Crack Epidemic in Relation to the Los Angeles Riots

LA gangs, Crack, and the Police

         Initially, this video follows Los Angeles police officers as they cruise the streets of South Central looking for any suspicious activity. Soon enough, the officers stop and search a Black man, eventually finding crack cocaine on his person. After this incident the video takes a bit of a turn where the focus is put on the officers and their opinions on the crack epidemic. The officers claim the issue stems from the presence of local gangs, labeling them as the main source for the incoming narcotics. They then use guns confiscated from gang members to perpetuate the idea that gang members stand as the root cause of every bad aspect of the community. Finally, the last segment of the video follows a squad of DEA agents as they successfully bust a crack operation being run out of an apartment complex.

       The interactions between Police officers and members of the black community depicted in the video showcase the tension between the two groups. The Police consistently place the blame on local gangs for the presence of drugs within the community. However, the video never mentions the role the CIA played in the massive amounts of cocaine allowed into the states, nor that the presence of crack in the United States could actually be largely attributed to CIA influence. Meaning that Nixon's "war on drugs" was essentially created by the Government and then used as a tactic to incarcerate Black Americans. The war on drugs disproportionately affected the minorities within America, especially so with the Black community,  which likely caused further strain on the relationships between law enforcement and said communities. This strain coupled with the influence of crack cocaine on the black community likely aided in the galvanization of the 1992 riots as the tension between the Police and the black community reached its breaking point.


Michael Montoya