Former LAPD cop rushes home to find man from iconic 1992 riot picture on his porch after LA Marathon mix-up

The former cop raced home when his surveillance system signaled that an unidentified man was lingering on his front porch.

But before you jump to conclusions about what you would do in the same situation, make sure you digest this entire story.

Stan LeMelle, 65, was at the gym around 8:30 a.m. on Monday, March 25 when he got a notification on his phone. He watched the video image of the man who rang his doorbell. In that moment, LeMelle had no idea he was about to learn a lesson that, he said, was a message from “straight from God” about kindness and connectivity.

“I kept saying, ‘Hello, can I help you?’” said LeMelle, who retired from the Los Angeles Police Department in 2005 and lives in Chino.

His microphone wasn’t working. The man wasn’t leaving.

LeMelle zoomed into his driveway and prepared himself for a confrontation.

He watched the man come off the porch and approach his car.

“My thoughts? I was not in a tactical position of advantage,” LeMelle said.

LeMelle got out of the car and braced himself for a confrontation.

“It must have looked like someone was breaking into his house,” said Mark Craig, 49, the man who was on the porch.

Icon of the rebellion

Twenty-seven years ago, Mark Craig was ready for a confrontation with police.

It was April 29, 1992. Craig was a 23-year-old kid then, angry about the not guilty verdicts in the trials of police officers accused of beating motorist Rodney King.

Craig drove to LAPD headquarters at Parker Center and joined the protest. Police officers got into formation to protect the building.

With an angry look on his face and wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a peace sign, Craig was photographed by Orange County Register photographer Paul Rodriguez. Protesters had set the police parking lot guard shack on fire. Craig was standing near the flames. That photo was used on the cover of Newsweek magazine.

Craig became an icon of the rebellion. His image was part of a California African American Museum display in 2017. It was called “No Justice, No Peace.”

Under siege

On the first night of the riot, Stan LeMelle was not on the clock. He was on vacation.

He was working on a recreational vehicle in his front yard to prepare it for a camping trip. When he heard the news of the riot, he defied his wife’s warning and drove to Parker Center.

“I felt like I had to go,” said LeMelle, a cop for 28 years. “The guys I worked with were under siege.”

LeMelle went to work, canceling his vacation during the riot.

“I had to be with my brother officers,” LeMelle said.

Lost and found

Both men, the cop and the protester, became runners. LeMelle has run 25 marathons. Craig, who works as a tour guide in Los Angeles, has run 10.

Sunday both men ran in the Los Angeles Marathon.

Somewhere, in the second half of the race, LeMelle’s fanny pack opened and his LAPD identification card, his driver’s license and his debit card fell out.

Craig said he was near mile 20 when he noticed three cards on the ground. He scooped them up, stuffed them in his fanny pack and kept running.

When Craig got to mile 23, he saw a police officer standing along the race route. He quickly gave the cards to the officer and explained he found them on the ground during the race.

While he was running, LeMelle got a call from his wife saying someone had turned in his cards.

Here’s the problem, Craig had accidentally handed over his own driver’s license and inadvertently kept LeMelle’s.

LeMelle finished the marathon in 4:56. Craig finished in 4:57.

‘You’re an angel’

The next morning, Craig decided to make sure the cop got his driver’s license back. So he drove to his house to hand it off in person.

“I would want somebody to do that for me,” said Craig, who lives in Upland, about a 20-minute drive to LeMelle’s house.

When Craig approached the car, he saw LeMelle get out. LeMelle had a stern look on his face, ready for a confrontation.

“I think you might have lost something,” Craig said, flashing the ex-cop’s driver’s license.

LeMelle said he “felt like a heel” because he had assumed the worst about the man on the porch.

“Oh my God, you’re an angel,” LeMelle said.

LeMelle thanked Craig for going out of his way to return the license.

“He’s a nice person,” Craig said. “A Godly person. I busted his stereotype.”

Craig didn’t stay long. As he left, he said, “Google Mark Craig and L.A. riots.”

LeMelle went inside, got on his computer and was blown away. Among several stories about the riots and Craig’s role, he found a story by the Southern California News Group. He sent an email that he titled “Icon of the LA Riots.” He wrote: “In 1992, he viewed me as part of a repressive, unjust system.  In 2019, he saw this former cop as another runner he could help.”

“It was a come-to-Jesus moment for me, a moment of clarity,” LeMelle said. “He touched my heart.”

LeMelle and Craig got together later that afternoon and took pictures together. They are now Facebook friends.

“There are miracles,” LeMelle said.