the beating of rodney king

On March 3, 1991, Rodney King was stopped by police officers from the Los Angeles Police Department and beaten up, an attack that was prominently reported on major American television networks. An onlooker, George Holiday, videotaped Rodney King's pounding. In the footage, police officers are seen targeting King with high-voltage tasers before striking him with metal batons (Mydans 3). More than 20 police officers were involved during the notorious king beating, which is included in another detention figure involving minorities. After the video footage of Holliday surfaced on television, the Rodney King case become one of the most publicized cases of police brutality and attack on innocent civilians by police officers. However, although the video speaks for itself, the main narrative used to settle the case initially was based on a single story of the case of King resisting arrest to justify the police of excessive force. Similar to another case of police brutality targeting minority races such as African American, the LAPD officers who beat King defended their actions based on racial profiling (Reinhold 15). The one-sided story of the case shows that King refused to be arrested and started the assault on the police officers. In a real sense, the Rodney King beating shows how police officers cover up their attack by devaluing their target and reinterpreting the event. Besides, the single-sided story is based on using official channels to give the case an appearance of justice through intimidation and police cover-up.

The central narrative of the King beating was based on the decision by the Los Angeles high patrol officers that King was resisting arrest thereby prompting for the use of excessive force. One of the police officers, Sergent Stacey Koon, used a taser gun to fire two shots at King. Laurence Powell uses his police baton to subdue King amidst many police officers. The incident evoked violence and riots in the Los Angeles city claiming more than 50 people and more than 4000 injured (Mydans 13). The four officers involved in the King beating were acquitted by the court based on lack of evidence beyond reasonable doubt that King was resisting arrest and assaulted the police who use police discretion to subdue the issue. This single story of police discretion that gives the police officers powers to use force even excessive force to subdue suspects justifies the release of the four officers. King was compensated and forbidden from talking to the press to avoid further fury among the African American community and restore faith in the police department.

Multiple Perspectives

The side story of the Rodney King beating that is being pushed away by the main narrative is the issue of police brutality and racial profiling of the African American community and other minority races. According to Cannon (11), the Rodney King incident shows a scenario where police officers believe they have superior powers over the ordinary citizens and uses their powers negatively. This unlawful act of the police shows how police officers use excessive force to arrest suspects especially suspects belonging to the African American community. The LAPD in charge of the King beating insisted that King refused to cooperate with the police and started the assault. However, this is the main narrative used to cover up the misconduct portrayed by the police officers and the break of civil rights of Rodney King. Some of the police officers tried to stop the mercilessness that left King with several broken ribs, bruises on the face and body and other unwarranted injuries (Mydans 7). Despite the self-evidence shown in the recorded video by Holliday, the four police officers were acquitted and released with no charges. The case shows how a singular story is used to dismiss the other side of the story and cover-up of police brutality by the justice system.

Besides according to New York Times, the people of Los Angeles called for the resignation of police Chief Daryl Gates arguing that he encourages racism and police brutality against African Americans and Latino community (Mydans 5). Moreover, the first jury that was composed of an overwhelmingly white panel found the four officers not guilty. It is clear that there are several perspectives against the use of excessive force and targeting of African American community and other minority races in the United States. The case of Rodney King beating which was highly publicized shows the side narrative of police brutality that is usually overshadowed by the main narrative and single story used by police officers when they don’t follow the laws. If the King beating was not filmed, this case could fall under refusing arrest statistics of black men which justify the use of excessive force and racial profiling. Based on the perpetrators and the white jury that acquitted the four police officers, it is clear that police brutality and racial discrimination against minority races is a side narrative that is omitted from the single story used by many police departments in the states.



Works Cited

Cannon, Lou. Official negligence: How Rodney King and the riots changed Los Angeles and the LAPD. Westview Press, 1999.

Mydans, Seth, Richard Stevenson, and Timothy Egan. "Videotape of beating by officers puts full glare on brutality issue." New York Times 18 (1991).

Mydans, Seth. "Chief Gates is coy on his pledge to quit." New York Times (1991).

Mydans, Seth. "Tape of beating by police revives charges of racism." New York Times 7 (1991).

Reinhold, Robert. "Violence and racism are routine in Los Angeles Police, study says." Retrieved June 4 (1991): 2002.