Community activists, police watchdog groups, and national analysts are trying to assess the similarities and differences between the beating of the woman on the side of a major Los Angeles freeway, the 10, on July 1, and the beating of Mr. King after a high-speed car chase on March 3, 1991. The acquittal of four white police officers in the King case led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the costliest in US history with more than 50 people killed and 2,000 injured. The comparison of the two incidents has provided ample insight into how far the issue of police brutality has, or has not, progressed, analysts say. Recorded on the cell phone of a passerby, the video shows a light-skinned California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer – who remains unnamed – repeatedly punching a woman in the face on the side of the freeway.

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