Ethics characterize the ethically acknowledged conduct of a public or a specific gathering. Ethics manage the basic human associations of how we think and carry on towards others and how we would wish similar individuals carried on towards us. Hence, morals are standards of lead that administer an individual or gathering. Many organizations have various code of ethics that govern them. A certain code of ethics governs the police and law enforcement to help them enforce the law. Therefore, better decision making, communication, and the crisis management expertise are needed to help ensure ethics for police officers. The court’s decision to acquit the four police officers was unexpected after the 1992 riots. The case was described as flawed and it raises questions of whether the riots would have turned out differently had the law enforcement responded flawlessly. This paper intends to explore the ethics involved in the Flawed Emergency Response to the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.
On the evening before the fateful riots of 1992 in Los Angeles, Rodney King was over speeding because he was tipsy. Rodney King was on parole and was afraid of going back to jail and thus he ran. Two police officers followed and cornered him (Rosegrant, 2000). Instead of arresting him, they began beating him and racially insulting him. Later, the jury acquitted Los Angeles police officers involved in the beating (Rosegrant, 2000). The video was caught in camera and resulted in outrage that led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots. the riots were destructive and led to the death of 54 people, more than 2000 people injured, and property worth an estimated $1 billion destroyed.
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Ethical conduct is important for any organization. Ethics ensures that the employees in an organization behave in the right manner according to the organization’s values. Any organization goes through ethical issues that require them to choose between the right and unethical issue. The police department lacked ethics in the way they handled the riots. First, it was lack of ethics that led to the outrage, as they had beaten up an African American motorist for speeding (Ignatieff, 2014). The tensions between the African American and other minority communities with the predominantly while police department were apparent for a long time and were just waiting to erupt (Gibson, 2015). Another issue was the tension between African American community and the police department. The beating of Rodney King was just a representation of the beatings the African American and Hispanics encountered every time. The police officers were also blamed for illegal arrests of the African American and Hispanics as well as shooting them deliberately (Chang & Leong, 2017). Therefore, the lack of ethics existed in the criminal justice system even before the riots. Hence, when the four police were acquitted, the public was outraged as they understood such actions would never go away.
Leadership is widely seen as an effective role in ensuring ethical behavior in any organization. The way leaders behave often forms ethics and regulations that shape the conduct of their team members. The actions of the leaders are critical in promoting good behavior and nurturing an ethical culture that is essential for the organization. The leadership in the Los Angeles police department was flawed. The lack of ethical leadership resulted in the white community disregarding the difficulties of the minorities in the city. (Rosegrant, 2000). Some LAPD officers reporting on the riots in the black communities’ neighborhoods use a code that said that non-human involved, meaning they did not regard the black people as humans (Rosegrant, 2000). Nevertheless, not all the leaders were unethical as the mayor and the police chief believed that the four police officers should not have been acquitted.
Transparency in an organization focuses on communication. It exemplifies honesty and open communication on the action an organization takes and whether they are consistent with their values. It also helps ensure ethics in the organization are known to everyone. The LAPD was not transparent in the way they dealt with the riots. It was discovered that the police department of Los Angeles was not well-equipped to deal with such riots (Rosegrant, 2000). The LAPD was not also anticipating such as reaction from the African American community and some of the police officers even admitted that there was no response at all from the LAPD (Rosegrant, 2000). However, it should be noted that the social issues affecting the community also contributed to the flawed response from the police officers. The social issues would not have been resolved had there been no riots at that time. In addition to the economic and political disparities, the African Americans, and the other minorities experience racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
In conclusion, there were various ethical issues that led to the Flawed Emergency Response to the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Evidently, the police department and the criminal justice system was not ethical in its undertaking during and after 1992 riots. Ethical conduct is important for any organization. The police officers showed ethical misconduct by beating and racial abusing Rodney King. Leadership is widely seen as an efficient role in ensuring ethical behavior in any organization. The way leaders behave often forms ethics and regulations that shape the conduct of their team members. While some leaders were ethical, most of the LAPD officers acted unethically during the riot. Leaders should be transparent and honest to ensure ethical values in the organization. The police officers did not respond to the incidences reported when the riots broke.
References
Chang, E. T., & Leong, R. C. (Eds.). (2017). Los Angeles--Struggles toward Multiethnic Community: Asian American, African American, and Latino Perspectives . University of Washington Press.
Gibson, C. L. (2015). There's a riot going on! Race and rebellion in contemporary African American culture.
Ignatieff, M. (2014). The Moral Operating System of a Global City: Los Angeles. Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs .
Rosegrant, S. (2000). The Flawed Emergency Response to the 1992 Los Angeles Riots . John F. Kennedy School of Government.
