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Rodney King

 
Who2 Biography: Rodney King, Beating Victim
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  • Born: 2 April 1965
  • Birthplace: Sacramento, California
  • Best Known As: The motorist whose beating set off the 1992 L.A. riots

Rodney Glen King was the black motorist whose beating by white police officers ultimately sparked widespread rioting in Los Angeles in 1992. In the early hours of 3 March 1991, King was pulled over by the cops for driving recklessly. A witness, George Holliday, videotaped the end of King's encounter with police from his apartment balcony. The video shows the officers severely beating King in the presence of other L.A. cops -- all told, nearly 20 seconds of whacking and kicking as King tries to rise from the ground. Aired repeatedly all over the U.S., the footage shocked viewers and charges were brought against four cops: Laurence Powell, Theodore Briseno, Timothy Wind and Stacey Koon. On 29 April 1992 a jury acquitted three of the officers and deadlocked on the charges against Powell. Predominantly African American areas of the city erupted in violence, and after six days there were more than 50 fatalities, thousands of arrests and an estimated billion dollars in property damage. At one point King appeared before cameras in a plea that has since been boiled down to simply, "Can we all get along here? Can we all get along?" King was awarded $3.8 million after a civil suit against the city (and others).

Powell and Koon were convicted in federal court of violating King's civil rights and were sentenced to 30 months in prison... King still occasionally makes headlines over minor run-ins with the law.

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Law Encyclopedia: King, Rodney G.
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This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

The 1991 beating of Rodney G. King by Los Angeles, California, police led to state and federal criminal prosecution of the law enforcement officers involved in the assault, a civil jury award of $3.8 million to King for his injuries, and major reforms in the Los Angeles police department. In addition, the April 1992 acquittal of the white police officers for the beating of King, an African American, touched off riots in Los Angeles that rank as the worst in U.S. history. The controversy surrounding each of these actions raised the issues of race, racism, and police brutality in communities throughout the United States.

On the evening of March 3, 1991, Rodney King was driving his automobile when a highway police officer signaled him to pull over to the side of the road. King, who had been drinking, fled, later testifying that he was afraid he would be returned to prison for violating his parole. A high-speed chase ensued with a number of Los Angeles police officers and vehicles involved. The police eventually pulled King over. After King got out of his car, four officers — Stacey C. Koon, Laurence M. Powell, Timothy E. Wind, and Theodore J. Briseno— kicked King and hit him with their batons more than fifty times while he struggled on the ground.

Unbeknownst to the officers, an amateur photographer, George Holliday, videotaped eighty-one seconds of the beating. The videotape was shown repeatedly on national television and became a symbol of complaints about police brutality.

The four officers were charged with numerous criminal counts, including assault with a deadly weapon, the use of excessive force, and filing a false police report. Because of the extensive publicity surrounding the case, the trial of the four police officers was conducted in Simi Valley, a predominantly white community located in Ventura County, not far from Los Angeles. During the trial the prosecution used the videotape as its principal source of evidence and did not have King testify. The defense also used the videotape, examining it frame by frame to bolster its contention that King was resisting arrest and that the violence was necessary to subdue him. The defense also contended that the videotape distorted the events of that night, because it did not capture what happened before and after the eighty-one seconds of tape recording.

On April 29, 1992, the jury, which included ten whites, one Filipino American, and one Hispanic, but no African Americans, found the four police officers not guilty on ten of the eleven counts and could not come to an agreement on the other count. The acquittals stunned many persons who had seen the videotape. Within two hours riots erupted in the predominantly black South Central section of Los Angeles. The riots lasted seventy hours, leaving 60 people dead, more than 2,100 people injured, and between $800 million and $1 billion in damage in Los Angeles. Order was restored through the combined efforts of the police, more than ten thousand National Guard troops, and thirty-five hundred Army and Marine Corps troops.

In the riot's aftermath, criticism of the Los Angeles police, which had escalated after the King beating, grew stronger. Many believed that the longtime police chief, Daryl F. Gates, had not sufficiently prepared for the possibility of civil unrest and had made poor decisions in the first hours of the riots. These criticisms, coupled with the determination by an independent commission headed by Warren G. Christopher (a distinguished attorney who served in the State Department during the administration of President Jimmy Carter) that Gates should be replaced because of the brutality charges, placed increasing pressure on the police chief. Gates finally resigned in late June 1992.

In August 1992 a federal grand jury indicted the four officers for violating King's civil rights. Koon was charged with depriving King of due process of law by failing to restrain the other officers. The other three officers were charged with violating King's right against unreasonable search and seizure because they had used unreasonable force during the arrest.

At the federal trial, which was held in Los Angeles, the jury was more racially diverse than the one at Simi Valley: two jury members were black, one was Hispanic, and the rest were white. This time King testified about the beating and charged that the officers had used racial epithets. Observers agreed that he was an effective witness. The videotape again was the central piece of evidence for both sides. On April 17, 1993, the jury convicted officers Koon and Powell of violating King's civil rights but acquitted Wind and Briseno. Koon and Powell were sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

King filed a civil lawsuit against the police officers and the city of Los Angeles. After settlement talks broke down, the case went to trial in early 1994. On April 19, 1994, the jury awarded King $3.8 million in compensatory damages. However, the jury refused to award King punitive damages. In July 1994 the city of Los Angeles struck a deal whereby King agreed to drop any plans to appeal the jury's verdict on punitive damages. In return, the city of Los Angeles agreed to expedite payment of King's compensatory damages.

Quotes By: Rodney King
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Quotes:

"Please, we can get along here."

Wikipedia: Rodney King
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Rodney King
Born April 2, 1965 (1965-04-02) (age 44)
Nationality American
Known for Victim of police brutality

Rodney Glen King (born April 2, 1965 in Sacramento, California) is a Black American who, on March 3, 1991, was the victim of police brutality, committed by Los Angeles police officers. A bystander, George Holliday, videotaped much of the incident from a distance.

The footage showed LAPD officers repeatedly striking King with their batons. A portion of this footage was aired by news agencies around the world, causing public outrage that raised tensions between the black community and the LAPD and increased anger over police brutality and social inequalities in the black/African-American community and the worldwide community as a whole.

Four LAPD officers were later tried in a state court for the beating but were acquitted. The announcement of the acquittals sparked the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. A later federal trial for civil rights violations ended with two of the officers found guilty and sent to prison and the other two officers acquitted.

Contents

Incident

Screenshot of footage of King beaten by LAPD officers on March 3, 1991.

On the night of March 2, 1991, Rodney King and two passengers, Bryant Allen and Freddie Helms, were driving west on Foothill Freeway (Interstate 210) in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. The three men had spent the night watching a basketball game and drinking at a friend’s house in Los Angeles.[1] The presumptive evidence, from a blood-alcohol level test taken 5 hours after the incident, when King registered just under the legal limit, is that as King drove his blood alcohol level was approximately 0.19—nearly two and a half times the legal limit in California.[2] At 12:30 AM, Officers Tim and Melanie Singer, a husband-and-wife team of the California Highway Patrol, spotted King’s car speeding. The Singers pursued King, and they claimed the subsequent freeway chase reached speeds in excess of 100 mph.[3] According to King’s own statements, he refused to pull the car over because a DUI would violate his parole for a previous robbery conviction.[4]

King exited the freeway, and the chase continued through residential streets at speeds allegedly ranging from 55 to 80 mph.[5][6] By this point, several police cars and a helicopter had joined in the pursuit. After approximately eight miles, officers cornered King’s car. The first five LAPD officers to arrive at the scene were: Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseno, and Rolando Solano.

Highway Patrolman Tim Singer ordered King and his two passengers to exit the vehicle and lie face down on the ground. The two passengers complied and were taken into custody without incident.[1] King initially remained in the car. When he finally did emerge, he acted bizarrely: giggling; patting the ground; and waving to the police helicopter overhead.[6] King then grabbed his buttocks. Highway Patrol Officer Melanie Singer momentarily thought he was reaching for a gun.[7] She drew her gun and pointed it at King, ordering him to lie on the ground. King complied. Singer approached King with her gun drawn, preparing to make the arrest.

At this point, Sergeant Stacey Koon intervened and ordered Singer to holster her weapon. LAPD officers are taught not to approach a suspect with a drawn gun, as there is a risk of the suspect gaining control of it if they get too close.[8] Koon then ordered the four other LAPD officers at the scene—Briseno, Powell, Solano, and Wind—to subdue and handcuff King. As the officers attempted to do so, King physically resisted. King rose up, tossing Officers Powell and Briseno off his back. King then allegedly struck Officer Briseno in the chest.[9] Seeing this, Koon ordered all of the officers to fall back. The officers later testified that they believed King was under the influence of the dissociative drug phencyclidine (PCP),[10] although King's toxicology results tested negative for PCP.[11]

The use of the taser

Sergeant Koon then ordered the officers to "stand clear." While King was still on the ground, he shot King with a Taser. King groaned; momentarily fell to the ground; then stood back up. Koon fired the Taser again, knocking King to the ground.[9] Powell's arrest report states that the Taser "temporarily halt[ed] deft's [King's] attack," and Solano stated that the Taser appeared to affect King at first because "the suspect shook and yelled for almost five seconds."[12]

Beating with Batons: Events on the Holliday Video

As George Holliday's videotape begins, King is on the ground. He rose and moved toward Powell. Solano termed it a "lunge," as said it was in the direction of Koon.[13] From the videotape it is impossible to tell whether the movement is intended as an attack or simply an effort to get away. At this time taser wires can be seen coming from King's body. As King moved forward Officer Powell then struck King with his baton, the blow hit King's head knocking him to the ground immediately.[14] Powell hit King several additional times with his baton. The videotape shows Briseno moving in to try and stop Powell from swinging, and Powell then backing up. Koon reportedly yelled "that's enough." King then rose to his knees: Powell and Wind continued to hit King with their batons while he was on the ground.[15]

Koon acknowledged that he ordered the baton blows, directing Powell and Wind to hit King with "power strokes." According to Koon, Powell and Wind used "bursts of power strokes, then backed off." Notwithstanding the repeated "power strokes," the videotape shows King apparently continued to try and get up. Koon ordered the officers to "hit his joints, hit the wrists, hit his elbows, hit his knees, hit his ankles."[16]

Finally, after 56 baton blows and six kicks, five or six officers swarmed in and placed King in both handcuffs and cordcuffs restraining his arms and legs. King was dragged on his stomach to the side of the road to await arrival of a rescue ambulance.[17] Unseen by those involved, the lengthy beating was caught on video by a private citizen, George Holliday, from his apartment near the intersection of Foothill Blvd and Osborne St. in Lake View Terrace. Holliday did not know what he was recording at the time, and only realized later when he played the tape back. He contacted the police about a videotape of the incident but was dismissed. He then went to the news with his videotape.

Post-arrest events

King was taken to Pacifica Hospital immediately after his arrest. He suffered a fractured facial bone, and a broken right ankle, and numerous bruises and lacerations.[18]. In this negligence claim filed with the City, King alleged he had suffered "11 skull fractures, permanent brain damage, broken [bones and teeth], kidney damage [and] emotional and physical trauma."[19] Blood and urine samples taken from King five hours after his arrest showed that his blood-alcohol level was 0.075%, indicating that at the time of his arrest, he was over the level at which one can be presumed intoxicated under California law. The tests also show "traces" of marijuana (26 ng/ml), but no indication of PCP or any other illegal drug.[20] At Pacifica Hospital, where King was taken for initial treatment, nurses reported that the officers who accompanied King (including Wind) openly joked and bragged about the number of times King had been hit. [21]

Trial of the officers

The Los Angeles district attorney charged officers Koon, Powell, Briseno, and Wind with use of excessive force. While Sergeant Koon did not strike King and had only used the Taser, he was the supervisory officer at the scene and was charged for "willfully permitting and failing to take action to stop the unlawful assault." The initial judge was replaced, and the new judge changed the venue, as well as the jury pool, citing contamination of the jury pool by the media coverage. The new venue was a new courthouse in Simi Valley in neighboring Ventura County. The jury consisted of Ventura County residents — ten whites, one Latino and one Asian. The prosecutor, Terry White, was African-American. On April 29, 1992, the jury acquitted three of the officers, but could not agree about one of the charges for Powell.[1]

Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley said, "the jury's verdict will not blind us to what we saw on that videotape. The men who beat Rodney King do not deserve to wear the uniform of the L.A.P.D."[22]

Los Angeles riots and the aftermath

Main article: 1992 Los Angeles riots

The news of acquittal triggered the Los Angeles riots of 1992. By the time the police, the US Army, the Marines and the National Guard restored order, the casualties included 53 deaths, 2,383 injuries, more than 7,000 fires, damages to 3,100 businesses, and nearly $1 billion in financial losses. Smaller riots occurred in other cities such as Las Vegas and Atlanta. On May 1, 1992, the third day of the L.A riots, King appeared in public before television news cameras to appeal for calm, asking:

“ People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it, making it horrible for the older people and the kids?...It’s just not right. It’s not right. It’s not, it’s not going to change anything. We’ll, we’ll get our justice....Please, we can get along here. We all can get along. I mean, we’re all stuck here for a while. Let’s try to work it out. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to work it out.[23] ”

Federal trial of officers

After the riots, the United States Department of Justice reinstated investigation and obtained an indictment of violations of federal civil rights against the four officers. The federal trial focused more on the evidence as to the training of officers instead of just relying on the videotape of the incident. On March 9 of the 1993 trial, King took the witness stand and described to the jury the events as he remembered them.[24] The jury found Officer Laurence Powell and Sergeant Stacey Koon guilty, who were subsequently sentenced to 30 months in prison, while Timothy Wind and Theodore Briseno were acquitted of all charges.

Cultural impact of the event

The video of the beating is an example of inverse surveillance of citizens watching police. Several copwatch organizations were subsequently organized nationally to safeguard against police abuse, including an umbrella group, October 22 Coalition to Stop Police Brutality.[25] The clip to Ministry's song N.W.O. features a re-enactment of the assault video, substituting a woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty for King.

After the riots

King was awarded $3.8 million in a civil case and used some of the proceeds to start a hip hop music label, Straight Alta-Pazz Recording Company.[26]

On November 29, 2007, while going home King was shot in the face, arms, back and torso with birdshot by two thieves attempting to steal his bicycle,[27] but his injuries were described as not life-threatening.

Like his father, King is an alcoholic. In 1993, he entered an alcohol rehabilitation program and was placed on probation after crashing his vehicle into a block wall in downtown Los Angeles. In July 1995, he was arrested by Alhambra police, who alleged that he hit his wife with his car, knocking her to the ground. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail after being convicted of hit and run.[28] On August 27, 2003, King was arrested again for speeding and running a red light while under the influence of alcohol. He failed to yield to police officers and slammed his SUV into a house, breaking his pelvis.[29] In May 2008 King checked into the Pasadena Recovery Center in Pasadena, California, which was filmed as part of the second season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which premiered in October 2008. Dr. Drew Pinsky, who runs the facility, showed concern for King's lifestyle and said that he (King) will die unless his "fatal disease" is treated.[30] He also appeared on Sober House, a Celebrity Rehab spin-off focusing on a sober living environment, which aired in early 2009. Both shows filmed King's quest to not only achieve sobriety, but to reestablish a relationship with his family, which had been severely damaged due to his drinking.[31]

King won[32] a celebrity boxing match against ex Chester City (Delaware County, PA) police officer Simon Aouad on Friday, September 11, 2009 at the Ramada Philadelphia Airport in Essington, Pennsylvania.[33]

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b c "JURIST - The Rodney King Beating Trials". http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/trials24.htm. 
  2. ^ Cannon, Official Negligence, pp 39
  3. ^ Koon v. United States 518 U.S. 81 (1996)
  4. ^ Cannon, Official Negligence, pp 43
  5. ^ "Seven Minutes in Los Angeles – A special report.; Videotaped Beating by Officers Puts Full Glare on Brutality Issue". The New York Times. March 18, 1991. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE5DE1539F93BA25750C0A967958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 
  6. ^ a b US News and World Report: May 23, 1993, The Untold Story of the LA Riot
  7. ^ Cannon, Official Negligence, pp 27
  8. ^ Cannon, Official Negligence, pp 28
  9. ^ a b Cannon, Official Negligence, pp 31
  10. ^ Cannon, Official Negligence, pp ?
  11. ^ Prosecution Rests Case in Rodney King Beating Trial, The Washington Post, March 16, 1993.
  12. ^ http://www.parc.info/client_files/Special%20Reports/1%20-%20Chistopher%20Commision.pdf, The Christopher Commission Chapter 1 pg 6
  13. ^ http://www.parc.info/client_files/Special%20Reports/1%20-%20Chistopher%20Commision.pdf, The Christopher Commission, Chapter 1, pg 6
  14. ^ http://www.parc.info/client_files/Special%20Reports/1%20-%20Chistopher%20Commision.pdf, The Christopher Commission Chapter 1, pg 7, "the blow hit King's head"
  15. ^ http://www.parc.info/client_files/Special%20Reports/1%20-%20Chistopher%20Commision.pdf, The Christopher Commission Chapter 1, pg 7
  16. ^ http://www.parc.info/client_files/Special%20Reports/1%20-%20Chistopher%20Commision.pdf, The Christopher Commission, Chapter 1, pg 7
  17. ^ http://www.parc.info/client_files/Special%20Reports/1%20-%20Chistopher%20Commision.pdf, The Christopher Commission, Chapter 1, pg 7
  18. ^ Cannon, Official Negligence, pp 205
  19. ^ http://www.parc.info/client_files/Special%20Reports/1%20-%20Chistopher%20Commision.pdf, The Christopher Commission. Chapter 1, pg 8
  20. ^ http://www.parc.info/client_files/Special%20Reports/1%20-%20Chistopher%20Commision.pdf, The Christopher Commission, Chapter 1, pg 8
  21. ^ http://www.parc.info/client_files/Special%20Reports/1%20-%20Chistopher%20Commision.pdf, The Christopher Commission, Chapter 1, pg 15
  22. ^ NY Times: April 30, 1992, THE POLICE VERDICT; Los Angeles Policemen Acquitted in Taped Beating
  23. ^ Ralph Keyes. The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When. ISBN 0-312-34004-4
  24. ^ Mydans, Seth (March 10, 2003). "Rodney King Testifies on Beating: 'I Was Just Trying to Stay Alive'". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE6DE163AF933A25750C0A965958260. Retrieved March 5, 2009. 
  25. ^ PBS[1] and the ACLU[2] draw connections between the event and the subsequent activities of many organizations.
  26. ^ BBC News "Flashback: Rodney King and the L.A riots"
  27. ^ Reston, Maeve (2007-11-30). "Rodney King is shot while riding his bicycle.". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-king30nov30,1,3616306.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california&ctrack=1&cset=true. Retrieved 2007-11-30. 
  28. ^ LA Times: Rodney King
  29. ^ Rodney King slams SUV into house, breaks pelvis
  30. ^ TV Guide; June 23, 2008; Page 8
  31. ^ Sober House Will Follow Celebrity Rehab Cast, Andy Dick in Sober Living RealityBlurred.com, December 19, 2008
  32. ^ Rodney King Fight Results BittenAndBound.com, September 12, 2009
  33. ^ No Plan to “Get Along” When Rodney King Takes on Former Cop NBC Philadelphia, August 20, 2009

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