Four officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, and Theodore Briseno) were accused of using unnecessary force in a March 3, 1991 beating of an African-American motorist Rodney Glen King.
The case known as the Rodney King Trials was based on footage recorded on home video by a bystander (George Holliday).
The now-infamous video was broadcast nationally and globally and caused tremendous response because the beating was believed to be racially motivated.
Due to the heavy media coverage of the arrest, Judge Stanley Weisberg of the California Court of Appeals approved a change of venue to neighboring Ventura County, using an available courtroom in Simi Valley for the state case against the officers.

On April 29, 1992, a Ventura County jury acquitted three of the four officers (Koon, Wind, and Briseno) and did not reach a verdict on one (Powell).
Many believed that the unexpected outcome was a result of the racial and social make-up of the jury, which included ten white people, one Filipino person, and one Hispanic woman.
None were Simi Valley residents.
 Among the jury were three who had been security guards or in military service.
 The acquittal led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots and mass protest around the country.

In 1972, Boys Town West was founded in the eastern end of Simi Valley.
The youth camp/home facility is based on an older larger one in Boys Town, Nebraska.
Four officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, and Theodore Briseno) were accused of using unnecessary force in a March 3, 1991 beating of an African-American motorist Rodney Glen King. The case known as the Rodney King Trials was based on footage recorded on home video by a bystander (George Holliday). The now-infamous video was broadcast nationally and globally and caused tremendous response because the beating was believed to be racially motivated. Due to the heavy media coverage of the arrest, Judge Stanley Weisberg of the California Court of Appeals approved a change of venue to neighboring Ventura County, using an available courtroom in Simi Valley for the state case against the officers.
On April 29, 1992, a Ventura County jury acquitted three of the four officers (Koon, Wind, and Briseno) and did not reach a verdict on one (Powell). Many believed that the unexpected outcome was a result of the racial and social make-up of the jury, which included ten white people, one Filipino person, and one Hispanic woman. None were Simi Valley residents.  Among the jury were three who had been security guards or in military service.  The acquittal led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots and mass protest around the country.
In 1972, Boys Town West was founded in the eastern end of Simi Valley. The youth camp/home facility is based on an older larger one in Boys Town, Nebraska.
Simi Valley, California