African Americans -- History; Slavery -- United States -- History
After a couple of days when the riot continued to grow, Los Angeles
officials began to consider calling in the National Guard. Police Chief
Parker did not know that it was necessary for him to contact the
Governor's office and ask the Governor to call out the Guard.
Unfortunately, Governor Brown was in Greece. The Lieutenant Governor was
afraid to make such an important decision on his own initiative.
Finally, Los Angeles officials phoned Governor Brown in Athens, and he
gave his authority for calling out the Guard.
By the time the Guard arrived, all of Watts was covered with billowing
clouds of smoke. The looting and burning were no longer confined to
roving gangs of youths. Angry adults, who had previously only urged them
on, had become intoxicated by the mood of destruction. People of all
ages, many of whom had had no previous police record, began to join. The
pressure chamber had blown its valve and was now letting off steam. Watts
abandoned itself to an emotional orgy.
The National Guard had not been adequately trained to handle civil
disorders. It also came with a point of view which was unsuited to a
civilian outburst. They had been trained to work against an enemy, and
had a tendency to interpret every action in this way and to view all the
residents of Watts as enemies. When two drunks in a car refused to stop
at a Guard roadblock and ran into a line of soldiers, the Guard
interpreted it as a deliberate and malicious suicide attack. The Guard
was convinced that they were being personally threatened, and the
officers issued live ammunition to all the men.
By the end of the riot, the Guard had fired thousands of rounds of
ammunition. The press portrayed Watts as an armed camp with scores of
black snipers systematically trying to pick off the police and the Guard.
In retrospect, both the police and the Guard came to believe that most of
the snipers had really been the police and the Guardsmen unknowingly
shooting at each other. When all of the evidence was examined in the calm
light of day, very little of it pointed to the existence of snipers.
Gradually, the Guard gained confidence in itself and in the situation.
The more that it acted in calm and deliberation, the more quickly peace
was restored to the area. Finally, eleven days after the Frye arrest the
last members of the Guard withdrew, and the next day the police returned
to normal duty.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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