Even though the use of excessive force by the disciplined forces, such as prison guards and police was not an uncommon sight at the time, the Rodney King incident was a bit unusual. It was caught on camera and the perceived breakers of law; violators of the human right were acquitted after a 3-month trial. The year was 1992, on April 29, when the Los Angeles riot erupted, bringing to a boiling point the simmering underlying issues which had been affecting not only the state of California but the whole US; police brutality on the minorities and the acrimony between law enforcers and the minority communities in their neighborhoods. Following the acquittal of the four white police officers captured on camera beating Rodney King to an inch of his life, angry residents mostly from the African American communities took to the streets protesting, looting and burning, leaving more than 50 people dead, and property worth approximately $1bn destroyed (Morris, 2012). The situation was later arrested with assistance from the California National Guards and the Federal troops. More importantly was the formation of the Christopher Commission to bring reforms to the police force. This paper is going to assess the Rodney King incident, its key players and its contribution in bringing reforms to the police force changing the relationship between law enforcers and the communities they operate in.
The incident
The day was March 3, 1991, when Rodney King and his two friends, playing loud music and driving over 80 miles an hour were going home from a heavy drinking spree with friends before they were flagged down to stop by the California Highway Patrol. Instead, King stepped on the accelerator leading to a dangerous police chase from the highway all the way to the residential neighborhoods. It is approximated that King could have been over sped at 115 miles per hour during the 8 miles police chase. When the police finally managed to stop the car, it is believed that unlike his counterparts, King tried to resist arrest causing the officers of the Los Angeles Police Department to tease him before pouncing on him with deadly force and brutally injured him. In two and a half minutes, the four white officers had delivered a scathing attack with 56 baton blows and six kicks to King (New York Times, 1992). This use of excessive force resulted in serious physical harm with a brain and kidney damage plus eleven skull fractures. George Holliday, the person who witnessed the whole scenario as he was standing on his balcony, captured the whole incident on camera and took it to the local L.A TV stations the following day.
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By the end of the day, 4th of March, 1991, TV stations all over the world were broadcasting the video footage dividing Americans right in the middle between those who though King should have stopped sooner and those who thought the police were wrong to use such a force. About a week later after the incident, on March 15, the four police officers, Sgt. Stacey C. Koon, Officer Laurence M. Powell, Officer Theodore Briseno, and Officer Timothy Wind were charged with the assault on King with a deadly weapon and use of excessive force. They all pleaded not guilty taking the case to a full trial which started almost a year later. Out of heavy media coverage and tension within the Los Angeles County, the trial was moved to the neighboring Ventura Country at Simi Valley a predominantly white neighborhood. The jury which deliberated on the case was also heavily biased composing of nine whites, a single biracial, one person from Asian origin, one Latino and an African American prosecutor.
On April 29, the jury acquitted three defendants of all charges and was deadlocked on the fourth defendant. This elicited a lot of anger from the people of South Central Los Angeles responding to the jury’s verdict with several days of rioting, killing and looting. The violence spread to other parts of the city completely overpowering the state’s police department forcing the state to bring in the California National Guard and the Federal troops and bring back order. During the six days of chaos in the city, 54 lost their lives mostly of Hispanic background, 2,383 injured, and approximately 14000 people were arrested. The estimated loss of property regarding the looted businesses and destroyed buildings was to the tune of $1bn. out of public outcry, civil and media pressure, the case was sent to the federal court, and this time the four officers were indicted by a federal grand jury. They were charged with violating the civil rights of Rodney King and sent to 30 months in prison.
The reasons which the jury base their decision to acquit the accused included the fact that they believed some part of the video, the first three seconds of a thirteen segment was edited out by the media houses hiding what the defendant might have done to provoke the police. King on separate occasions was seen charging at the police officers and resisting arrest. The other argument for the acquittal for the for four police officers is that out the aggressive media attention on the case; jurors may have become numb or unmoved by the violence in the video. This over playing of the video broke down the emotional impact of the violence. Despite the actions which King would have made prior to the beating, there is no way one was allowed to meet such a beating to an armed individual. The jury got their verdict wrong, and a big part of the judgment is based on their racial biases towards the accused and against the defendant.
Key Players/Issues in the Rodney King Incident
The issue of racism and police brutality against the minorities was not a new phenomenon in Los Angeles, and the captured footage of police brutalizing King only served as a catalyst that caused the Los Angeles, riots. Behind the riots, there were several simmering issues that were coming to boiling point. The South Central Los Angeles was predominantly an African American neighborhood which was dominated by gangs, abuse of drugs and low level of education amongst the people something contributed to joblessness and limited opportunities. During the riots, Korean establishments were the most targets following the simmering racial and cultural differences between the growing Korean merchant population and the predominant African-Americans in South Central Los Angeles. About one year before the riots, back in march 1991, a Korean merchant Soon Ja Du had physically harassed and later shot in the back of the head a fifteen-year-old girl Latasha Harlins . This was after the store owner had suspected that the teenager had stolen from their store a hunch which later on proved negative. Though convicted, the Du was only fined $500 and never sentenced to prison something which brought a lot of hatred between the two communities (Mydans, 1992). This skewed system of justice could have triggered the aggression towards the Koreans and their establishments. Economic disparity within the inner cities and lack of employment for the minorities in the years leading to the riot in South Central Los Angeles could also have been a silent protest only triggered by King’s verdict. At the time the Republican government had generated lots of spending cuts, reducing economic opportunities and social institutions within the inner cities.
From this, we can see that Soon Ja Du was one key player in the cause of the riots that ensued shortly after the acquittal of the four police officers. Apart from Soon Js Du and Latasha Harlins , the main character in the incident is Rodney King. The video footage is showing the police brutalizing him awakened the world or atrocities committed by public servants at the hand of law enforcers. In a quest to decline the hero status given to him, King pleaded with the rioters to stop the killings and find a way to get along with each other. In the aftermath of the trial, he was awarded $3.8 million which he invested in a music company but later collapsed (Gray, 2007). Despite his run-in with the police, King was later arrested more than eleven times and later passed on on June 17, 2012.
Other key players include Daryl Gates the Los Angeles Police chief who was occupying the office at the time of the riot. Though celebrated for key innovations within the force, he was racists, and some of his racist comments polarized his officers in the way they handled and perceived the black community. He also failed to adequately contain the riots leading to the involvement of the Federal troops (Fox news, 2012). George Holiday the person who recorded the beating is another key player in the Rodney King’s incident. He opened the whole world to the kind of treatment minority in the country were facing. Had this concrete evidence never surfaced, King’s complaint against police brutality would not have received any serious hearing.
Another key set or groups of people are the police officers involved in Rodney King’s beating. Stacey Koon the police sergeant in charge during the mishandling of Rodney King though has concurred that the manner of arrest was totally bad, he has also reiterated that the cause of the riot was the way the civil groups and the media heightened the case. After the incident, he resigned from the force and was later sentenced to 30 months in prison. Laurence Powel was the officer who was captured brutalizing the victim more than any other officer. The officer hit Mr. King a record 40 times. Just like Koon, Powel was later convicted of violating King’s civil rights and sentenced to 30 months in prison. Timothy Wind, a rookie cop at the time of the assault was also captured hitting the victim with the butt of his pistol. Though not sentenced, he was fired from the police department and later joined law school after finding it difficult to land a job. Theodore Briseno, the only voice of reason amongst the officer, was the only officer who was acquitted as he was on record guarding the victim against receiving an excess beating from his colleagues (Rosenberg, 1993). He broke ranks with his fellow officers and even testified against them in court where he testified that the sergeant in charge had mishandled the situation while Powel was out of control.
The last group of people who played a key role in the incidents is the rioters who can be singled out for their deeds or miss-deeds. This group includes Reginald Denny, the white truck driver who was pulled out from the car by marauding African Americans and was nearly beaten to death. He suffered serious injuries such as the broken jaw, shattered head and eyes removed from its sockets. He was rescued by another truck driver, an African American Bobby Green. This key player while watching the violence unfold on TV saw Danny being attacked and went to rescue him where he pushed Danny back to the car and drove him to the hospital. In spite of the insults and threats which were laid against him, he testified against Danny’s attackers.
Henry Keith "Keekee" Watson was among the men captured on camera assaulting Reginald Denny who was convicted of the assault and jailed for 17 months before being released. Damian "Football" Williams is another attacker who was captured assaulting Danny and was sentenced to ten years in prison but later on released after four years. Antoine Miller was also captured on camera robbing Danny and was sentenced to 27 months on probation. Garry Miller was yet another attacker who was captured ransacking Danny’s pockets and was sentenced to three years in jail after pleading guilty to robbing and beating Danny (FOX News, 2012).
Ways the Rodney King Beating influenced Change in America
The footage of King beating brought to light one crucial thing that has been happening for years; use of excess force in America is real. This drastically changed the conversation on the same from being a topic discussed by the minorities to a topic discussed at the national level. This led to the development of the Christopher commission to come up with recommendations to check the use of excess force by the police departments. Another crucial change which King’s beating and the subsequent riots brought surrounds the issue of jury composition (Stewart, 2012). Rodney King incident brought a crucial discussion on the racial composition of juries plus the issue of the location of the trial. Despite the fact that such discussions have been going on in the past, it is King’s case which has set precedence, a benchmark for teaching about the best practices both in jury selection and in police force. The incident extended the racial conversation beyond African American versus the whites. Other ethical communities such as the Asian American, the Latinos have all entered in the racial conversation in America. The riot to a great extent contributed to several Los Angeles families arming themselves as a means of self-defense against further violence.
How the Los Angeles Riot Affected the Law Enforcement Relationship with the Community
Prior to the footage of King beating, different police departments were predominantly white, racism and use of excess force were also a common occurrence which was hidden by police’s code of silence. The forces were full of racism, sexism and use of excess force according to Christopher commission report. More than half of the officers in LAPD (68%) were whites. From King’s beating footage and the subsequent establishment of commissions to investigate the matter and come up with recommendations drastic changes took place with force in the country. The most noteworthy reforms that did come out of the Christopher Commission were ending the policy of lifetime terms for police chiefs. By the time of King’s beating the police boss who had supervised the department and perpetuated a system of increased militarization was Daryl Gates who had served in the position for more than ten years. He was forced to resign, and by design, the police department was able to hire new chiefs on Five-year contracts before bringing in a new head of the department. Though the change of culture could have been difficult to make, the new chiefs could institute some level of change in the departments. The recommendation also opened the avenue to show that community policing was not the complete responsibility of the community but also other stakeholders within the community.
In 1994, Congress approved the provisions of the crime control act to address several issues within the police force. One of the provisions of the act was that the justice department had powers to bring a civil case against a local police department that had rampant or several cases of excessive use of force or any other violation of people rights. This gave rise to the development of settlement known as a consent decree. From this move complaints from civilians were taken seriously and in found guilty, the police department had to pay dearly.
This provision has thus far been among the far-reaching conclusion or move which ensures that the entire police management structures are held accountable for their actions. Characteristically, when found guilty of constitutional violations by the Justice Department the punishment under the “consent decrees” will be for the department to be placed directly under the federal monitoring and reforms (Flatow, 2014). Other changes included a change in police training from the combatant paramilitary style to the most interactive style which will enable more interactive community policing. Multiculturalism was also introduced in the force to help the police reflect the communities they were patrolling. Appraisal of police officers also changed the number of arrests made to the number of initiatives a police made to prevent trouble before it happened. More weight has been given to complaining made against police. From the incidents, individual police officers were also forced to become more accountable for their action since the bad response to civilians could warrant some form of punishment or even demotion.
Today, the Los Angeles Police department has significantly improved. Corresponding to this improvement is the crime rate in South Central Los Angeles. Out of community policing and conducive police-community relationship, the crime rate has drastically dropped, and the region has dropped the negative name South Central Los Angeles in favor of South Los Angeles. Its population has also changed a great deal with the predominant community in the region being the Hispanic and not the African Americans. While crime rate and ethnic composition could have changed, other things such as economic opportunities, poverty, and gang activities have not changed. The gap between the rich and the poor still exist, and there lies a potential factor which could trigger another riot.
Conclusion
By being among the first incidents of police brutality with a racial dimension captured on camera and aired to members of the public, the Rodney King’s incident served as a benchmark to initiate several reforms across the police force and justice system of the country. After the incident, the Christopher Commission recommended several adjustments in the police force such introducing the contractual basis of employing a police boss, consent decrees, suitable training and appraisal techniques which will enhance the police relationship with their communities amongst others. In a way, the reforms brought drastic changes even improving the police community relationship, but it has not managed to conclusively address the issue of excessive use of force.
Despite all the legal and policy improvements made, the relationship between the police and members of the minority communities has not improved as much. This is due to the fact that police violence against these minority groups has continued to persist. In fact regarding violence and use of excess force very little has changed. Police officers have been reported to have abused their powers and used excess force some even captured on cameras and juries have gone ahead to acquit them. The same police officers have not been relieved their duties, get back their jobs and the brutality continue. This is a sign that racial violence run deep than training, then policies and then the rules. Both parties have been treating each other with contempt making it difficult to solve the issue. Even though the riots triggered reforms in the police force, so much more will be required to achieve the desired discipline in our disciplined forces.
References
Flatow, N. (2014). What Has Changed About Police Brutality In America, From Rodney King To Michael Brown. Retrieved from https://thinkprogress.org/what-has-changed-about-police-brutality-in-america-from-rodney-king-to-michael-brown-e6b29a2feff8#.48bguwqow
FOX News (2012) ‘Major players in the 1992 Los Angeles riot.’ Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/25/major-players-in-12-los-angeles-riot.html
Gray, M (2007). ‘ The L.A. Riots: 15 Years After Rodney King.’ Time . Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/la_riot/article/0,28804,1614117_1614084_1614831,00.html
Morris, R (2012). ‘LA riots: How 1992 changed the police.’ BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-17878180
Mydans, Seth (May 3, 1992). ‘ Police Beating Trial Opens with Replay of Videotape.’ The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/06/us/police-beating-trial-opens-with-replay-of-videotape.html
Rosenberg, H. (1993). ‘Los Angeles TV Shows Restraint.' Chicago Sun-Times . p. 22. Print
Stewart, A (2012). ‘ 5 ways the Rodney King beating and LA riots changed America .’ CNN. Retrieved from http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/18/5-ways-the-rodney-king-beating-and-la-riots-changed-america/
