The White House: Footage Of Rodney King Beating

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

Over a thousand more deaths due to police brutality have occurred since the shooting of Michael Brown (“Stats”). These events caused the public to start questioning those who enforce the law. Some of these events were caught on tape by bystanders, which were

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.

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.

Rodney King was caught by the Los Angeles police after a high-speed chase on March 3, 1991(Rodney). The officers pulled him out of the car and beat him brutally while amateur cameraman George Holliday caught it all on tape (Rodney). The four L.A.P.D officers involved were indicted on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and excessive use of force by a police officer

In the world we live in today, racism and police brutality are raising concerns that society needs to be aware of. Beginning from the mid 1900s and on, racism was an ongoing problem that many individuals acted on from day to day. Whether it was mainly whites who hated blacks or vice versa, there never seemed as if a solution would ever come about. Based on this article about racism and police brutality, it talks a lot about how brutality following the Rodney King incident has change and is more exposed due to updated technology. Racism is not a thing of the past, it exist in this day and happens everyday in front of our eyes. Another point from this article is how the media portrays black as intimidating and scary which often times is the reason why police officers act the way they do when they are encountering a black male. Today’s society is taught to be afraid of black men because they are dangerous and unpredictable. The media account is a short video of how police brutality is caught on camera and how the police are portrayed because of these videos. Because of the new technology officers are no longer able to get away with brutality and not having to answer for there actions. This media account is more of an awareness video of how if someone sees the police physically abusing someone, they should take there phones out and record everything that is going on. Today’s camera phone as said to be the police’s kryptonite because they capture everything that is done by the

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

King’s case was basically the first in American history to be a police brutality video caught on tape by a civilian. This sparked, in many, the realization that the problem of excessive force in American policing is real. It physically showed them the reality of many African Americans who were victim to police brutality. As a result of this case and the LA riots, changes in polices hires and a stronger focus on the police departments community relationships was implemented. Police-community relationship building was very important as this time because most African American and minority citizens felt as though they were not protected by the police but rather targeted by

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;

"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).