Unlike the 1992 riots, protests have been mostly peaceful and have been confined to a roughly five-block stretch of downtown LA, a tiny patch in the sprawling city of nearly 4 million people.

The riots followed the acquittal of white police officers who were videotaped beating Black motorist Rodney King.

The horrifying Los Angeles protests have been compared to the historic Rodney King rampage, on the anniversary of the cop beating victim's death.