Rodney Glen King (born April 9, 1965 in Fort Worth, Texas) is an African-American taxicab driver who, prior to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department officers (Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseno and Sergeant Stacey Koon) after being chased for speeding and evading arrest. A bystander, George Holliday, videotaped much of the event. The video was broadcast around the world and shows four LA police officers restraining and repeatedly striking a black man, while four to six other officers stand by.^[1]

The beating raised a public outrage, which many people found racially motivated and gratuitous. This raised tensions between the black community and the LAPD, and increased anger over police brutality and issues such as unemployment, racial tension, and poverty in the black community of South Central Los Angeles. The four officers were tried in a state court for using excessive force, but were acquitted. This sparked the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

Incident

King was on parole for a robbery conviction. On March 3, 1991, he led police on a high speed pursuit. In an interview, King later said that he did not pull over as he feared being returned to prison. After driving through several red lights and stop signs, he pulled over in the Lake View Terrace (San Fernando Valley) area. The incident, minus the first few minutes after King stopped, was captured on video by a private citizen, George Holliday, from his apartment. King had a record for drunk-driving, and the officers involved testified that they believed him to be under the influence of the dissociative phencyclidine (PCP). The defendants also alleged that he resisted arrest and continued to resist even after being tasered, tackled, and struck with batons.

The video became an international media sensation and a touchstone for activists in Los Angeles and around the USA.

State acquittal of police officers

The Los Angeles District Attorney charged the four officers with the use of excessive force. But the judge was changed and the new judge changed the venue and the jury-pool, citing contamination of the jury-pool due to the media coverage. The new venue was a newly built courthouse in Simi Valley, in neighboring Ventura County. The jury consisted of Ventura County residents — ten whites, one Latino and one Asian. The prosecutor, Terry White, was African-American. The jury easily acquitted three of the officers, but could not agree about one of the charges for Powell. On April 29, 1992, only Powell was convicted.^[2][3]

The acquittal was partly based on a segment of the video showing King getting up and charging at Powell. That 13-second segment was excluded from news broadcasts. Before that, the officers tried to restrain King but he threw them off, according to their testimony. This was not caught on tape.^[4] On his website, Holliday states that the prosecutor, Terry White, did not "...realize that by re-editing the images, the attorneys defending the LA police officers... had totally changed the story."

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]

LA riots and the aftermath

The acquittal triggered the massive 4-day Los Angeles riots of 1992, one of the most intense civil disturbances in LA history. By the time the police, US Army, Marines and National Guard restored order, there was nearly $1 billion in damage and "55 deaths; 2,383 injuries; more than 7000 fire responses; 3,100 businesses damaged." (Smith, Anna Deavere) Smaller riots occurred in other US cities such as Las Vegas and Atlanta. On May 1, 1992, the third day of the LA riots, King appeared in public before television news cameras to appeal for calm, asking, "People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?"^[6]

Federal trial of officers

After the riots, federal charges of civil rights violations were brought against the officers. 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 police abuse. Counter-police-abuse organizations and justice committees for victims of police violence increased after 1992, and a national umbrella group, October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, was created. 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, Straight Alta-Pazz Recording Company.^[7] He subsequently moved to Fontana, California. King also made a cameo on an episode of BET's ComicView.

He was arrested again for spousal assault in 1999. In 2001, he was then ordered to undergo a year of drug treatment after pleading guilty to three counts of being under the influence of phencyclidine and [one] of indecent exposure.^[8]

On August 27, 2003, he was arrested again on similar charges as in 1991. It is alleged that King was speeding, ran a red light while under the influence of alcohol and failed to yield to police officers.^[9]

On November 29 2007, he was shot with birdshot while riding his bicycle ^[10] in San Bernardino, California, but police characterized his injuries as "not life threatening"^[11].

References

See also

• Reginald Oliver Denny
• Latasha Harlins

External links

• StopPolice.net: Help Stop Police Corruption and Brutality!
• 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
• Rodney King wounded by gunfire (Nov 29, 2007)