1989 Miami riot facts for kids

The 1989 Miami riot was sparked after police officer William Lozano shot Clement Lloyd, who was fleeing another officer and trying to run over Officer Lozano on his motorcycle. He crashed into a car and his passenger, Allan Blanchard, was also killed. Four days of rioting later took place in Overtown. On January 21, after the shooting rioting erupted in Overtown and the next day in Liberty City. Schools were closed and police cordoned off a 130-block area and teargassed rioting crowds.

Lozano was convicted of manslaughter; it was not until 2015, when Nouman Raja was charged in the shooting of Corey Jones, that another Florida law enforcement officer was sentenced for an on-duty shooting. However, Lozano was granted a new trial, on the basis that the trial should not have been held in Miami, because of racial tensions, and that the prosecution should not have been allowed to introduce evidence about police procedures and Lozano's training. In overturning Lozano's conviction, tha appeals court argued that the jury in his trial had been influenced by fears that failing to convict would lead to further unrest. A new trial was held in Orlando, Florida, and Lozano was acquitted.