RODNEY KING

'Rodney Glen King' (born April 2, 1965 in Sacramento, California) is an African-American taxi driver who was violently arrested by officers of the LAPD (Ofc. Laurence Powell, Ofc. Timothy Wind, Ofc. Theodore Briseno and Sgt. Stacey Koon). The event was videotaped by a bystander, George Holliday.^[1]
The incident raised a public outcry among those who believed it was a racially motivated and gratuitous attack. In an environment of growing tensions between the black community and the LAPD (as well as increasing anger over police brutality and more general civic issues such as unemployment, racial tensions, and poverty in the black community of South Central Los Angeles) the acquittal in a state court of the four defendants, charged with using excessive force, provided the spark that led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
On March 3, 1991, King, on parole for a robbery conviction, led police on a high speed pursuit. In an interview, King later said that he didn't pull over as he feared apprehension and being returned to prison. After driving through several red lights and stopsigns, he pulled over in the Lake View Terrace district. King had a record for drunk-driving but the officers involved testified that they believed him to be under the influence of the narcotic PCP - a later blood-test returned negative for PCP. The defendants also alleged that he resisted arrest and continued to resist even after being tasered, tackled, and struck with batons, although the video does not appear to corroborate many of these allegations. He is also alleged to have attempted to grab the weapon of one of the police officers at the scene, with that event allegedly occurring at the start of the altercation, and was not verifiable by the Holliday tape.
The incident, minus the first few minutes, was captured on video by a private citizen, George Holliday, from his apartment, and it became an international media sensation and a touchstone for activists in Los Angeles and around the USA. The Los Angeles District Attorney charged the officers with the use of excessive force. Citing contamination of the jury-pool due to the media coverage, the trial received a change of venue to a newly constructed courthouse in Simi Valley, in neighboring Ventura County, a predominantly white area. The jury was made up of Ventura County residents and the prosecutor, Terry White, was African-American. He subsequently failed to acquire convictions for three of the four defendants. ^[2][3]
On April 29, 1992, three of the officers were acquitted by a jury of ten whites, one Latino, and one Asian. The jury also could not agree on a verdict for one of the counts on one of the officers. The acquittal was based in part on a 13-second segment of the video tape that was edited out by television news stations in their broadcasts. The first 13 seconds of videotape apparently show Rodney King getting up off the ground and charging at one of the police officers, Ofc. Laurence Powell. Prior to that, the testimony of the officers indicated that they tried to physically restrain King but, according to the officers, King was able to physically throw them off. These alleged incidents were not caught on tape. ^[4] On Hollidays website he states that the prosecutor Terry White did not "...realize that by re-editing the images, the attorneys defending the L.A. police officers... had totally changed the story."

Contents

Comments of public officials

Verdict, LA riots, and aftermath

Analysis and cultural impact of the event

Recent life

References

See also

External links

Comments of public officials

In response to the verdict, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley said "The jury's verdict will not blind us to what we saw on that videotape. The men who beat Rodney King do not deserve to wear the uniform of the L.A.P.D." President George H.W. Bush said, "The jury system has worked. What's needed now is calm respect for the law."^[5]

Verdict, LA riots, and aftermath

Main articles: 1992 Los Angeles riots

The jury verdict triggered massive rioting in Los Angeles, which lasted for 4 days, making it one of the worst civil disturbances in Los Angeles history. By the time the police, Soldiers, Marines and National Guard restored order, there was nearly $1 billion in damage, with "55 deaths; 2,383 injuries; more than 7000 fire responses; 3,100 businesses damaged." (Smith, Anna Deavere) Smaller riots occurred in other U.S. cities. On May 1, 1992, the third day of the Los Angeles riots, King appeared in public before television news cameras to appeal for calm and plead for peace, asking, "People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?"^[6]
After the riots, federal charges of civil rights violations were brought against the officers. Two defendants, Officer Laurence Powell and Sergeant Stacey Koon, were found guilty and sentenced to 30 months of prison, and the other two were acquitted.

Analysis and cultural impact of the event

The video of the incident is an example of inverse surveillance (i.e. citizens watching police). As a result of the incident, several Copwatch organizations were formed nationwide to safeguard against future abuses. Counter-police-abuse organizations and justice committees for victims of police violence increased after 1992, and a national umbrella group known as the ''October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality'' was established. Black community and civil rights leaders have repeatedly used the Rodney King incident as an analogy.

Recent life

After the riots King was awarded $3.8 million in a civil case, and used some of the money to start a hiphop music-label: Alta-Pazz Recording Company.^[7]
After the riots, King moved to Fontana, California.
He was arrested again on charges of spousal assault in 1999. In 2001 he was ordered to undergo a year of drug treatment after pleading guilty to three counts of being under the influence of PCP and indecent exposure.^[8] On August 27, 2003 he was arrested again on similar charges as his 1991 arrest. King was alleged to be speeding and running a red light while under the influence of PCP, and failed to yield to police officers.^[9]

References

1. [1]L.A. Times
2. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/trials24.htm
3. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lapd/white.jpg
4. The National Geographic Channel (US version) program "The Final Report: The L.A. Riots" aired originally on October 4, 2006 10pm EDT, approximately 27 minutes into the hour (including commercial breaks).
5. NY Times: April 30 1992, THE POLICE VERDICT; Los Angeles Policemen Acquitted in Taped Beating
6. Ralph Keyes. ''The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When''. ISBN 0-312-34004-4 [2]
7. BBC News "Flashback: Rodney King and the LA riots"
8. Where are they now? "Rodney King's claim to fame"
9. Rodney King slams SUV into house, breaks pelvis

See also

★ 1992 Los Angeles riots

★ Reginald Oliver Denny

★ Latasha Harlins

External links

★ StopPolice.net: Help Stop Police Corruption and Brutality!

★ Partial Rodney King incident video

★ Stan Chambers: "Rodney King and the Los Angeles Riots"

★ Salon: "Rethinking Rodney King"

★ Court TV: Rodney King's Legacy

★ LA Riot Spectacular, a movie with Snoop Dogg about the 'event' and the riots that followed

★ Information and media in trial of the LAPD officers

★ Koon v. United States Supreme Court Decision