Rodney King Research Paper

672 Words2 Pages

On the morning of March 3rd, 1991 an African-American man led police on a high-speed chase through the city of Los Angeles. Approximately eight miles later police swarmed around the car and confronted the driver, who went by the name Rodney King. During the confrontation, officers tortured King until the point he was forced to seek medical care. A case was opened and the police officers were acquitted. This angered many people, specifically Blacks and led to the historical “L.A. Riots’’ , where they felt race had something to do with the case. After a night out of fun Rodney King decided to go home and was believed to be under the influence of PCP, soon he started a large police pursuit that lasted about eight miles. King caused such a ruckus that several police cars and helicopters had to help catch him. The chase began on the highway and ended in a neighborhood, King reached a top speed of 129 km/h. Rodney King was soon cornered by police and had to surrender. When King exited the car he reached for his buttocks which an officer thought he was reaching for a weapon. Rodney King was then beaten by white police until the point he was hospitalized. Rodney King was brutally beaten by police to the point of having multiple injuries. Rodney King was struck with police batons and tased numerous times, all over his body. Rodney King was …show more content…

King said “I realize I will always be the poster child for police brutality, but I can try to use that as a positive force for healing and restraint.” Even though it was 1991 when this incident took place and people thought we were past racism in America, it made us realize racism still exist in America in 1991 and even today. The overall theme of the story is don’t judge a book by it’s cover. In other words a police officer’s image is positive but their motive may not be

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