Recent protests in Dallas ended in tragedy when a a sniper, later identified as Micah Johnson, opened fire on police officers killing five people and injuring twelve.
The conflict between African American citizens and the police in the United States has occurred on regular basis, but since the 2010s such cases have been increasing. Let’s take a look at the five most controversial riots in the US.
Los Angeles Rebellion (1992)
At the end of April 1992 a jury acquitted three of the four white police officers who beat up Rodney King, a black US citizen, arrested for speeding.
King showed resistance to the police for which they hit him 56 times with batons, causing multiple injuries.
After the acquittal in court, thousands of black Americans poured out on the streets of Los Angeles in demonstrations that escalated into large-scale riots. During the protests 5,599 buildings were set on fire.
The riot was joined by white citizens and Hispanics also. About 7,300 police officers, 1,950 sheriffs and 9,975 soldiers of the National Guard and thousands of FBI agents were called upon to stop the riots.
Around 53 people were killed and more than two thousand were injured. The damage to the US economy was estimated at a billion dollars.
The Los Angeles riot had a huge impact on American pop culture: the story of Rodney King was mentioned in the GTA game: San Andreas.
He was also mentioned in the Oscar- nominated film American History X and in the second season of the TV show True Detective.
King himself received a compensation of $3.8 million from the local police. Later on he played a cameo in a few films. In 2012, Rodney King died at the age of 47 years after drowning in his own pool.
Murder of Trayvon Martin (2012)
One of the main prerequisites for increased protest activity by black Americans was the murder of Trayvon Benjamin Martin.
Martin was an African American from Miami Gardens, Florida, who, at 17 years old, was fatally shot by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, in Sanford, Florida.
The jury unanimously acquitted the accused calling the shooting self-defense. The decision by the jury resulted in major protests across US cities.
It was then that the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter appeared which was later used in most of the high-profile protests following the murders of black citizens.
The murder of Martin was reflected in popular culture, Another Statistic was a hip-hop song released for Martin by artist Ace Hood with the lyrics dedicated to the deceased teenager.
At the time of his murder Martin was wearing a hoodie which became an important element of wardrobe among the protesters.
Riots in Ferguson (2014)
In August 2014 in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson (Missouri) white police officer Darren Wilson shot an 18-year-old African-American Michael Brown.
The circumstances were not clarified till the end resulting in black Americans coming out for protests in Ferguson. They launched a peace campaign, “Hands up, do not shoot” demonstrating solidarity with the version of the story suggesting that Brown did not resist arrest, therefore, the murder was committed on racial grounds.
However, non-violent protests escalated into clashes with the police, during which different parties used Molotov cocktails, firearms, rubber bullets and tear gas.
For some time the city came under siege. The airport was closed in St. Louis and the Federal Service of the United States civil aviation imposed a ban on flights in the Ferguson area.
The second wave of protest began after Darren Wilson was acquitted. The new wave of protests was supported by thousands of people in at least 120 cities in more than 38 states.
Shooting of Police Officers in New York (2014)
A month earlier, there was another resonant death. After a collision with the police in Tompkinsville (NY) a 43-year-old African American, Eric Garner, who was detained on suspicion of illegally selling cigarettes in the street was strangled to death.
In December of the same year, 28-year-old African American Ismail Brinsley shot at close range two police officers of the New York, Brooklyn area. Three hours before committing the murder, Brinsley posted on Twitter, saying: “I'm Putting Wings on Pigs Today,” or, in other words, taking revenge for the killing of Garner and Brown.
In 2015, thousands of people took to the streets of New York City on the anniversary of the murder of Eric Garner. Similar events took place in Ferguson; where again there were clashes with police and more than one hundred protesters were arrested.
Unrest in Baltimore (2015)
Riots in Baltimore, Maryland broke out on the day of the funeral of Freddie Gray, who died after being detained by police.
It was later revealed that Gray had a broken spine and in the police car he fell into a coma and was pronounced clinically dead.
The protests escalated with several hundred young people showering police with stones and bottles, after which soldiers of the National Guard arrived and a state of emergency throughout the state was called.
During the riots, at least 20 policemen were injured, more than 150 cars were set on fire, 60 buildings were burned and more than 250 people were arrested.
