The 1980 Miami riots were race riots that occurred in Miami, Florida, starting in earnest on May 18, 1980, following an all-White male jury acquitting four Dade County Public Safety Department officers in the death of Arthur McDuffie (December 3, 1946 – December 21, 1979), a Black insurance salesman and United States Marine Corps lance corporal. McDuffie was beaten to death by four police officers after a traffic stop. After the officers were tried and acquitted on charges including manslaughter and evidence tampering, a riot broke out in the Black neighborhoods of Overtown and Liberty City on the night of May 17. Riots continued until May 20, resulting in at least 18 deaths and an estimated $100 million in property damage. In 1981 Dade County settled a civil lawsuit filed by McDuffie's family for $1.1 million. The 1980 Miami riots were the deadliest urban riots in a single city since the 1967 Detroit riot and remained such until the 1992 Los Angeles riots twelve years later. Background Death of Arthur McDuffie In the early morning hours of December 17, 1979, a group of six White police officers stopped thirty-three-year-old McDuffie, who was riding a black-and-orange 1973 Kawasaki Z1 motorcycle. McDuffie had accumulated traffic citations and was riding with a suspended license. According to the initial police report, he had led police on an eight-minute high-speed chase through residential streets at speeds of over . In that initial report, four of the officers involved in the chase claimed McDuffie had run a red light or stop sign and subsequently led police on an eight-minute chase. Sgt. Herbert Evans (who was not at the scene) added that McDuffie lost control of his motorcycle while making a left turn and, according to Officer Charles Veverka, McDuffie subsequently struck his head on the ground, after which he attempted to flee on foot. The officers caught him and a scuffle ensued in which McDuffie allegedly kicked Sgt. Ira Diggs, who wrote "the subject was observed to be fighting violently." Police drove a squad car over the motorbike to make the incident look like an accident. McDuffie was transported to a nearby hospital where he died four days later of his injuries. McDuffie's ex-wife, who was planning to re-marry him on February 7, 1980, was on duty as a nurse's aide when he was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital. The coroner's report concluded that he had