The Times Poll: Verdicts Anger Ventura County

A clear majority of residents in Ventura County--where the Rodney G. King beating case was tried--say they not only disagree with the verdicts but are angered by the decisions, according to a Los Angeles Times Poll.

Because the jury pool was drawn from suburban, largely white Ventura County, residents there have been criticized as insensitive to blacks and other minorities.

But the poll of 591 residents showed them to be almost as unhappy with the verdicts as people in Los Angeles.

In the survey, 69% disagreed with the not guilty verdicts delivered by the jury in Simi Valley, as did 81% in Los Angeles. And a large majority of Ventura County residents polled--68%--said they were angered by the not guilty verdicts in the trial of the four officers, compared to 76% of those who responded to a Times poll in Los Angeles earlier this week.

“There is no humanly possible way a jury could sit there and hear the testimony and see the tape and come up with the verdict they had,” said Anita Branch, 34, a white Ventura homemaker who was among those surveyed. “Some of the police officers who were on the scene were admitting that the officers were wrong. In that verdict, there was no concern for Rodney King or the wrong that was done.”

The poll, supervised by Times Poll director John Brennan, interviewed the Ventura County residents on Tuesday. It has a margin of errror of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Of all those interviewed, two-thirds said the jury should have included black members to ensure a fair trial. A plurality of 46% said they thought the jury was biased toward the police officers, with 38% saying it was unbiased. In Los Angeles, nearly three-quarters felt the jury should have included blacks; 69% thought the jury was biased in the officers’ favor.

Overall, 45% of Ventura County residents polled said they disapproved of the way the trial was conducted, compared to 58% in Los Angeles County. Of those interviewed in Ventura County, 37% approved of the way the trial was conducted, but even in that group a narrow majority disagreed with the verdicts.

Although in general agreement with Los Angeles residents on the outcome of the King case, Ventura County residents expressed far more confidence in their county’s criminal justice system. They also expressed greater satisfaction with their law enforcement officers than with those in Los Angeles.

For instance, when asked if they thought the criminal justice system in their community were basically sound, 67% said yes, contrasted with only 31% in Los Angeles. And an overwhelming majority in Ventura County--84%--said they approved of the way law enforcement services are administered in their community.

Ventura County’s population of 669,000 is 2% black, 26% Latino and 5% Asian. Residents were asked if they felt they were incapable of judging a case such as the Rodney King beating trial because they lacked understanding of the realities of life in Los Angeles.

Three out of five rejected that suggestion, but a sizable minority--38%--agreed with it.

“The case should have been tried where it happened--L.A.,” said Russell Willis, a white resident of Thousand Oaks. “Out here, you have people who have come out to retire and are more elite.”

Russell Rodriguez, 38, a self-employed gardener from Oxnard, took issue with Willis’ position.

“I still think they would be able to impanel an impartial jury here,” Rodriguez said. “I still think that people around here can be fair-minded.”

Asked how often they went into the heart of Los Angeles, 32% of the Ventura County residents answered at least once a month; 6% said never. And 45% said they had lived in Los Angeles County.

Just over half of those interviewed said they were angry over the criticism leveled at Ventura County as a result of the King verdicts; 42% said they believed the county’s image had been hurt somewhat and 25% felt it had been hurt a great deal.

“It already has had an effect on the image of Ventura County” said Mary Embree, 59, a white, free-lance writer from Ventura. “I think it’s being looked on as having primarily white, middle-class and upper-middle-class people who have not had exposure to minorities and therefore they have a lack of understanding.”

Asked if they sympathized with the feelings of anger ignited in Los Angeles black communities as a result of the King beating trial verdict, 79% of those responding said yes. The same question drew about the same response in Los Angeles County.

Overall, 55% said they felt sympathy for the jurors who decided the outcome of the trial.

The poll found that an overwhelming majority, 80%, favor the U.S. Justice Department moving ahead with its investigation of whether the four police defendants violated Rodney King’s civil rights. This compares with 87% in Los Angeles who called for continuing the investigation.

Brennan said dissatisfaction with the verdicts crossed most major demographic lines. “Even those who identified themselves as conservatives disagreed with the verdict, as did those who said they have family or friends who are in law enforcement,” he said.

Although 1990 census figures indicated that most Ventura County residents live in segregated neighborhoods, this poll found 82% saying that they work, go to school or attend religious services with someone of another race. Nationwide, only 70% in a 1991 Times poll said they interacted with people of another race.

Times staff writer Phil Sneiderman contributed to this story.

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Poll interviewed 591 Ventura County adults by telephone May 5. Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in the county. Random-digit dialing techniques were used to ensure that listed and unlisted numbers were contacted. Results were weighted slightly to conform with census figures for sex, race, age and household size. The margin of sampling error for percentages based on the total sample is plus or minus five percentage points. Poll results can also be influenced by other factors, such as the wording of questions and the order in which questions are presented.

THE TIMES POLL: Two Views

Here is a comparison between opinions of residents in Ventura County, where the Rodney G. King beating trial was held, and people in Los Angeles.

THE VERDICT

Do you agree or disagree with the jury’s verdict of not guilty in the Rodney King beating trial?

Ventura County Los Angeles City *Agree strongly 9% 8% *Agree somewhat 9% 5% *Disagree somewhat 12% 10% *Disagree strongly 57% 71%

THE ANGER

Would you say that you are sympathetic, somewhat sympathetic, not too sympathetic or not sympathetic at all to the feelings of anger in Los Angeles’ black communities that have been ignited as a result of the Rodney King beating trial verdict?

Ventura County Los Angeles City *Very sympathetic 38% 39% *Somewhat sympathetic 41% 40% *Not too sympathetic 6% 6% *Not at all sympathetic 12% 13%

THE BIAS

Do you think the jury at the trial of the four police officers was biased in favor of the police officers, or was it biased against the police officers or was the jury generally unbiased?

Ventura County Los Angeles City *Biased in favor 46% 69% *Biased against -- 1% *Generally unbiased 38% 24%

THE SYSTEM

Is the criminal justice system in your community is basically sound or not?

Ventura County Los Angeles City *Essentially good 32% 7% *Needs improvement 35% 24% *Needs many improvements 10% 28% *Needs fundamental overhaul 15% 37%

The Times Poll interviewed 591 residents of Ventura County, with a margin of error of five percentage points in either direction, and separately the Times Poll interviewed 888 residents in the city of Los Angeles, with a margin of error of four percentage points in either direction.

NOTE: Numbers may not add up to 100% because “don’t know” responses are not shown.