Beating:
On March 3, 1991, Rodney King was driving on the Foothill Freeway in Los Angeles. Rodney King was riding with two passengers. The two passengers were put in the patrol car and five L.A.P.D. officers attempted to subdue King. Under normal circumstances the officers would tackle and cuff a suspect, but King was tasered, kicked in the head, and beaten with batons, then tackled and cuffed. The officers claimed that King was under the influence of PCP at the time of his arrest, thus he was aggressive and violent.
The incident was captured on video by George Holliday from his apartment. The tape was about ten minutes long and showed King crawling on the ground during the beating with no attempt to handcuff him. A test for PCP after the arrest turned up negative.
The footage was not released to the public while the case was being presented to the court, but the footage became a focus for media attention. This footage was especially helpful as a rallying point for activists in Los Angeles and around the United States. Coverage was extensive during the two weeks following the beating. The Los Angeles Time published 43 articles about the incident, the New York Times published 17 articles, and the Chicago Tribune published 11 articles. ABC News and Primetime Live also displayed specials about the incident.
The District Attorney charged the police officers with assault and use of excessive force. Due to the media coverage the trial venue changed. The venue changed "from Los Angeles County to a newly constructed courthouse in the more predominantly white and politically conservative city of Simi Valley in neighboring Ventura County. No Simi Valley residents served on the jury, which was drawn from the nearby San Fernando Valley, a predominantly white and Hispanic area, and composed of ten whites, one Hispanic, and one Asian." The prosecutor was also black.
The incident was captured on video by George Holliday from his apartment. The tape was about ten minutes long and showed King crawling on the ground during the beating with no attempt to handcuff him. A test for PCP after the arrest turned up negative.
The footage was not released to the public while the case was being presented to the court, but the footage became a focus for media attention. This footage was especially helpful as a rallying point for activists in Los Angeles and around the United States. Coverage was extensive during the two weeks following the beating. The Los Angeles Time published 43 articles about the incident, the New York Times published 17 articles, and the Chicago Tribune published 11 articles. ABC News and Primetime Live also displayed specials about the incident.
The District Attorney charged the police officers with assault and use of excessive force. Due to the media coverage the trial venue changed. The venue changed "from Los Angeles County to a newly constructed courthouse in the more predominantly white and politically conservative city of Simi Valley in neighboring Ventura County. No Simi Valley residents served on the jury, which was drawn from the nearby San Fernando Valley, a predominantly white and Hispanic area, and composed of ten whites, one Hispanic, and one Asian." The prosecutor was also black.
Verdict:
On April 29, 1992, after a week of jury deliberations, the officers were acquitted of assault and three of the four were acquitted of excessive force. The jury could not agree on a verdict for the fourth officer charged with using excessive force. These verdicts were based on a blurry two second of a video segment. This clip was edited out by television. During these two seconds King supposedly gets up off the ground and charges at one of the police officers. The jury couldn't be sure due to the blurriness of the video. There is debate over what occurred before the start of the video and the officers claim that they tried to restrain King before the video began recording. Others believe that the jury became desensitized to the violence of the beating after repeated viewings in slow motion. This caused the emotional impact to be lost.
After the verdict was announced there were divided reactions among the public. Media coverage displayed these divisions in the public throughout the nation. Both Mayor Tom Bradley and President Bush expressed confusion about the verdict on national television.
Riots:
Following the verdict the preexisting anger with the perceived racial discrimination of the L.A.P.D., poor economic conditions, and friction between minorities finally boiled over leading to an outburst of riots. For five days all of this anger was released on the city of Los Angeles as the rest of the world sat in disbelief. Businesses were set on fire, random carjackings and beatings occurred, and there were rampant shootings against rescue workers and between shopkeepers and looters. By the time the National Guard regained control there were 53 dead, over 1,100 buildings were destroyed, 10,000 people were arrested, and nearly 1 billion dollars in damage was caused.
The Rodney King Riots were the worst riots in United States History. These riots left physical scars and emotional wounds on the city of Los Angeles as slowing growing tensions reached a breaking point. The city rebuilt itself, but the problems still exist today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots - information on the beating
http://laist.com/2007/04/29/cant_we_all_just_get_along_2007.php - information on the riots
Thursday, March 31, 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment