The Fire Last Time: Digitizing the Independent and Webster Commission Records on the 1992 L.A. Civil Unrest

FAIN: PW-234844-16

University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA 90089-0012)
Deborah Ann Holmes-Wong (Project Director: July 2015 to March 2021)
Giao Luong Baker (Co Project Director: June 2016 to January 2019)
R. Wayne Shoaf (Co Project Director: February 2019 to March 2021)

Digitization of 182,264 pages of archival records and 291 hours of audiovisual recordings of the Independent and Webster Commissions, convened to investigate the 1991 Rodney King beating and the 1992 civil unrest in Los Angeles.

Our project will digitize for free online public access the records of the Independent and Webster Commissions, which investigated the causes of the 1991 Rodney King beating and the 1992 civil unrest. Upon its conclusion, we will publish 182,264 pages of historical records and 291 hours of audiovisual recordings in the USC Digital Library and the Digital Public Library of America.

Associated Products

Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department (Web Resource)
Title: Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department
Author: Wayne Shoaf
Author: Deborah Holmes-Wong
Author: Giao Luong Baker
Author: Louise Smith
Abstract: The city of Los Angeles became the epicenter of a public relations scandal on March 3, 1991, when an amateur cameraman captured on video four uniformed LAPD officers beating motorist Rodney G. King. In addition to generating public outrage, the incident cast a dark shadow over the LAPD and called into question the integrity of the nation's third largest municipal police force. Subsequently, the ten member Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department was formed to conduct a full and fair evaluation of all aspects of the LAPD's structure and operations related to the use of force when making arrests. Included in this collection are the documents that were collected and analyzed by the Commission over the course of its study.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15799coll69
Primary URL Description: Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department

Los Angeles Webster Commission records, 1931-1992 (Web Resource)
Title: Los Angeles Webster Commission records, 1931-1992
Author: Wayne Shoaf
Author: Rachel Mandell
Author: Anastasia Paley
Abstract: Chaired by former federal judge and FBI and CIA Director William H. Webster, the Los Angeles Webster Commission assessed law enforcement's performance in connection with the April, 1992 Los Angeles civil unrest. The collection consists of materials collected and studied by the Commission over the course of its investigation. Materials pertain to both the Los Angeles incident specifically, and civil disturbance, civil unrest control, and policing tactics in general. Included in the collection are the following: interviews with LAPD officers, law enforcement personnel, government officials, community leaders, and activists; articles, broadcasts, and press releases covering the civil unrest; various tactical and contingency plans created for disasters and emergencies; reports, studies, and manuals about civil unrest control and prevention; literature about community-based policing strategies; emergency plans and procedures developed by other cities; and after-action reports issued once the civil unrest had subsided. Also featured are items related to the internal operations of the LAPD both before and during the civil unrest, including activity reports, meeting agendas and minutes, arrest data, annual reports, curricula and educational materials, and personnel rosters.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15799coll100
Primary URL Description: Los Angeles Webster Commission records, 1931-1992

Richard M. Mosk Christopher Commission records, 1991 (Web Resource)
Title: Richard M. Mosk Christopher Commission records, 1991
Author: Wayne Shoaf
Author: Anastasia Paley
Abstract: The collection includes police commission correspondence, status reports and final reports of the Independent Commission, testimony transcripts, a transcript of messages from the LAPD Mobile Digital Terminal System, and the transcript of an oral history of Mosk.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15799coll114
Primary URL Description: Richard M. Mosk Christopher Commission records, 1991

Kendall O. Price Los Angeles riots records, 1965-1967 (Web Resource)
Title: Kendall O. Price Los Angeles riots records, 1965-1967
Author: Wayne Shoaf
Author: Anastasia Paley
Abstract: The collection is comprised of the reports created as a result of two seminars and a conference related to a critque of the McCone Report following the 1965 Los Angeles civil unrest. In addition to the reports directly related to the seminars and conference, the materials include documents from training programs for U.S. Air Force Security and Law Enforcement Officers for 1965, 1966, and 1967. These publications were the result of work done through USC with Air Force Law Enforcement personnel to help them establish skills in administration and in dealing with race relations, relative to the work done on the McCone report. Each of the participants was assigned a different city administrator -- many of whom had been educated at the USC School of Public Administration -- to gain experience, share ideas, and prepare a written report.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15799coll115
Primary URL Description: Kendall O. Price Los Angeles riots records, 1965-1967

Watts riots records, 1965 (Web Resource)
Title: Watts riots records, 1965
Author: Wayne Shoaf
Author: Anastasia Paley
Abstract: The collection consists of the report published by the governor's commission following the Los Angeles civil unrest of 1965, also known as the Watts Riots, and the supporting documentation. The report itself is titled, "Violence in the City—An End or a Beginning?: A Report by the Governor's Commission on the Los Angeles Riots, 1965". While the additional documents are primarily transcripts of testimony, the testimonies come from a wide range of people directly and indirectly involved in the civil unrest, including Governor Pat Brown, Lieutenant Governor Glen Anderson, several leaders of the Los Angeles Police Department and National Guard, some business leaders, and many members of the affected communities. Some of the other documents include reports about different aspects of the communities and the civil unrest, including arrests, damages, and employment. The commission was headed by John A. McCone, former CIA director. This is copy 7 of the report.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15799coll113
Primary URL Description: Watts riots records, 1965

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