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- NATION, Page 33American NotesLOS ANGELESMore Hardball Ahead
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- According to news reports, one of the Los Angeles policemen
- accused in the videotaped beating of Rodney King taunted him at
- the hospital by jeering, "We played a little hardball tonight,
- and you lost." When the four officers arrived last week in Los
- Angeles County Superior Court to plead not guilty to charges
- stemming from the incident, someone in the courthouse crowd
- yelled, "The hardball game is over."
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- In fact, it is just beginning. One city council member,
- Michael Woo, has demanded the resignation of police chief Daryl
- Gates. Even the cautious Mayor Tom Bradley suggested that Gates
- must retire "before the healing process can begin," but Bradley
- maintains that he is not yet calling for the chief's
- resignation.
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- Though the embattled Gates announced a tepid 10-point
- police-department program to prevent further episodes of
- brutality, including a civilian review of use-of-force policies,
- that is unlikely to satisfy his critics. More hardball is likely
- to be played before the trial of the four officers, which is
- scheduled for May 16. A grand jury is still considering whether
- to bring charges against other officers who were present at the
- beating but did not attempt to stop it.
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