A Brief History
On March 3, 1991, the combination of George Holliday and his home video camera and selective use of portions of that video by the news media shocked the country and profoundly affected American History!
Digging Deeper
Digging deeper, we find a drunken 26 year old and 2 buddies speeding through Los Angeles when police attempt to initiate a traffic stop.
The convicted armed robber (on parole and not even allowed to consume alcohol) refused to stop and the chase was on! Zipping through the city at high speed is extremely dangerous, of course, to the public at large, the pursuing police, and the people in the car being pursued.
Finally, after an 8 mile chase police blocked in the fleeing felon and attempted to make an arrest. The 2 African-American passengers obeyed police instructions and were taken into custody without incident or violence. The driver, 26 year old Rodney King, an African-American driving drunk and with marijuana in his system in violation of his parole was not going to go easy!
A big strapping man about 6 feet 3 inches and 260 pounds that had just completed a year in prison for beating a shopkeeper he was robbing seemed ready to attack a female officer when 5 male officers took control of the arrest. The subject, Rodney King, ran at an officer and collided with him, starting the melee that became famous home video footage.
The LAPD officers Tasered King twice with no apparent effect and were thus left with their hands, nightsticks (batons) and pistols. LAPD had previously replaced their Mace pepper spray with the Taser and had been forbidden to choke subjects into submission. The Taser was supposed to make Mace and choke holds obsolete.
Swarming the hulking King by the much smaller officers did not work, so the officers used their nightsticks in accordance with their training. Despite being pounded severely, King would not stop resisting until he physically could not longer resist. He was then arrested and taken to the hospital.
Then, the media frenzy started! Repeatedly referring to King as “motorist Rodney King, stopped for speeding” gave the public the impression he was a regular guy stopped for some trivial traffic offense, not a dangerous felon driving drunk and resisting arrest.
The public was whipped into outrage, even President G.H.W. Bush made inflammatory comments! Five LAPD officers were tried and acquitted for beating King, and LA exploded into rioting, killing 53 people!
A second, Federal trial of the officers resulted in 2 of them being convicted and sent to jail for longer than King had gotten for armed robbery and assault! King, who for some political reasons was not returned to prison for violating his parole was awarded $3.8 million in a lawsuit against the LAPD. He also escaped charges for the drunk driving, fleeing and eluding, and resisting arrest.
The cracked and really, tragic life of Rodney King continued with further drunk driving and domestic violence problems until his death in 2012 at age 47 by drowning in his own swimming pool, loaded up with alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, and PCP! King had also appeared on reality TV celebrity boxing and celebrity rehab programs!
Question for students (and subscribers): Can we all just get along? You tell us in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evdience
For more information, see either these collectible cards (yes, they no kidding actually made collectible cards about a tragic incident in American race relations…) or read the following book:
Koon, Stacey. Presumed Guilty: The Tragedy of the Rodney King Affair. Regnery Publishing, Inc., 1992.
The individual writing the cards obviously is of the opinion that police were the criminals, whereas the above linked book offers a police officer’s perspective. It is worthwhile to read multiple accounts as it is to watch the various videos presented in this article to get a more balanced opinion of whether or not the police used excessive force. We do of course welcome your comments below. If you do think the police acted excessively, please share what you think they should have done differently? If you have any personal experiences as a law enforcement officer or as someone who believes you were racially profiled, please also share your experiences as well.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1303 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1303">37 Comments
I think the police officers did the right thing– I just think it is wrong what King did and how he was not punished for any of the things he did and fricken sued the LAPD. How messed up is that!
Rodney King made the officers look guilty by playing on the people of LA,s sympathy. I do agree they may have gotten carried away, but he was a big man who was hard to bring down,especially since he was on drugs at the time. The fact he received so much money for this was messed up.
I believe that, from reading this article, the police were acting out only in a way to protect themselves. King was obviously able to stand the pain, but if he would if just gone quietly, none of this would of gone as far and they did, and no one would of gotten hurt. They might of been excessive with their force but they were doing it out of defense. I definitely don’t think King should have gotten all that money, or had all his charges dropped. Those police should not of been thrown in jail longer than he had to. A bit ridiculous in my opinion.
It is one thing to read the article and read that the police used force to stop King but after watching the video I believe that they used excessive force that was probably unnecessary. It is truly hard to say though because I’m sure only King and the LAPD know exactly what happened that day. I am furious that King escaped all his charges and on top of that was awarded 3.8 million dollars in the lawsuit. I think that something obviously went wrong in the court system here and I most certainly think the officers should not have been sentenced jail time but that the LAPD should have done some more training on how to handle situations like that less violently.
Utilizing video content with the article helped explain things, once a drunk always a drunk.
I think they had to use aggressive force but I think it may have gone too far and became unnecessary.
Using force was probably the best thing for the situation if he was not cooperative. Violent force may not be the correct response because deaths resulted from this incident.
It is a shame that incidents like this one give law enforcement a bad reputation. — DAVID WARDLE
Their is a very fine line between aggressive force and going to far
It is too bad that the full (real) story was overlooked and caused so much unjust treatment of those involved.
What the heck… King led some messed up life; however, I think the police had the right to use force since he would not cooperate. Sometimes I think police are also blinded by their anger, biases,and hatred and take things just too far.
At least this type of video made people realize what was going wrong.
The police definitely were in their right to do what they did, but African-Americans in general seem to pull the race card when something tragic like this does in fact happen.
A police officer may find it necessary to use force to resolve a conflict, but there is such a thing as excessive force. That badge is supposed to indicate an individual that can tell the difference.
Supposed to, being key.
I’m not saying all police are bad but, police using excessive force in a racially fueled situation… hmm sounds familar
There can be two sides too this story. There was good and bad involved in this article. I’m on the edge of both.
Still is going on today. If you get rid of the police the world will go right down the drain. If they have to do something about a threat then people get mad. People can not have it both ways.
Despite the fact that this happened in 1991 this is still an issue today. Police are no longer seen as a helpful force but instead the enemy who have been judged by the action of only a few fellow officers. It’s sad to see how people act towards out police officers today!
Things like this still happen today. In this case it seems like people became upset without knowing the whole story first.
While I don’t condone police using excessive force, this case seems ridiculous. If one resists arrest repeatedly, police should be able to do what it takes to get the person in handcuffs. The other two who were black and didn’t resist weren’t harmed.
I have never heard the original story, I always knew the other version. How the hell does the story get twisted from the insane original one to him just being a normal driver and beaten for no reason?
I dont think cops should use force except in very rare cases such as this
completely against police using abusive excessive force, but we all need to know the full and true story as to what happens. we usually find out on the news a police officer shot and killed somebody. well…. was that person acting like a jack ass? was he acting as if he were to physical? just saying…
I just going to say this both parties were at fault but that does not justify what happen.
The rodney King beating is so depressing. It’s even worse that 20 years later were still having these problems.
Wow I never knew about this incident. I cannot believe the media incorrectly reported the situation and that it exploded the way that it later did. You would think that they would try to clear the air but they chose to continue with the false story, and unfair consequences resulted.
hmm… well i don’t know people will make anything up and reverse and twist anything up i could only believe what the people in it says, but far as im concerned they should have to beat a guy half to death, because he was drinking and smoking i guess does not give anybody the right to beat a man black brown yellow or white!
The thing is, is that stuff like this is still happening.
That’s the problem with some of these stories you don’t get the whole story and the context behind them before you come to a decision on how you feel and not just act rash based on what you see without context.
This just goes to show that the media doesn’t always report what’s true.
oh the media. only telling half the story sinse the very beginnning
Race violence is always sad to hear about
If it weren’t for Rodney Kings home video footage, he wouldn’t have become famous.
This goes to show you that the media causes so much tension between people.
I sometimes hate the media. It’s sad how much is taken out to convey to public that things are better than they actually are.
I will say I’m for our men and women in the law enforcement, but I am against officers attacking civilians or even young kids (Tamir Rice) he shouldn’t have been killed.
That’s why it is hard to ever judge anyone based simply what is shared by the media.