Outrage boils over in Atlanta, other cities

  Tom Watson;Robert Davis

  05/01/1992

  USA Today

  FINAL

  Page 03A

  (Copyright 1992)

  ATLANTA - Outrage over the King trial verdict flared across the nation,

  erupting in violence here.

  But police moved in swiftly to force angry mobs from downtown, where

  windows were smashed, cars overturned and people beaten.

  Mayor Maynard Jackson imposed a curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. today, saying

  he'd never seen such destruction in his city. Almost 100 people were arrested and

  two dozen hurt - one man suffered critical head injuries.

  ``This is how Rodney King felt,'' rioters yelled as they stomped on a white man

  and ripped off his shirt.

  The demonstrators - at one point swelling to about 300 - defied pleas from

  community leaders to stay calm and began smashing glass and overturning cars

  outside the Capitol.

  ``All around here, store fronts have been bashed in. They're beating up white

  people. It's a very tense situation,'' said Love Skyers, a shopkeeper at the Five

  Points Flea Market.

  But 500 officers from several police agencies swarmed the area clad in riot gear.

  Police sealed off downtown at 3 p.m., moving people out of the area.

  As darkness took over the city, police remained poised for the worst.

  ``We don't know what to expect, but we're prepared for anything,'' said Julius

  Derico, a division chief who headed the police sweep.

  Police said non-violent college students were replaced by rowdier demonstrators

  as the mob moved.

  ``We're arresting as many as we can,'' police Lt. Louis Arcangeli said.

  Elsewhere:

  - San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan declared a state of emergency and ordered a

  curfew after crowds smashed department store windows and overturned cars in

  downtown areas. Earlier, hundreds of protesters took over two highways,

  jamming traffic on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

  - In Las Vegas, a mob roamed the west side, setting fires and firing shots, which

  hit one officer in the leg. Police closed the area and imposed a curfew.

  - In Madison, Wis., windows of 34 patrol cars were smashed at a city garage.

  Notes left at the scene: ``Justice for King'' and ``All pigs must die.

  - In Denver, demonstrators called for a citizen review commission.

  - In Cleveland, protesters at City Hall chased a passing van flying Confederate

  and Nazi flags.

  - In Boston, a call went out for residents to wear black ribbons in protest.

  - In Chicago, city officials were out talking with community leaders to alleviate

  tensions. They'll also visit schools.

  - In San Diego, 1,000 college and high school students walked out of class.

  College students burned cops in effigy.

  - In Tampa, Fla., dozens of youths threw rocks and bottles and set fires. Two

  teens were arrested after shots were fired at police.

  Contributing: Jonathan T. Lovitt and Phil Wong

  CUTLINE:DOWNTOWN ATLANTA: A white man is kicked by young blacks

  on Forsyth Street on Thursday after a peaceful demonstration turned violent.

  PHOTO;b/w,W.A. Bridges Jr.,AP