Rodney King Research Paper

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

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.

In Los Angeles in 1991 Rodney King was driving under the influence of alcohol, and also speeding at excessive high speeds. Around 12:30 am, Officers Tim and Melanie Singer, of the California Highway Patrol, noticed King 's car speeding on the Highway. The officers pursued King, and the pursuit attained high speeds, while King refused to pull over. He would later state that he did not pull over because he was attempting to outrun the police because he would violate his parole from a previous robbery conviction for driving under the influence. After king exited the highway there were about five police cars behind him, with a helicopter following. King exited the Highway and was ordered out of the car. His passengers exited first

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

On March 2, 1991 Rodney King and two of his friends sat in the car in Altadena,

On March 3, 1991, a spectator filmed Rodney King, an African American resident of Los Angeles, being beaten by four Caucasian officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, who used a stun gun on King and continually kicked him and struck him with batons. For weeks afterward, the assault obtained capacity coverage appearing in the news media; according to the Vanderbilt Television News Index and Abstracts (1992), from March 5, the evening the story broke, until the conclusion of the remaining

On April 29, 1992, a jury convened to try four LAPD officers for the beating and use of excessive force against Rodney King, a black motorist involved in a high-speed chase with the police prior to the incident. The beating occurred in March 1991 and had been videotaped by a witness. Within days, every news channel in America was broadcasting the disturbing video in which King had been kicked, tazed, and beaten over fifty times by the four officers with police batons (Sides). King had offered little resistance after exiting his vehicle. The images of excessive force were printed across all media channels, confirming complaints of police brutality against minorities, specifically by the black community (Monroe). Subsequently, the black community became outraged and festered in their anticipation of a guilty verdict for the four officers.

On April 28, 1992, several riots erupted throughout Los Angeles, California due to the unjust trial when several officers were caught on video brutally beating Mr. Rodney King on the street. Thousands of African-Americans were unhappy with the decision of the court allowing the four officers to get off with no charges. During the LA Riots, over 55 people were killed, 2,000 were injured, and 7,000 were put into police custody. It was nearly $1 billion in damages done to property and 4,000 buildings in the city were burned. The three days of the LA Riots will be remembered in history because of the police brutality, national reaction to the violence, and the people's

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

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

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

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

On April 16, 1963, Birmingham was in chaos after a Good Friday demonstration led by many civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King, Jr (MLK). Birmingham, Alabama was one of the most segregated cities in America and the organized boycott of white owned businesses was not as effective as the civil rights leaders had hoped. Ignoring the fact that a new ordinance required them to have a permit to demonstrate, King and the others proceeded anyway and nearly 50 demonstrators were arrested including Dr. King. This was King's 13th arrest for non-violent protests. This arrest would be different than the others, however, as he was placed in solitary confinement and, for a while, denied access to his lawyers and his wife. He could have been

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