Saturday, May 5, 2018
Rodney King and the Impact of the LA Riots
On March 3, 1991, Rodney King is beaten by LAPD after leading the police on a car chase. As soon as he stops the officers were ordering him around and King was not obeying the officers. The officers then decided to use force and lead to him being beaten. George Holiday the man who recorded Rodney Kings beating would deliver the footage to local news station KTLA. A trial would be held for the officers that were involved in King's beating in Simi Valley. On April 29, 1992, the 4 officers Koon, Wind, Briseno, and Powell would be acquitted of all charges and this would lead to people to be outraged. On that same day, a riot broke out in South Central LA. News helicopter footage showed that buildings were being broken into, buildings were lit on fire, and people in cars and on the street were beaten such as Reginald Denny. The mayor of LA and the Governor of California called for a state of emergency. This lead to the National Guard to patrol the streets of LA. King pleaded to the people saying that "People. I just want to say, can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it horrible for older people and the kids?" The riots are lasted for over 5 days in which 50 people were killed and 2,000 were injured. The same year on August 4, the federal grand jury decided to return the indictments against the 4 officers. Officer Powell and Koon were both sentenced to 30 months in prison for violating Rodney King's civil rights. The US District Court in Los Angeles awards King $3.8 million as compensation. King would have an autobiography about him in April 2012 called "The Riot Within: My Journey from Rebellion to Redemption. Learning How We Can All Get Along." King would die on June 17, 2012, from intoxication in his home in Rialto, CA.
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Thanks for furthering the discussion of Rodney King. This clears up the mess of the riots by finally convicting the police of their crime, and by giving King money he deserved. Although, they should not have been so biased in the first place because by keeping the police innocent, it caused even more trouble in the streets of LA. This lead to more people being killed or injured.
ReplyDeleteRodney King's beatings proved how prominent racism still was in the United States, even in the 90's. Even though what King did was wrong, the beatings were obviously fueled by racism. While the people were right to be upset, their riots were an overreaction, as many people were killed and injured in the riots. I wonder what else could have been done besides violent protests. Also, it's interesting to think about how America has come so far in terms of perception to minorities, but it is still prominent in many areas today.
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