How Did Rodney King Escape The Police

Rodney King in his earlier years had no trouble with the police, It wasn't until later that issues began occurring.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 claiming that he was resisting.Later a video came out and it showed king getting beaten by the cops following him. There was no evidence of him resisting. The video spread and sparked reactions all across America. Lives were lost and thousands of dollars of damage was caused because of rioting. The cops responsible were charged a year later but the charges were dropped. In 1993 the trial

ended with two of the officers being found guilty and the other two once again acquitted of any charges.

Kings father died at the age of 42 leaving his mother in charge of him and his four siblings.“He was born and brought up in California and got into trouble with the law for the first time when he was 24 years old, after he attacked a store owner in California...”(unknown). He stole 200 dollars from a Korean store owner. He was caught and sentenced two years in jail.  After only serving a year he was released and put on parole. King had three daughters and two wives. Both marriages ended with a divorce.

King was driving while intoxicated and tried avoiding the police.“According to ABC News, the whole thing started when King and a friend led a group of California Highway Patrol officers on a high-speed car chase.”(Hawkins).

King was with two people  Bryant Allen and Freddie Helms. The three men spent the night drinking.“King, who was intoxicated, had been caught speeding and initially tried to evade the police.”(Adams). King attempted to escape the police because driving under the influence would violate his patrol. While the officers pulled king out of the car, George holliday took out is camera and got it all on

tape.

Although King's beating was videotaped, the cops responsible were still acquitted of any charges.“In 81 seconds of video footage captured on a bystander's camcorder, police were seen kicking and clubbing King 56 times.”(Rothman,Matiash).

Rodney king became a national sensation. He was featured on several news broadcast. People all over America were disgusted by what they saw. The video showed no evidence of King resisting. In fact witnesses reported hearing him say ,” Please stop, please stop.”However the police officers there saw him as a threat. Over a year after the beating the charges towards the LAPD officers were dropped The trial was held in a majority white neighborhood.This upset all of America but Los Angeles had the biggest response. “Los Angeles was rocked by widespread rioting, looting and acts of arson after four white cops were acquitted of nearly all assault charges in the videotaped beating of Rodney King, the black motorist...”(Polner).Many were surprised and upset when the officers involved in the beating were not charged despite their incriminating evidence. However nearly two years after the assault two of the officers were charged while the other two were acquitted once again of any charges. King was given 3.8 million dollars for his injuries from the

assault.

The jury in charge of king's case was majority white and most of them held king responsible for what happened to him.“The jury was comprised of ten white people, one Hispanic person and one Asian person...”( A and E television networks).The jury Noted that King drove 8 miles before he was pulled over. They believed king's lack of cooperation was the cause of his beating. Kings two friends who were also in the car cooperated with the police. The jury believed the police had no other choice. King was not cooperating, he was a dangerous person.“He could have stopped the action,” one juror was quoted as saying by ABC News. “He could have stopped it.”(Arena). The jury all together agreed that King controlled the whole show with his actions therefore acquitting the police involved of any charges. The fact that there were no African American jurors did not go unnoticed in fact many complained that the jury's decision was bias and king had no fair representation.

Rodney king's beating and the verdict of his case both sparked outrage.“The riots over five days in the spring of 1992 left more than 50 people dead, and more than 2,000 injured.”(CNN). Many took their anger to the streets and began destroying property. Some of which was in their own communities.  Independent businesses,post offices,salons-were set on fire. Studies have been conducted to find the reason to why rioters destroy their own communities. Scientist found a theory: “When others don't respect your community, you don't either.”This may be the reason to all the damage caused by the rioters. They don't feel the police respect their community so they shouldn't either. “The rioting destroyed or damaged over 1,000 buildings in the Los Angeles area. The estimated cost of the damages was over $1 billion.”(CNN). The damage to property and even assaults toward police left many in trouble with the law. Three days into the riots king pleaded for peace.

Rodney king exposed the truth about police brutality to all of America."It was his beating that made America focus on the presence of profiling and police misconduct," (CBS). Police brutality against black men was nothing new. In some neighborhoods this happened everyday. It was only until the video of Rodney King went viral that all of America really knew about police brutality."It was the first time the black community's complaints couldn't be denied and swept under the rug."(Morris). Before kings beating it was almost as if African Americans were making police brutality up. But now that this video is out, America as a country is forced to face the realities of police brutality.

Rodney king was a symbol for police brutality.“He just happened to be the right guy at the wrong time and wrong place — a perfect symbol to highlight the issue of police brutality.”(Jennings). What happened to Rodney king was horrible. But the implications that came with it some might say was a turning point. “People were angry for him and identify with him, but with that they are uplifting their own brutality stories. People rose up not for Rodney King. It was more than him. It was us seeing ourselves in him.”(Jennings).

Rodney King's beating led to changes in the LAPD. “The Christopher Commission, ordered by then-mayor Tom Bradley, was a full examination of the department's structure and operations following the riots.” (Bliss). The LAPD was forced to scale back. After rodney king's beating they hired new chiefs and lowered the term to five years. The LAPD chief quit and was replaced by a black chief who also helped implicate change. Although some changes were implicated into the LAPD some say the LAPD became more militaristic, advocating or pursuing an aggressive military policy; hawkish.“Under police Chief William Bratton in the 2000s, the department focused on community policing, hired more minority officers and worked to resolve tensions between officers and minority communities who continued to complain about racial profiling and excessive use of force.”(CBS).

King was found dead at the age of 47 the bottom of a pool. His cause of death is unknown.King  earlier stated in an interview that when he was assaulted it felt like he was in a different world. He said he felt like a slave at that moment. But despite these feeling king knew that he had to let go.Rodney King a decade after his beating announced that he decided to forgive the police involved in his assault.  He no longer wanted to be mad, so he let God deal with it.King believed that he needed to forgive the officers. He was someone who has made mistakes and has been forgiven repeatedly. He felt as if he needed to return the favor. He also stated  that he was blessed to be able to be alive and retell his story. Because of this when King Died he was more than a victim. He was a symbol for forgiveness. But Rodney never wanted to be remembered as a symbol but as a man. He once told an interviewer that he didn't go to school to be known as Rodney King. Even Kings daughter states that before he was a symbol he was a man. A father figure. King's beating not only affected his life but also his daughters. Despite this King tried to be a good father and be their for his daughters despite his unwanted fame.