Why did this (PAGST Helmet) work better than this (Brit steel pot)?
This is a question that quite frankly I haven’t got a comprehensive answer to yet. One thing of note is that the republican/nationalist element predominantly within Catholic communities in Northern Ireland regarded British troops as from the same governmental “sphere” as the RUC, seeing both as “invaders” and therefore inherently untrustworthy (Macstiofan interview for starters), whereas basically everyone in LA deemed federal troops sent to quell that disturbance as from a different governmental “sphere” and therefore more worthy of respect (LA riots/Operation Rio).
From at least the 1980’s to 1992, the LAPD had a well-earned reputation of meting out beatings to suspects, guilty and innocent alike, towards the ends of administering “street justice”. This reputation came to the fore in the weeks immediately following the night of March 4th, 1991, when five of its officers were taped beating a detained suspect, Rodney King, after he had been driving recklessly at 55-115 miles per hour while intoxicated and possibly under the influence of PCP [NYTIMES/Us news]. On April 29th, the officers involved in beating him were acquitted of all charges against them, and this kicked off the six-day 1992 LA riots.