Kara Paulsen
Ms Seibert
Honors English 9
4 May 2017
Rodney King Riots of 1992
In May of 1992, Manhattan borough president and NLC Advisory Council's Liaison for Diversity in Governance’s Ruth Messinger expressed, “Violence begets violence. We must have the strength to break this cycle” out of frustration resulting from detrimental civil rights riots stemming from the brutal beating of an African American man (Baker). From April 29th to May 1st of 1992 protestors throughout the Los Angeles area displayed violent actions while rioting against a racially biased verdict. The 1992 Rodney King riots in Los Angeles show how mob mentality can negatively impact an entire city.
On March 3rd, 1991, African American citizen Rodney King found himself engaged in a high speed chase with a few Los Angeles policemen. Officers Laurence Powell, Timothy Ward, Stacey Koon, and Theodore Biseno eventually caught up to 27 year old King at Dodger Stadium, where they proceeded to brutally beat him. Witness George Holliday filmed the four officers striking King with their batons over 50 times, and eventually sold the footage to KTLA in Los Angeles, which would soon find itself on news and broadcasts nationwide. This event was eventually taken to trial, where the four police officers involved in the violence against King were not found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and excessive use of force. After hearing the final verdict, many people throughout the city and beyond were enraged, with even mayor Tom Bradley saying, “Today the jury asked us to accept the senseless and brutal beating of a helpless man” (Wallenfeldt). Not only were people angry about the verdict of the trial because of the video evidence and obvious ethical issues, but also because of his race and the belief that his civil rights had been violated. The outcome of Rodney King’s trial angered many Americans across the country, and eventually caused them to take actions they normally would not.
Later, on April 29, 1992, riots began to break out in the city of Los Angeles and other areas around the country. During the Rodney King riots, citizens began to experience deindividuation and feelings of anonymity, making them do things that would normally go against a
Though sparked by the Rodney King verdict, there were many other causes of the riots that erupted on the streets of Los Angeles on April 29, 1992. The Los Angeles riots in 1992 were devastating. The obvious issue portrayed through the media was black versus white. If you did not live in Los Angeles or California chances are you did not hear full coverage of the story, you heard a simple cut and dry portrayal of the events in South Central. If you heard one thing about the riots, it was that there was a man named Rodney King and he was a black male beaten with excessive force by four white Los Angeles police officers on Los Angeles concrete. The media portrayed the riots as black rage on the streets due to the
In 1991, Los Angeles police harshly beat African American Rodney King while a civilian videotaped the incident, leading to extensive media coverage
Throughout police history in the United States and around the world there have been numerous incidents of reported police brutality and other forms of corruption including taking bribes, theft, sexual deviance, and many more. In our present time corruption has decreased significantly from what it once was decades ago but still exists. One of the most publicized cases of police brutality, if not the most, was the beating of Rodney King. Most people have heard about the case and seen the video of the brutal beating that took place in Los Angeles on the night of March 2, 1991. The video shown to the public contained officers appearing to beat Mr. King while he is on the ground while
On April 29, 1992, the City of Los Angeles was surrounded in a riot in response to the "not guilty" verdicts in the trial of four white Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers accused of unlawfully beating Rodney King. Six days later, when the fires were finally extinguished and the smoke had cleared, "estimates of the material damage done vary between about $800 million and $1 billion, 54 people had been killed, more than 2000 injured, in excess of 800 structures were burned, and about 10,000 people were arrested."(Khalifah 89) The 1992 riots in the City of Los Angeles were arguably the most devastating civil disturbance in the history of the United States.
On March 3, 1991 Rodney King led the Los Angeles police on a high speed chase. Once the chase was over officers pulled King out of his vehicle and began to brutally beat,taze and stomp on him. The recording of the video taken by a witness standing on the other side of the street was locally broadcasted then nationally broadcasted.The reasons that police officers acted the way they did was because “Rodney King was driving while intoxicated and when officers attempted to arrest him, the large belligerent man resisted that arrest.” (Blue Knights with Lt. Dan Marcou ) It was already said that King had a criminal record of second degree robbery and out on parole so the officers were aware of who he was by now. I also believe that racial profiling was another factor that caused the police officers to act they way that they did. As stated by Connie Rice a lawyer and civil rights activist , “The LAPD at the time was almost an occupying force, partially biased against people of color.” (Sastry & Bates) Personally, I do not believe that the officers acted in an appropriate matter because instead of pulling him from his car and brutally beating him they should've just gone up to him and arrested him. I understand that he was seen as a threat during this time because of the high speed chase but there were other ways that they could have handled the situation. The use of forces that could have been appropriate for this situation were verbal commands, maybe a bit of empty hand control with the soft empty hand technique and if he resisted then that is when the use of less lethal force would of been used. Also they found out that in the first three seconds of the film were cut of and showed that “Rodney King rising up from the street to charge one officer in a clear-cut violent assault. In self defense, that officer struck King with his PR-24.” (Blue Knights with Lt. Dan Marcou.) Now with this new information I believe that the officer had a right to defend himself however not to the extent that they all went. Hitting King ith the PR-24 would have caused him to fall and during that time they could have arrested him instead. According to Biography.com, “The United States Department of Justice filed federal civil rights charges
The Los Angeles Riots were the second riots to happen after the Watts Riots. The L.A Riots took place on April 9, 1992. The riots broke out in less than a day and lasted five days and killed more than 50 people and left more than 2,000 injured. On April 30, 1992, writers Richard A. Serrano and Tracy Wilkinson wrote an article in the Los Angeles Times newspaper saying "hours after the verdicts were announced, angry demonstrators torched buildings, looted stores and assaulted passersby as civic leaders pleaded for calm." The riots started after the verdict was given, people were filled with anger after they police officers were acquitted of all charges against them. Tensions also arose with Korean store owners.
For decades racial discrimination has been a reoccurring issue that has shaped the relationships across the country. Riots, in the case of the L.A. riots, are a form of venting and a negative form of freedom of expression. Almost immediately after the jury`s decision to seize the officers of charges that included assault with a deadly weapon and excessive use of force towards King, riots broke out across Los
That was not enough for some officers they believed King was resisting arrest. Due to their belief some cops shot Rodney with a taser gun. Shortly several officers started to fiercely beat King with their batons. “We won that game didn‘t we,” says officer Laurence Powell to his mates. George Holliday, a men standing near the scene, video tapped the action. Rapidly this video was broadcasted not only across America but around the world. It would not be ignored by its viewers. Everyone who tuned in and watched was shocked. Justice was expected to be made towards the heartless cops who savagely bet Rodney King.
The story of Rodney King began on October 3, 1991, when King ran from the police, and then was brutally beaten by three police officers. The beating was captured by a nearby citizen, and it “...immediately
The beating of Rodney King from the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991 and the Los Angeles riots resulting from the verdict of the police officers on April 29 through May 5, 1992 are events that will never be forgotten. They both evolve around one incident, but there are two sides of ethical deviance: the LAPD and the citizens involved in the L.A. riots. The incident on March 3, 1991 is an event, which the public across the nation has never witnessed. If it weren’t for the random videotaping of the beating that night, society would never know what truly happened to Rodney King. What was even more disturbing is the mentality the LAPD displayed to the public and the details of how this mentality of policing led up to this
This paper will cover the events that took place within the first five days in south central Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict .
The incident took place March 3, 1991, when Rodney King was speeding on the 210 freeway in Los Angeles. A police officer started pursuing him and it turned into a high-speed chase, he was pulled out of his car. Nearby a resident by the name of George Holliday videotaped four white officers beating Rodney King. (Daily News 2011, Rodney King’s march 3, 1991, traffic stop and beating turned LA into a riot zone). The reason it was such a big deal was not only because it was four white men, but also because they were officers of the law, and it was looked at as a hate crime.
The beginnings of the riots came on March 3, 1991, when Rodney King was stopped and brutally assaulted by police. King was stopped after a high speed chase police after police caught him intoxicated and was subsequently forced out of the car (History.com). From there, police began to unlawfully assault Rodney King, leaving him with a fractured skull, along with a broken cheekbone (History.com). A witness, George Holliday, filmed the officers beating Rodney King; a day after the tape was airing on CNN for the rest of the country to witness (Los Angeles Daily News). Four officers were later arrested and put to trial a year later, however all of them were not pleaded guilty. The verdict angered a massive amount of African
One of the first recorded videos to bring light to the issue of police brutality was the severe beating of Rodney King in 1991. Rodney King became involved in a high-speed pursuit with the Los Angeles Police Department, after stopping his vehicle Mr. King was dragged out and excessively beaten by four white officers, all caught on videotape, however, when tried for their actions all four officers were acquitted. As a result of the court’s ruling, a six-day riot in Los Angeles transpired, where over 1,000 people were hurt and at least 50 killed. Decades later America continues to face the realities of Police brutality towards individuals of color in the country, and as the use of portable phones and cameras increase, more videos of innocent black men beaten and killed begin to surface. Since the shocking video of Rodney King’s excessive beating, many fatalities have occurred due to excessive and lethal force.
In July 23, 1967, the Detroit Police department busted a bar with a prominent number of African Americans. They arrested every person in the bar. More and more people started to gather on 12th street to watch the proceedings. That is when the rioting started. The crowd began to get more violent as more people joined.