1992 Washington Heights Riot or 1992 Rodney King Solidarity Riot

1992 Washington Heights riots were the culmination of a series of abuses that law enforcement officers had performed in the area. The case of Michael O'Keefe's shooting of Jose "Kiko" Garcia generated much controversy and influenced people in the area to organize a riot meant to protest with regard to how the authorities were hesitant about prosecuting the police officer. The local community got actively involved in denouncing this attitude and in trying to use violence as a means to emphasize its point-of-view concerning the matter. This later resulted into a full-on riot that saw hundreds of protesters criticizing the country and wanting to harm any representative of the system that they could come across.

Washington Heights was a poor and relatively peaceful neighborhood up until the times when drugs came to dominate the area's streets. The presence of drugs changed everything and people came to be a part of a chaotic drug-coordinated system that saw individuals killing for absurd reasons. The drug industry had turned Washington Heights into a warzone in a matter of years, taking into account that competitiveness and greed influenced young people to take up arms against each other in order to increase their profits. This also meant that police officers needed to be better prepared to deal with criminals in the area and that some law enforcement agents did everything in their power in order to make sure that they would have the upper hand in a potential conflict with a criminal in Washington Heights.

Michael O'Keefe was a member of the violent anticrime unit, Local Motion, and was tasked with patrolling the Washington Heights area in order to be certain that crime levels did not progress even further. "For the work he loved, O'Keefe packed two guns, saying, "Less than that would be insanity in the three-four" (Hellman 40) The fact that the drug trade was evolving fast in the area also meant that aggression increased and that law enforcement agents needed to adopt more hostile attitudes toward individuals they interacted with in order to be certain that they would enforce the law. To a certain degree, it would seem perfectly normal for a police officer working in such an environment to concentrate on trying to seem as strong as he can possibly be with the purpose to intimidate criminals.

O'Keefe shot and killed Jose "Kiko" Garcia consequent to a conflict between the two during which the former claims that the latter attempted to shoot him. According to the police officer, there was no other solution for him but to take out his gun and shoot Garcia in self-defense. While this seems to be perfectly normal, especially considering the victim's background in the Washington Heights drug scene, the case generated much controversy as eye-witnesses claimed that O'Keefe actually shot an innocent person and that there was no need for violence in that particular situation. "Two women who said they witnessed the killing fed suspicions that an overzealous Officer O'Keefe shot an innocent young man." (The Lesson of Washington Heights)

The fact that the case was not very clear and that the authorities refused to consider taking it further, to court, influenced the masses to rise against the system in a protest movement meant to have the whole world understand that Garcia was killed for no actual reason and that the criminal was still free. All factors seemed to point toward the belief that O'Keefe did nothing wrong, taking into consideration that Garcia was well-known by police officers as a drug user and dealer. Furthermore, he was known to carry a gun, thus meaning that many people could consider that the case was a no-brainer.

In spite of the fact that it seemed that O'Keefe was perfectly justified in shooting Garcia, the masses in the neighborhood were unwilling to accept this and organized a protest with the purpose of having the authorities change their perspective on the matter. Many of the protesters had the tendency to believe that this was just another case of a man in power taking advantage of his position and shooting an innocent. Police tactics were apparently in many cases directed against the community as a whole rather than just against criminals. "There were many occasions when the cops would stop and frisk my friends and I for no apparent reason. It was a regular occurrence, we already knew the routine. We also knew not to mess with the cops, as you would either end up arrested or if you were lucky with a black eye." (The Washington Heights Riots of 1992 Remembered -- Part 2)

While it is difficult and almost impossible to determine whether or not O'Keefe was right in shooting Garcia, this situation provided the masses with a purpose to rise against individuals whom they considered their oppressors. Many officials speculated with regard to how drug gangs took advantage of the Garcia case and attempted to influence the masses to push the police back in order for them to be able to operate their business with little to no stress.

The fact that the protesters caught the attention of the media world meant that they partly succeeded in organizing an effective movement to control public opinion. "Mayor David N. Dinkins rushed to comfort Garcia's family and then had the city pay for his funeral in the Dominican Republic." (Jackall 15) The mayor's actions were apparently meant to calm the public, as he was acquainted with the Los Angeles riots and wanted to do everything in his power in order to avoid having to deal with such a major protest.

The mayor's visit to the Garcia residence was not enough to calm spirits in Washington Heights and on the Monday consequent to the shooting crowds stormed the streets and forced officers to create blockades in order to contain them. The large number of Dominican residents in the area meant that numerous individuals were ready to protest on account of Garcia's presumably unlawful death and that the authorities would have to treat this case delicately in order to prevent it from growing even stronger.