Daryl Gates, reporter to debate in Orono

ORONO — As the federal trial of four police officers accused of beating Rodney King nears its end, their former chief and a Los Angeles Times reporter will debate last year’s state case and the subsequent riots.

Daryl Gates, who held the chief’s post at the time of the notorious videotaped beating and resigned last year, will meet Times Washington correspondent Sam Fulwood at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, at the Maine Center for the Arts.

The debate is free and open to the public, and will focus on the events surrounding the beating of the black motorist by white officers and the three days of violence that erupted after their acquittal on most of the charges in a state trial last year. In the current trial, the officers are charged with violating King’s civil rights.