George Holliday

George Holliday, the plumber who inadvertently reshaped Los Angeles politics when he videotaped the police beating of Rodney G. King, has some advice for other ordinary people who just happen to be in the right place at the right time with a video camera. "Consult somebody that knows the business before you approach" TV stations, Holliday said this week at the North Hollywood plumbing company he manages. "It will make everything easier and happier for everybody."

George Holliday, the plumber who inadvertently reshaped Los Angeles politics when he videotaped the police beating of Rodney G. King, had some advice Tuesday for other ordinary people who just happen to be in the right place at the right time with a video camera. "Consult somebody that knows the business before you approach" TV stations, Holliday said at the North Hollywood plumbing company he manages. "It will make everything easier and happier for everybody."

The night before a newly formed support group for Police Chief Daryl F. Gates was unveiled at a news conference at Parker Center, its leaders met at the home of actress Peggy Rowe Estrada for lessons in how to respond to reporters' questions. Playing reporter at the mock press conference March 20 was political consultant Eric Rose, an adviser to Gates during his exploratory campaign for governor in 1988.

Blinking nervously under the hot camera lights and surrounded by news reporters, the man who shot a video that created the Los Angeles Police Department beating scandal announced Thursday that he is going Hollywood. At the Los Angeles Press Club, the plumbing business manager said he is negotiating with an unnamed production company to make "The George Holliday Life Story." "I'm in it now, I might as well," said Holliday, 31, who documented the beating of Rodney G.

The Valley Bureau--the Los Angeles Police Department jurisdiction in which officers were videotaped beating a motorist last week--is getting a new commander, but police officials said Tuesday that the change has nothing to do with the incident that has led to calls for the ouster of Chief Daryl F. Gates. After less than six weeks as the top-ranking police officer in the San Fernando Valley, Cmdr.

With a crush of reporters and TV cameras gathered outside closed doors, the Los Angeles County grand jury Monday began hearing testimony about the controversial police beating of an Altadena man. The 23-member citizens panel, which may hand down indictments by the end of this week, heard testimony for about two hours Monday afternoon.

Local TV news directors acknowledge that the risk of encountering faked home video footage is probably on the rise now that more and more camcorder owners realize stations are willing to pay cash for newsworthy tapes. But all of them are confident in their ability to spot a fraud long before it hits the air.

George Holliday wasn't thinking about civil rights early Sunday when he aimed his new video camera at the street below his second-floor apartment and documented a scene that has shocked the nation. Getting the gadget to work and capturing "just a bit of action on my new camcorder" were the chief concerns of the Lake View Terrace resident, who admits he was barely aware of what was unfolding as he filmed it.