Rodney King Case Study

Words: 853
Pages: 4
Open Document
During the evening of March 2, 1991, Rodney King and his friends sat in King's wife's car in Altadena, California, a city in Los Angeles County. As they sat in the car they began to drink malt liquor for a number of hours. After, sitting in the car drinking King began to drive the car to the main highway. King was intoxicated from drinking so many beers.
King was driving very fast and the California Highway Patrol officers observed King's car traveling at a speed they estimated to be in excess of 100 mph. while driving intoxicated the officers followed King with red lights and sirens activated and ordered King by loudspeaker to pull over. But King didn’t stop he continued to drive. The Highway Patrol officers called on the radio for help. So, …show more content…
The officers ordered King and his two passengers to exit the car and to assume a felony prone position. Felony prone position means to lie on your stomach with your face down to the ground. Both of King's two friends complied. Rodney King emerged from his vehicle, but did not lie down. Officer Stacy Koon arrived at the scene. Stacy Koon were a sergeant of the Los Angeles Police Department, and as sergeant, Koon took control of the situation.
King was ordered again to assume the felony prone position. King got on his hands and knees but did not lie down. Officers Powell, Wind, Briseno and Solano tried to force King down, but King resisted and became combative, so the officers retreated. Koon then fired Taser darts into King.
A standby then captured events that the officers did to Rodney King on a videotape. As the videotape begins, it shows that King rose from the ground and charged toward Officer Powell. Then Officer Powell took a step and used his baton to strike King on the side of his head. King fell to the ground after the strike to the head. From the 18th to the 30th second on the videotape, King attempted to rise, but Powell and Wind each struck him with their batons to prevent him from doing so. From the 35th to the 51st second, Powell continued to give repeated blows to King's lower extremities, one of the blows fractured King's leg. At the 55th second, Powell struck King on the chest, and King rolled over and lay
Show More

Related Documents: Rodney King Case Study

The Rodney King Riots In Baltimore: A Case Study

the Rodney King incident in LA because it cause citizens living in these areas to be afraid of the police. Rodney King was an African American taxi driver in Los Angeles that was beaten to death by officers of the LAPD. It was as a result of a high speed chase with the California Highway Patrol. It raised a lot of rage towards the police from fellow African Americans across the country who saw the video of his beating. Moreover, the riots in Baltimore were following the police brutality case of Freddie…

Words 537 - Pages 3

Rodney King Police Brutality

ABSTRACT: Rodney King in his earlier years had no trouble with the police. But at 24 he robbed a store and was put on patrol. One night King led officers on a high speed chase and later tried to avoid the police in attempt to not get caught violating his parole. Eventually they pulled him out the car and proceeded to beat him. Later a video came out and it showed King getting beaten by the cops following him. The video spread and sparked reactions all across America. Riots broke out and caused a…

Words 1654 - Pages 7

Africa: Race and Rodney King Incident Essay

doing; they're going to prison. “In 2000 there were 791,600 black men in prison and 603,032 enrolled in college. In 1980, there were 143,000 black men in prison and 463,700 enrolled in college”.(http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0881455.html. In recent studies they have found a young black male without a high school diploma has a 59% chance of being incarcerated before his 35thbirthday ( http://revcom.us/a/144/BNQ-en.html). Moreover, African Americans have become accustomed to the unfair treatment given…

Words 516 - Pages 3

Police Body Cameras Essay

between police officers and the community and we need to fix it. This distrust is highest in the African American population. Police brutality causes most of the distrust because these people that are supposed to be protecting and helping are in some cases are actually hurting and killing the civilians, There is also violence against police officers that creates this situation worse because people are killing officers and then the officers have to make sure they are alert and know what is happening around…

Words 1491 - Pages 6

Police Misconduct Research Paper

Jeremy Garcia Ms. Berry CE 2010 25 October 2016 Police Misconduct in The United States On March 3rd, 1991, Rodney King sped down a highway with police in hot pursuit. Eventually, Los Angeles police caught up with King and fired two tasers into his back, after he was decided to be resisting arrest. When that didn’t stop King from struggling, several LAPD officers ruthlessly beat him with batons. The scene was recorded by a bystander, and what the tape included proceeded to shock the world. After…

Words 2480 - Pages 10

La Riots v. Trayvon Martin Essay

HIS 3460 On April 29, 1992, four Los Angeles Police Department officers were acquitted of charges of assault in relation to the Rodney King beatings. In a time of high tension between the LAPD and residents of LA, the acquittal of these officers was the last straw and set off a full-blown riot that resulted in the death of 53 and injuries to over 2,000 residents of South Central. According to Charles Bremner, “there was no mystery about the forces that led the Los Angeles jury to turn a blind…

Words 2361 - Pages 10

Racism: Police Brutality and White Police Officer Essay examples

Erica Myers American Studies 395 T/TR 10:00-11:15 Professor Loftin Fall 2012 City Under Fire California, the Golden State known for its range of weather and lively Hollywood scene, has always been a state widely desirable by many. For decades people from all over the nation have been migrating here to get their own piece of the California dream. But the California dream isn't always what it's made out to be. The city of Los Angeles has seen its fair share of violence in the past 50 years…

Words 1769 - Pages 8

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Police Brutality

brutality has two sides and both need to be thoroughly investigated, so people can come to their own conclusions. The 1991 Los Angeles riots brought the idea of police brutality to the mass public’s attention. March 3, 1991, Rodney King, a taxi driver, was beaten by four police officers. King was driving while intoxicated and got caught speeding and tried to avoid the police. He eventually pulled his car over and got out, but he was then tasered, kicked and beaten 53 times by the LAPD officers. A nearby bystander…

Words 1695 - Pages 7

Business Organization Form Choice Memo Essay

individual who operates a trade or business as a sole proprietor, and even some partnership arrangements, must pay self-employment tax on net earnings from self-employment.” Timothy M. Todd, Multiple-Entity Planning to Reduce Self-Employment Taxes: Recent Cases Demonstrate the Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them, 13 Journal of Tax and Practice Procedures 31 (April/May 2011). Currently, the combined…

Words 3192 - Pages 13

Analysis Of 12 Angry Men

1. Voir dire: “to speak the truth”. The forum used by judge/attorney to question prospective jurors 2. Rodney King case: Jury=10 whites, 1 asian, 1 mexican. Held in location that favored defense 3. Implicit personality theory: A person’s organized network of preconceptions about how certain attributes are related to one another and behavior. a. Hats preemptive strike, never accept jurors of Ps 4. Internal /external locust of control: differ in beliefs about whether their lives…

Words 539 - Pages 3