NAACP to Monitor Trial of 4 Officers : King case: The group fears that the area’s conservatism may benefit the defendants.

When four Los Angeles police officers stand trial in Ventura County next month for the beating of Rodney G. King, the NAACP says it will have monitors in the courtroom to ensure that the area’s conservative nature does not skew the proceeding in favor of the accused men.

Representatives of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People’s Ventura and Los Angeles county chapters said Wednesday that they will have two or more members of the organization attend each day of the trial to ensure that a fair hearing is conducted. The trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 3 in the East Ventura County Courthouse in Simi Valley.

NAACP officials said they are concerned about jury selection because of Ventura County’s racial demographics, political conservatism and because the region is home to many Los Angeles County law enforcement officers.

The 1980 Census found that about 2,000 active law enforcement officers live in Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, but police officials in both cities said the figure has doubled in the past decade. The 1990 Census breakdowns are not yet available, officials said.

“We want to be there and let people know that we are going to monitor the case from start to finish to ensure that a fair and impartial trial does take place,” said Jose DeSosa, president of the California Conference for the NAACP.

John R. Hatcher III, president of the Ventura County chapter of the NAACP, said the organization would have preferred that the case remain in Los Angeles. He said blacks make up about 2% of Ventura County’s population, compared to about 10.5% in Los Angeles County.

Hatcher said that because a large concentration of Los Angeles police officers live in eastern Ventura County, he is concerned that relatives and friends of officers could end up on the jury and possibly sway the trial’s outcome.

“The misconception is that Rodney King is the one on trial,” he said. “The reality is that the four officers . . . are the ones who are on trial. We just want to make sure that the selection of the jury is given a fair shake.”

DeSosa said if the NAACP finds something objectionable in the way the jury selection or the King trial is conducted, the organization will protest the court proceedings and consult its attorneys to determine what legal recourse is available. Both prosecutors and defense attorneys in the case have said they believe that a fair trial will be obtained in Ventura County.

“I don’t have any concerns at all,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Terry L. White said. “We believe we will receive a fair trial. We’re going to present the evidence, and we believe the evidence will show the defendants are guilty.”

Michael Stone, who is representing Officer Laurence Powell, said, “I don’t think there is any reason for suspicion” about the case being tried in Ventura County.

Lawyers for Sgt. Stacy Koon, Officer Theodore Briseno and Timothy Wind have said they are pleased with the choice.

Steven L. Herman, King’s attorney, could not be reached for comment Wednesday but said earlier that he was confident that the officers would get a fair trial in Simi Valley.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stanley M. Weisberg decided on Nov. 26 to transfer the trial to Ventura County after rejecting such sites as Orange, Riverside and Alameda counties.

The trial was ordered moved out of Los Angeles County in July by an appeals court, which ruled that excessive publicity and a highly charged political climate made it impossible for the officers to receive a fair hearing. Defense attorneys requested the change of venue.

Ventura County officials said the case will be handled in the same manner as all other cases.

“In our view, fair trials take place day in and day out in Ventura County from the same jury pool, and we believe the same will be true in the Rodney King case,” said Vincent J. O’Neill, chief deputy district attorney.

Public Defender Kenneth Clayman agreed.

“I can understand their concerns,” Clayman said of the NAACP. “But I have a lot of confidence in the jury system and the fairness of people that sit on a jury. I think it will be handled fairly.”