justice announced an investigation into the four officers for federal civil rights violations. All four were indicted by a federal grand jury on August 4, 1993. Testimony was heard from King himself, George Holliday, Rolando Solano and several others. Koon himself also took the stand to insist he had acted within protocol by ordering the officers to beat King. In addition he claimed that King had attempted to throw them off when he stood up the first time, hence why he had tasered him.

Ultimately, Koon and Powell were convicted of violating King's civil rights. All four officers were sacked by the LAPD soon after. Koon and Powell were sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.<ref>[http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-koon-powell-get-two-and-half-years-in-prison-19930805-story.html Koon, Powell get two and half years in prison], ''Los Angeles Times''</ref> This was controversial because federal sentencing guidelines recommended a sentence of at least 10 years; however, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the court's sentence was within its power to impose.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/14/us/the-supreme-court-sentencing-court-upholds-sentence-in-king-case.html The Supreme Court: Sentencing; Court Upholds Sentence in King Case], ''The New York Times''</ref>

===After conviction===
While Koon was serving the final weeks of his sentence at a halfway house, a gunman named [[Randall Tolbert]] who was angry at Koon's sentence entered and demanded to know where he was. Upon receiving no answer Tolbert took three people hostage. He was eventually killed by police after shooting one of the hostages, Karl Milam. 

Since completing his sentence, Koon has gone on to work as a limo driver. He was forced to install an alcohol interlock on his limo in 2018 after being arrested for drunk driving. He has stated that he does not regret his actions and maintains that the media and community leaders were to blame for the riots and that his actions were completely legal. 

==References==
[[Category:List]]
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[[Category:Destroyer of Innocence]]
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