Skip to Content (press Enter/Return)
Essays
Topics
preview

We Must Put an End to Police Brutality

Best Essays
Open Document
Rodney King, one of America’s most powerful civil rights activists for people abused by police, has taught the world a lesson in his plea: “People, I just want to say, can’t we all get along?” On March 3, 1991, after a high-speed chase, King was pulled out of his car, thrown on to the ground, and beaten up by the Los Angeles police, which George Holliday videotaped. The four L.A.P.D. officers involved were charged with assault with a deadly weapon and one officer was charged with using of excessive force. However, after a three-month trial, which was held in Simi Valley, a suburb of Los Angeles, a predominantly white jury acquitted the officers. This inflamed the citizens, which resulted in the violent 1992 Los Angeles riots.

In this pie graph, the statistics are given for the amount of killed, injured, and arrested citizens that were involved in the 1992 Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, California (Rodney King Biography 1). Overall, more than 50 people died, over 2000 were hurt, and about 9500 were arrested for damaging property, which cost the city one billion dollars. Two of the four L.A.P.D. officers were found guilty in August of 1992 after the United States Department of Justice filed federal civil rights charges against them. King was eventually awarded $3.8 million in a civil trial for the injuries he sustained. King explained his beating to The Guardian in May of 2012, stating, “I’m comfortable with my position in American history. It was like being raped, stripped of everything, being beaten near to death there on the concrete, on the asphalt. I just knew how it felt to be a slave. I felt like I was in another world.” He also stated about his healing process, “I had to learn to forgive. I couldn’t sleep at night. …...

... middle of paper ...

...olice Facing Inquiry over Foul Abuse Left on Victim's Voicemail." EbscoHost. N.p., 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

"Kyrgyzstan: Police Abuse, Extortion of Gay Men." Human Rights Watch | Defending Human Rights Worldwide. Human Rights Watch, 29 Jan. 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

Lynch, Tim. "National Police Misconduct Newsfeed Daily Recap (03-19-14)." PoliceMisconductnet. CATO Institute, 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

"Quick Facts: US Police Brutality." PressTV - Quick Facts: US Police Brutality. Press TV, 17 Dec. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

"Rodney King Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

Ryan, Tom. Following Atticus: Forty-eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship. New York: William Morrow, 2011. Print.

Shuey, Paul. "Mishandling of Home Invasion Incident." Cop Block. CopBlock.org, 21 Mar. 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Get Access
Related
Get Access