Director John Ridley talks 'Let It Fall,' a documentary on the 1992 LA riots

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Academy Award winner and director John Ridley discussed his new documentary "Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992," which focuses on the events leading up to the 1992 L.A. riots.

Ridley spoke with ABC7 anchor Marc Brown, who covered the riots and was also featured in the documentary.

Ridley said the name for the documentary focuses on a psychological feeling that people choose not to intervene in events they are aware of that ultimately cause things to fall apart and lead to bigger issues.

He said he wanted to put context to the riots and starts the documentary in 1982, when it was the end of what people called the "chokehold era." He said the LAPD ended the application of subduing suspects with the move because it ultimately turned out to be deadly.

"At that time, there was the introduction of the PR-24, the metal baton, which obviously then came into play with the assault against Rodney King," he said. "It wasn't one event. It wasn't one thing. It wasn't one night, and certainly not one community - so many people were ultimately affected by it."

He hopes people will understand how everything is connected after watching his documentary.