We Must Put an End to Police Brutality

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

It feels as if nothing has changed about police brutality over the years. The usual cycle is that juries acquit the police, cops get their jobs back, and brutality happens again. One of the most broadcasted cases of police brutality, was the beating of Rodney King. On the night of March 2, 1991, a bystander named George Holiday, videotaped the moment when five officers used excess force on an African American man named Rodney King, beating him with batons as he struggled on the ground. Also, it was recorded that an officer stomped on King’s shoulder causing his head to hit hard against the asphalt. Holiday sent the videotape to a local TV station and soon sent shock waves around the world, catapulting police brutality and race relations in the United States to center stage. Most viewers who watched the tape revealed the brutal and senseless beating of a hopeless drunk. After debating for seven days over the fate of the officers, on April 29, 1992, the clerk announced the final verdict, the five officers were not guilty.

In the 1990s, police brutality hit its peak. One in particular, the L.A. riots, caught many American's attention. One of the more well known, was Rodney King. King was brutally beaten by a group of police officers after attempting to pull him over for speeding at 110 mph. The police claimed that King resisted his arrest after being pulled over and that he was on some sort of drugs, although neither of these claims proved to be true. The police that surrounded him continued to beat Rodney for 15 minutes which left him with severe damage including skull fractures, broken bones and teeth, and brain damage. This was the first police brutality occurrence to be filmed in Los Angeles and then eventually brought to the media. Following the leaking of this footage, the four police officers were put on trial for using excessive force. This situation forever pointed out what was wrong with police officers and

March 3rd, 1991. A day that has lived on in infamy for more than 20 years. Rodney King was just a normal 25-year old guy who had a family, a job, people who loved him. He had work the next day, so he decided to pop open some beers with one of his friends. According to King, around the time of 20th anniversary of the LA riots, “I know drinking and driving is not OK, and I shouldn't have been back then, and there's no excuse for it. But I had a job to go to that Monday, and so I went over to a friend's house and popped a couple of beers. We were just sitting around awhile, and I decided to go to a spot where my dad used to take us fishing called Hansen Dam in California.” (Martin 3) King then said he saw the patrol car behind him and for no apparent reason at all did not pull over on the side of the road, as people are supposed to do with cops. He finally pulled over and got out, and the cops tasered him with 50,000 volts. Three officers then started to beat the crap out of King, hitting him in the head, neck, kidneys, and legs, over 50 times. The beating was recorded by a passerby, and sent out to every major news outlet in the country. However, this is only part of the context surrounding the case of the Rodney King beating.

In 1991, video was released of an African American resident of Los Angeles, Rodney King, being beat and bludgeoned by four white police officers. Video of Rodney King being shot with a stun gun, kicked and hit with batons was shown 27 times on three separate evening newscasts alone between the dates of March 5 and March 31. John Conyers, Congressional Black

Police Brutality is an ongoing problem and existent concern in the United States and should be resolved immediately. Law enforcement must function as an element that consists of organized and civilized officers. The presence of police brutality is becoming more of an issue as society grows. The problem posed by the illegal exercise of police power is an ongoing reality for individuals of a disfavored race, class, or sexual orientation. Police brutality must be stopped so that police do not forget who they are serving – not themselves, but the public. This means that even the criminals, who are a part of the public, have certain rights, particularly, civil rights. Police brutality causes a major concern in today’s society in America and

In recent years police actions, especially police abuse remains one of the most serious and estranged human rights violation in the United States. While citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been shown that they must also keep an eye on those who are supposed to protect us. Thousands of individuals that complained about police abuse are reported each year and local authorities pay out millions of dollars to victims in damages after all the lawsuits. Police have beaten, shot at unresisting suspects; they have misused their batons, and also their electroshock weapons. Over the past decade, police officers have acted out in ways that make people wonder, are these officers of the law really doing their job? Severe beatings, unjustified shootings, and rough treatment have all contributed to the problem of police brutality in America. Police officers continue to abuse their given authority by acting in a brutal manner in order to control a detained suspect. The job of a police officer is to maintain public order, prevent, and detect crime. They are engaged in a dangerous and stressful occupation that can absolutely involve violent situations that must be controlled. In many of these confrontations with the public, it may become necessary for the police to administer force to take control of the situation. Sometimes excessive force takes the form of hand-to-hand combat with a suspect who is resisting arrest. At least once every month or two the news

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.

However, police misconduct drew the first significant national attention during the era of Martin Luther King Jr. in which certain police departments, primarily in the South, would suppress movements for racial equality with excessive force and violence. Concerns over police excessive force instigated once again in 1991 when four white LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) officers brutally beat an African American motorist named Rodney King more then 50 times (Issues & Controversies, “Police Brutality”). Primarily white police also neglected, terrorized, and assaulted African Americans who sought "to assert their right to vote, march, or enter newly desegregated schools" (Issues & Controversies, “Police Brutality”). Due to consistent racial bias in various events of police excessive force against minorities, especially blacks, scattered about in history, prejudice against minorities has been a clear concern that is still not truly addressed, even to this

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

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

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

A possible solution to Police Brutality would be retraining police officers to be trained to use non-lethal ways to subdue suspects and the use of lethal force only when necessary and having the training to deal with serious situations which requires lethal force, as well as having a lot of body armor to protect police officers when responding to certain, lethal situations. The gear can be left in the squad car. I chose this because this will limit the use of lethal weapons in scenarios such as traffic stops, but having the equipment to face a lethal situation if one ensues.

"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).