Rodney King Analysis

In looking at Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) history with using excessive force, there needs to be a way that hold these police officers accountable to prevent citizen-police tension and create transparency for the public. During the 1990s, 61% of police officers from the LAPD were white and considered aggressive with African American communities which suggest racial tension among the two groups (Suburbanstats, 2017). Eula Love and Rodney King are two victims of

Excessive force being used by officers has been an ongoing issue since law enforcement was created. During the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, it has been made aware that minorities were a target for the law enforcement of that time. The 1967 murder cases of “Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner against the sheriffs of Neshoba and Lauderdale County” at that time was huge seeing as everyone involved in the case got off without any charges (Wynter). After years have gone by and the 41st anniversary of their deaths has happened, someone was convicted. All this time, no one would speak up against the police of these counties in fear of being brutally murdered just like the three men that was in their care. The injustice of it did not make sense

One of the first situations that went worldwide which the public saw police abusing their authority is in the beating of Rodney King. Rodney King was an African American male who was under the influence and decided to take the police on a high speed chase (Bates & Sastry, 2017). Once Rodney King stopped his vehicle the police ordered him to exit his vehicle and to put his hands up. Mr. King exited his vehicle and then that’s when the police officers started to attack him. The policers kicked him and beat him for a 15 minutes (Bates & Sastry, 2017).

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

In recent years and in light of recent tragedies, police actions, specifically police brutality, has come into view of a large, public and rather critical eye. The power to take life rests in the final stage of the criminal justice system. However, the controversy lies where due process does not. While the use of deadly force is defined and limited by departmental policies, it remains an act guided chiefly by the judgment of individual officers in pressure situations. (Goldkamp 1976, 169). Many current studies have emphasized the racial disparities in minority deaths, primarily black Americans, killed by police through means of deadly force. The history of occurrences reveals the forlorn truth that police reforms only receive attention in wake of highly publicized episodes of police misconduct. The notorious 1992 Los Angeles riots brought the matter to mass public attention and prompted improved law enforcement policy. Significant local reforms resulted, for instance, ending the policy of lifetime terms for police chiefs. Additionally, on a broader platform, in 1994, Congress approved provisions to the Crime Control Act in effort to tackle police abuse in a more structured way.

African Americans in Los Angeles and throughout the United States have experienced racial oppression for centuries. (Background about racial oppression by the LAPD). Rodney King was an African American motorist who inspired positive police reforms after he had a brutal conflict and was beaten by four members of the LAPD. Rodney King’s encounter resulted in a social and legal compromise because the incident made people aware of police brutality, gave African Americans a voice against police abuse, and resulted in reforms to the way that the LAPD responds to communities of color.

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

In the case of Rodney king, I believe that justice was not served, because 4 officers viciously assaulted King with their night sticks after a car chase in L.A. out of the three men that were caught that night, the police claimed that king was the most “aggressive out of the three men. They also claimed that the force they used on king was “justified”. If you look at the video (recorded by George Holliday) the so called “justified” action didn’t look so justified, it appeared brutal as if they were beating animal. If you watch the video you can see Rodney King on his knee’s imploring the officer’s to stop striking him with their nightsticks, but they refused to do so. That night Rodney absorbed fifty six hits from a night stick and seven kicks from two officers. Nevertheless, the four officers’ that did the beating were prosecuted for assault but were not found guilty, which caused outrageous riots in L.A. I feel if Rodney King was Caucasian he wouldn’t have been assaulted the way he was, because you could never pay a white person to brutally

In the Article, "Legal System Could Stop Police Brutality" by Alan Dershowitz he talked about if Rodney King’s arrest wasn't to record the outcome would have been different. Rodney G King was a 25-year-old African American male that was brutality beaten by the LAPD. On March 3rd, 1991 Mr. King was caught after his high-speed chase. The Police then proceed to drag him out of the vehicle, made racial slurs and also brutality beat Mr. King. The Events were recorded by a bystander by the name of George Holliday. Rodney King later went to trial that took up to three months with an all-white trial. The officers were later acquitted for the event. Which then started the LA Riots. Without the recording of the Rodney King, "The events would have been

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

Rodney King, a black man, was pulled out of his car by white cops after a high-speed chase on March 3, 1991. The cops then began to beat the man with excessive force. This was not the first time something like this had happened, but it had a very large impact on America since it was caught on camera. The video was sent to and broadcasted by news stations nationwide. This video caused concern about the treatment of minorities in America and caused many anti-police songs to be made.

The Rodney King incident was presented as a case study of how failure to institutionalize some of the contextual themes concepts can result in malfeasance. Research incidents of other criminal justice malfeasance and, by using the five contextual themes as a guide, identify administrative concepts that could have prevented these situations.

Police officers commonly have a broad slate of authorities to facilitate their role as law enforcement officers. The Constitution and additional laws, however, place limits on how extreme police can go in regards making attempts to impose the law. As the videotaped beating of motorist Rodney King, in Los Angeles and several recent cases in New York have illustrated, police officers sometimes go too far. In turn, this infringes upon the rights of citizens. When this happens, the victim of the misbehavior may have alternative options to pursue through federal and state laws. A primary intent of the nation's civil rights laws is to safeguard citizens from mishandlings by the government, containing police misconduct and brutality. Civil rights

The most famous case of police brutality occurred on the night of March 3rd, 1991, when Rodney King was pulled over by LAPD officers. A video taken of the encounter shows King being savagely beaten by metal batons long after being subdued. The LAPD responded, saying the department had “inadequate supervisory and management attention”, noting that “of approximately 1,800 officers against whom an allegation of excessive force or improper tactics was made from 1986 to 1990, more than 1,400 had only one or two allegations. But 183 officers had four or more allegations. Forty-four had six or more, 16 had eight or more, and one had 16 such allegations” (West Valley College). Clearly, a vast majority of police officers abuse their power. But clearly this is not on an individual level;

A significant case involved an African American male by the name of Rodney King. His case brought about major protests and anger around the world because of what he had experienced during his encounter with law enforcement. Rodney King at the time was on parole and he was caught speeding on a freeway so an officer spotted him and proceeded to follow him resulting in pulling over. Because of the state Mr. King was in he did not pull over but proceeded to exit the freeway and go through local neighborhoods because he did not want to get arrested for driving under the influence. Mr. King resisted arrest and an officer decided to take him in the back but he kept getting back up. Rodney King suffered from a severe beating that was recorded on video by someone that was hiding at the time of the incident. Mr. King suffered a broken ankle, facial bone fracture, and many bruises and cuts. Due to the excessive force used by law enforcement, this sparked public anger resulting in riots with people destroying towns with fires and many people sustained injuries. The end resulted in two of the officers that were involved served thirty months in prison because they were convicted by a grand jury but the other officers were acquitted. This is an example of both excessive forces being used because of the power that law enforcement has in a society. Rodney King was wrong for not initially pulling over and resisting arrest but when you are fearful of what might happen sometimes you are not in