Synopsis
Presumed Guilty: The Tragedy of the Rodney King Affair, published in 1992, is a first-hand defensive memoir co-written by former Los Angeles Police Department Sergeant Stacey C. Koon and journalist Robert Deitz. As the commanding officer on the scene during the infamous March 3, 1991 arrest of Rodney King, Koon uses the book to present his perspective on the encounter, defend the actions of the officers involved, and challenge the dominant media narrative that fueled nationwide outrage and the subsequent 1992 Los Angeles riots.
The narrative centers heavily on the events leading up to the raw footage captured on the George Holliday videotape. Koon argues that the widely broadcasted 82-second clip was selectively edited by the media, omitting critical context such as King leading police on a high-speed chase exceeding 100 miles per hour, refusing initial commands, and allegedly showing violent resistance, including absorbing two 50,000-volt taser charges. According to Koon, the physical force applied by the officers was a measured, textbook application of LAPD policy intended to subdue a non-compliant, felony-evasion suspect without resorting to deadly force.
Beyond the immediate mechanics of the arrest, the book acts as a sharp critique of corporate and political institutions. Koon contends that he and his fellow officers were "presumed guilty" by a sensationalist media culture and subsequently scapegoated by political figures and the LAPD leadership infrastructure—specifically calling out top officials for executing a self-serving cover-up to shield the department from systemic policy flaws. Ultimately, the work serves as a controversial apologia, presenting the Simi Valley state court acquittals as a vindication of police procedure while warning that political betrayal of street-level officers makes future institutional breakdowns inevitable.