Los Angeles Riots Case Study

In 1991, Los Angeles police harshly beat African American Rodney King while a civilian videotaped the incident, leading to extensive media coverage

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

At 12:30 A.M. on March 3, 1991, Tim and Melanie Singer, a married team of the California Highway Patrol, noticed a Hyundai speeding along the Foothill Freeway in northeastern L.A. The car belonged to Rodney Glen King, a native Californian who had recently been released from prison for threatening and assaulting a storeowner. Immediately, the Singers exited the highway, returned behind King’s vehicle, and began to pursue at speeds up to 117 mph. After nearly causing multiple accidents, King finally came to a stop outside Hansen Dam Park. Within seconds, Officers Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseno, Rolando Solano, and Sergeant Stacey Koon arrived in three LAPD cruisers

He showed a unblemished appreciation for former Civil Rights Activists. Because he was born in the 1960s, he was able to see and experience the racial struggle first hand by hearing from the people in his life and learning about it in school, he was able to speak comfortably on the issue at hand. This allowed him to show a true thankfulness for his current position in the social order as a Black man to publicly speak on the injustices of police brutality and acknowledge the sacrifices made not just by African Americans, but by people of many races. King believed the best way to honor his multi-ethnic ancestors and forerunners was to actively diffuse negativity rather than exasperate it (Chaney and Robertson 2014). His appreciation for the legal system was expressed publicly that he had faith in and valued the legal system. Despite how he was treated by the Los Angeles Police Department officers, which was similar to the abuse his ancestors experienced, the president undoubtedly reestablished King’s appreciation by prosecuting the four officers that beat him ruthlessly. The city of Los Angeles was sued and rewarded King of $3.8 million in addition to the $1.7 for attorney’s fees. The majority of quotes from King were openly regarding his feelings of police

Here are the rest of the facts. Rodney King had been arrested twice before this, for differing offenses. While this does not excuse the cops’ behaviors, it does help to see every side and fact of the story to understand the whole better, as opposed to just what the media portrayed. The first offense that King was arrested for was beating his wife in her sleep on the night of July 27, 1987, and dragging her outside to beat her more severely. He was charged with battery, and he entered a plea of “nolo contendre,” which basically means he did not plead guilty, but he accepted the facts as they were presented by the prosecution. He was then put on probation. Then, more then 2 years later, on November 3, 1989, King was arrested again for wielding a tire iron against a store clerk, and robbing the store of $200. He was charged with second-degree robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. King pleaded guilty to the robbery charge and was sentenced to two years in prison, but was paroled on

On March 3, 1991, four white police officers started beating 27 year old Rodney King after pulling him over for drunk driving. Two of the officers involved with the arrest of King had histories with violence towards suspects. Douglas Linder, professor of law at the University of Missouri at Kansas City states, “Los Angeles had settled one excessive force claim against Powell for $70,000 …” and “Briseno had once earlier been charged with using excessive force” (Linder “Key Figures”). Half of the police officers involved were previously charged with the use of excessive force, the same charge brought up by the Rodney King Beating Trials. A video, captured by George Holliday showed most of the beating by the police officers, and was a major source of testimony in the trial. African American Eras: Contemporary Times claims that, “Holliday recorded an arrest scene in which the officers beat King with their nightsticks at least fifty-six times” (Condino “Black Community”).The officers did not originally know this video

According to CNN, King led those officers on the chase because he violated his parole by drinking. He stopped in front of some apartment buildings thinking they would just arrest him and someone would catch it on tape. He was beaten by the police officers that caught him over 50 times. Three of the four officers were later acquitted and one had a mistrial, even after their vile beating was caught on tape. The trial’s result  sparked the 1992 Los Angeles riots; 50 people were killed, 2000 injured, and almost 12,000 arrested. Racial diversity in American has had many ups and downs in the past. However, there seem to be more downs that have never been corrected. Aside from the three-day L.A. 1992 riots, there were: Japanese internment camps during WWII, the civil rights movement during the 1960s, and of course, slavery, during the first 100 years of our country's founding. Slavery happened not only to Africans, but to the Native Americans, the native people of the Caribbean islands, etc. These lows points in our history have caused poets like Claude McKay that this injustice will not be taken lightly. In his poem, “If We Must Die” he notes that “We'll face the murderous pack. Pressed into a wall but fighting back!” when African Americans face hardships purely because of their skin tone. We need authors like Maya Angelou to remind us that “It is time for parents to teach young

Mahatma Gahndi once said, “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.” Hatred blinds people from acknowledgment and acceptance, and instead steers people towards ignorance. Quarreling amongst citizens of the United States is not an uncommon occurrence, especially when the topic focuses on racial backgrounds and biases. The LA Riot of 1992 is no exception to this category of discourse. A black person beaten up by a group of policemen was a usual event that happened frequently. Rodney King’s arrest was a special case. In a drunken state, King led the police on a “high-speed chase through the streets of Los Angeles (“Riots Erupt in Los Angeles”).George Holliday, an ordinary passerby, recorded Rodney King’s assault by the police on March 3, 1991. This infamous event urges the nation to examine the

What happened during the riots, it is something that won’t be easily forgotten. For African Americans, Koreans and Caucasians as well, this was a tough experience where they all were involved and affected. For some of them the peace came to their minds, but for others, the hatred remained in their lives. There is always a chance that the Riots may happen again. Considering the disparities of thoughts among people and cultures, it may come a moment where these can turn the lasting ashes into flames. However, there are some strategies all communities can do in order to prevent the riots.

Rodney King is a African American who was a symbol of racial tension in the United State of America. In 1991 After his beating in LA by the LA Police officers was taped and shown around the world. The officers Laurence Powell, Theodore Briseno, Timothy Wind and Stacey were the four police officers, they were charged with assault and use of deadly weapon. The trial was planned in be held in LA but because it was such a Public case they decided it was best to move it to a different location, Simi valley was the new location. The jury consisted of twelve people, 10 white, one Spanish and one asian person. Many people weren’t happy that they didn’t have African american people on the jury.

The arrest of Rodney King was not only brutal, but also unnecessary, and out of code of conduct for police. It all occurred on March 3 1991, when Rodney King led police on a high speed chase through the streets of Los Angeles (Staff, H. ,2010). Not only was he driving 115 miles per hour, but also driving while intoxicated (Samuels, A., 2012, March 25). When King finally pulled over he refused to leave

Racism act plays a major part in police misconduct. Decent numbers of minority groups are more likely to be victims of unfair police treatment. A case that still stands as a classic in police history is Rodney King. Rodney King beating is truly a depiction of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, officers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) stopped motorist Rodney King who was speeding 100 mph and charge for a traffic violation. During the arrest King was hit over fifty times with nightsticks after initially resisting police orders. A witness to the event, George Holliday, videotaped the arrest, which was later viewed on local station KTLA and commercial news networks nationwide. Within a week following the incident, a Grand Jury

Many people believe the cause of the 1992 Los Angeles riots/civil disturbance was due to the acquittal of four LAPD officers who had been charged with the use of excessive force in the videotaped arrest and beating of Rodney King, following a high-speed police chase. Many believed the verdict was unjust, that in fact excessive force was used in the arrest. As a result, many feel this injustice caused the riots. When people take the time to do a more in-depth review/research of the subject, they will find that although this verdict may have triggered the rioting, there were actually multiple issues that contributed to the rioting.

After the disturbing video of King and the 4 police officers was shown to the public by news stations across the country, some were shocked, others were just not surprised at all. The ones who weren't shocked were the minorities living in parts of L.A especially the black community south Los Angeles. According to Bernard Parks, An African-American Los Angeles police officer who was present during the acquittal and the riots stated in an interview , “This particular piece of video validated in thousand of people minds that this has been going on for a long time. It validated that this is how the police treats the community, particularly the black community” (Morris, “LA riots : How 1992 changed the police”) . Not only did the infamous video

"On March 3, 1991, Rodney King was the driver of a car in Los Angeles, California. The driver didn't stop when signaled by a police car behind him, but increased his speed. When police finally stopped the car, they delivered 56 baton blows and six kicks to King, in a period of two minutes, producing 11 skull fractures, brain damage, and kidney damage. Unaware that the incident had been videotaped, the police officers filed inaccurate reports, not mentioning the fact that Rodney King was left with head wounds. On March 15, 1991, four police officers were arraigned on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and use of excessive force" (Mike Lepore).