1967 Newark riots

In 1967, a Newark, NJ cab driver named John Smith had been brutally beaten by police for illegally passing a double-parked police car and then resisting arrest.

This set off the Newark Riots which plunged the city into five days of violence, looting and destruction — ultimately leaving 23 people dead, 725 people injured and close to 1,500 arrested. Property damage exceeded $10 million.

The riot is often attributed to the decline of Newark and its neighboring communities, as many of the city's residents fled to outerlying communities immediately following the riots.