Attack on Reginald Denny
Looking east from the southwestern corner of Florence and Normandie, in March 2010.
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| Time | 6:46 PM |
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| Date | April 29, 1992 |
| Location | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 33°58′28″N 118°18′01″W / 33.974577°N 118.300285°WCoordinates: 33°58′28″N 118°18′01″W / 33.974577°N 118.300285°W |
| Suspect(s) | Damian Williams, Henry Watson, Antoine Miller, Gary Williams |
The attack on Reginald Denny was an incident in the 1992 Los Angeles riots in which Reginald Denny, a construction truck driver, was beaten nearly to death by a group of assailants which came to be known as the "L.A. Four". The attack was captured on video by a news helicopter, and broadcast live on US national television.
On March 3, 1991, a plumbing salesman and amateur videographer named George Holliday video-recorded motorist Rodney King at the end of a police pursuit, being beaten by LAPD officers. The outrage resulting from the acquittal of these police officers was later considered to be one of the major causes of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
On April 29, 1992, at 5:39 pm, Denny loaded his red dump truck with 27 tons of sand and began driving to a plant in Inglewood, where the sand was due. He left the Santa Monica Freeway and took a familiar shortcut across Florence Avenue to get to his destination. His truck had no radio, so he did not realize that he was driving into a riot. At 6:46 pm, after entering the intersection at Normandie, rioters threw rocks at his windows, and he heard people shouting for him to stop, forcing him to do so in the middle of the street. Antoine Miller climbed up and opened the truck door, giving an unidentified man the chance to pull Denny out and throw him on the ground. Henry Watson stood on Denny's neck to hold him down as a group of men surrounded him and one man kicked him in the abdomen. Miller searched Denny's back pockets before climbing into the truck and stealing a bag. As Watson walked away, two other unidentified men joined in the attack: one hurled a five-pound oxygenator stolen from Larry Tarvin's truck at Denny's head, and the other kicked him and hit him with a claw hammer. As Denny tried to stand up, Damian Williams threw a piece of brick at the side of his head, which knocked him unconscious. Williams pointed and laughed at Denny, did a victory dance in the road, and flashed gang signs at news helicopters, including that of Robert Tur and his wife, Marika Gerrard, who were televising the events live from above in a helicopter. Anthony Brown joined Williams in flashing gang signs and spat on Denny. One man was seen standing nearby, filming Denny as he lay bleeding on the ground but did not try to help him.
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