Crime & Safety

L.A. Riots in Monrovia: Police Officer's Wife Injured, Man Loses Ear

On the 20th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots, we look back at what police had to deal with as the unrest spread into Monrovia.

Compared to the carnage in Los Angeles, the strife in Monrovia during the L.A. riots was relatively tame. But Monrovia police certainly had their hands full when the riots broke out on Apr. 29, 1992.

The Los Angeles Times was there to document the discord as it spread into Monrovia and other parts of the San Gabriel Valley. Here are the dispatches from the police that the paper included in its article "Pockets of Violence, But No Rampage," printed on May 7, 1992.

Wednesday, Apr. 29, 1992

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  • 8:06 p.m., Monrovia: An incendiary device is thrown from a passing car at Central and Alta Vista avenues, but the device fails to ignite.
  • 8:10 p.m., Monrovia: A police officer's wife is injured when objects are thrown at her car, shattering her windshield.
  • 10:15 p.m., Monrovia: A 53-year-old man at Santa Teresita Hospital in Duarte reports being assaulted by a carload of black males who jumped out and struck him in the head with a 3-foot stick, cutting off part of an ear.
  • 10:15 p.m., Monrovia: A trash fire is reported at the Circle K market on Colorado Boulevard.
  • 11:36 p.m., Monrovia: A firebomb is thrown into a house on Colorado Boulevard, but the device fails to ignite.

Thursday, Apr. 30, 1992

  • 6:28 p.m., Monrovia: A man and woman are found unloading looted items from a car in the 800 block of West Duarte Road. The items, including cases of liquor, beauty supplies and appliances, some in slightly burned packages, are recovered by the police but the couple are not arrested.
  • 9:24 p.m., Monrovia: Two men are arrested after they are seen leaving a business on East Huntington Drive with a lamp and a VCR. Liquor cases are inside their car. Both admit to looting.
  • 9:57 p.m., Monrovia: A trash fire is reported in a dumpster in the 2600 block of South California Avenue.

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