Rodney King Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Rodney poof Case - Essay ExampleThe driver of the speeding vehicle was Rodney Glenn fairy. He and two fellow passengers were intoxicated at that time. When the car chase ended, the other two did not resist arrest but Rodney King did. According to the constabulary officers present at the scene, he acted aggressively, seemingly threatening the officers. So, they beat him. In fact, within a few minutes 4 officers had badly kicked Rodney King, shocked him, and employ a taser gun and batons. Rodney King sustained eleven skull fractures and major kidney damage (VanHise, n.d.). Had it not been for George Holliday no one would have known of this in-humane behavior. George lived in a close flat and happened to have a camera with which he recorded the entire incident. He later gave the tape to a local news channel and by the next day, March quaternary 1991, the idiot box was playing on news channels everywhere (BBC, 2002). LAPD maintained that officers acted in self-defense. But the now infamous George Holliday word-painting showed a merciless beating of a man who apparently possessed no weapons of any kind and was under the influence of alcohol and looked to be harmless. The video tape got humongous publicity, and due to the public outrage brought on by it, prosecutors filed charges against some of the police officers involved that night (BBC, 2002). ... Everyone reacted with disbelief but for many, the very archetypal emotion they felt was anger. Jurys decision was the last spark needed to ignite riots from thousands of people from suppressed communities of Los Angeles (CNN Wire Staff. 2011). Three days of public violence ensued causing a loss of n early $1 billion in L.A. alone. The riots then extended to other U.S. cities as well leading to 12000 arrests, 2000 reported injuries and 55 deaths. The extensive riots led to a federal civil rights trial of the four accused officers (Delk, 1995). This time around justice was served. The grand jury returned indictme nts against the officers on the 4th of August. The indictments were for three of the police officers for knowingly and deliberately harming an unarmed individual. Koon was accused because he allowed this illegal act to proceed and did not make an attempt to prevent it from happening. A compensation of 3.8 million dollars was given to Rodney as well (Linder, 2011). That beating on March 3, 1991 was not Kings last run-in with the law. In the eld following the trial he was arrested many times. He has been arrested on charges of domestic abuse, DUI, robbing a convenience store and beating the clerk. Most of his problems stem from his addiction to alcohol. Kings parole officer Tim Fowler, describes him as a guy who can intelligently function in society. His problem, according to Tim, is alcoholism. King started drinking at an early age. Born is Sacramento in 1965, King was an exceptional athlete at his school and was attached to his father who passed away sooner than King would have lik ed. King helped his father in cleaning commercial buildings taking the late night shift of 5 pm to 2 am. This really disturbed his