And, Now, What Will Be the Verdict on Los Angeles Itself? : Almost a year after the riots, a jury delivers a sense of justice in the volatile King trial, lifting a huge cloud from the city

There are times in the course of human events when an individual or a family or a city or a state or a nation--having been thrown off balance and off course--regains its balance, rights its course and goes on to achieve its destiny.

That moment may have occurred in a federal courtroom in downtown Los Angeles just after 7 a.m. Saturday.

Then, a jury of eight men and four women, charged with rendering judgment on complex charges against four police officers in a difficult and emotional case, delivered its verdict. And it was then, as a world media audience listened in to hear the judgment--guilty, guilty; not guilty, not guilty--that one could almost hear a sigh of immense relief from a tense and troubled Los Angeles.

THE RELENTLESS BUILDUP: It had seemed an eternity since the early morning of March 3, 1991--when speeding motorist Rodney G. King was beaten by police officers who had no idea their ferocious conduct was being videotaped by an amateur cameraman. Ever since then Los Angeles had been like a city caught in a nightmarish struggle centering on that pivotal event. Saturday brought a sense of real change.

To be sure, no one event or trial or verdict can right every wrong, settle every account, square all grievances--and surely no reasonable person had been hoping for all that from the King federal civil rights trial. But after the shocking acquittals in the state proceeding last year in Simi Valley, and the convulsive riots that followed, shaking not just the city but the nation, the hope was that the justice system would not fail to reach a verdict that reasonable people would agree reflected the appalling reality of what that videotape showed.

Maybe now--one sensed from the surge of emotion around Los Angeles Saturday--this oft-wondrous city could begin to put behind it the ugliness of last year and the bitter divisiveness that followed, and make itself whole to meet the tough challenges that we all know we face but were not entirely sure we could handle. Until Saturday.

Yes, there is a little more confidence in Los Angeles now. Not overconfidence, of course. But, first of all, more confidence in the criminal justice system itself--certainly on the federal side, which once again in a crucial civil rights matter came to the rescue of a case that had been botched at the state level. Recall, too, that it was a Republican President, George Bush, who last year ordered the Justice Department investigation; and now a Democratic President, Bill Clinton, was hailing the verdicts from the East Coast. In America civil rights and racial justice must be, always, a bipartisan commitment.

Certainly there is a little more confidence, too, in the jury system. Who can ever repay these 12 federal jurors for sticking through this extraordinary six-week trial, and 40 hours of deliberation, before coming to a conclusion that was rich in common sense and fairness? To be sure, their deliberations were helped by the wisdom of U.S. District Judge John G. Davies, who impaneled a jury that was more diverse than the one in Simi Valley; by vigorous defense counsel, and by the crack prosecution team of Asst. U.S. Atty. Steven D. Clymer and Justice Department attorney Barry F. Kowalski.

When the U.S. system works--and it surely doesn’t always--it is an awesome construction to behold. How many other places in the world offer even the potential for this kind of justice, however slow it was in coming?

TRIAL TO DELIVERANCE: It is now time to put the bitterness of these tragic events behind us. The rancor that flowed from that horrible encounter in March of 1991 and the not guilty verdicts and hung jury of the state trial now belongs in the past. It is time to stop condemning all police officers and realize the difficulty and enormity of the job they face every dangerous day and dangerous night. The verdicts suggest that those few police who brutalize members of the community will be held accountable. However, the federal courts should be the last resort for police misconduct. Such prosecutions are appropriate only after local authorities fail. We all hope there will never again be a situation like this, certainly not under new Police Chief Willie L. Williams.

We also hope that never again will Los Angeles be asleep at the switch when history summons it to the challenge. Last year at about this time, when civil disorder erupted, there was a pathetic vacuum at the center of the city. The police chief failed to do his job, the mayor was not equal to the challenge--and citizens were left leaderless. But now, in addition to a new police chief, and the promising and impressive police reforms passed by voters last year through the astute and subtle work of then private attorney Warren Christopher, the city has the opportunity, beginning with Tuesday’s municipal election, to select new leadership. That process itself can add to the sense of renewal and redemption.

NOW TO REBUILD L.A.: Last year Mayor Tom Bradley dumped the rebuilding job not on one of the many city agencies available but on the shoulders of some business and civic leaders, headed by 1984 Olympic impresario Peter V. Ueberroth. Right call or not, that decision left the private-sector organization Rebuild L.A. with a herculean challenge. Since it is still the big game in town, it needs helpful suggestions as well as continued support. Among our specific suggestions is that it work harder with local government and harder with grass-roots leaders to achieve a more successful public-private partnership. RLA--with guidance from the mayor and the City Council--must produce more results if it is to retain credibility.

Another key to rebuilding the depressed areas of Los Angeles is encouraging small-business entrepreneurs by helping them gain access to capital and negotiate the government red tape that is a hurdle to economic development. Pride of ownership gives stability and a stake in the neighborhood. Of course these new businesses can flourish only if Chief Williams makes good on his commitment to community policing to help provide a sense of security for employers and employees. Crime is the No. 1 enemy of economic development and urban renewal.

WASHINGTON’S ROLE: Even if Rebuild L.A. works out brilliantly and City Hall gets its act together under a new mayor, Los Angeles by itself cannot do all that it needs to do. It needs help, and as one of the nation’s premier cities and great world gateways it deserves every bit it can get.

For starters, President Clinton should come to Los Angeles this week to elaborate on his plan to deliver help to urban America. We need a sense of his commitment, his energy and his presidential vision. His $16.3-billion emergency jobs bill is a start. Republicans should accept his compromise and stop blocking the best immediate hope for a calm summer. Clinton and others in the nation’s capital understand that jobs are key to urban peace and prosperity. The Clinton package also promises money for highway construction--another job generator--and support for small business loans. Senate Republicans must not again thwart promises made to the cities by the White House. They must remember that the President was elected with a mandate for change.

The Administration’s other aspirations--a police corps, a broad scholarship program, community development banks, welfare reform, more housing assistance--can help reverse the decline of the cities. Help must come from Washington now to nurture not rage but hope in the young people of urban America. A comprehensive urban plan can fill the void of idleness and despair with useful learning and life-affirming work.

THE FUTURE OF L.A.: A final few thoughts about our great and often misunderstood city. We are a complex place, not the simplistic Day-Glo caricature often painted by ignorant visitors in the media trade. Our schools have children speaking more languages than any other schools in the world; our people are, by far, more diverse in national origins, culture and economic achievement than the sunny tourist postcard pictures of Los Angeles. Moreover, we are not just a city but a county, and not just a county but a region, and not just a region but a culture and a way of life. We are host to immigrants from all over the world, but especially to our south; and we participate in commerce and trade from every port in the world, but especially from the Pacific Rim.

We have great institutions of higher learning, and dedicated teachers at every level of schooling. We have hard-working shopkeepers and strong factories. We have scientists in the front ranks of world research and technology experts leading the way into the 21st Century.

The last year has been a great trial not only for four police officers but for all of us. The trial of the officers is now over. Our trial continues. But we have one advantage: We are both judge and jury; our fate is in our own hands. Will we work together, rebuild and realize a destiny for greatness? Or will Saturday’s verdicts become an excuse to continue to do business as usual?

That we cannot afford. We must make Los Angeles a better place, for everyone. And Washington must help. For this is America. And Los Angeles is too big a part of it--too great, too historic, too valuable, too necessary--to be allowed to fail.

Other editorials appear in their regular Sunday spot in the Opinion section.