Rodney King

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Rodney King
Rodney King

Rodney Glenn King (born April 2, 1965 in Sacramento, California) is a U.S. citizen, who became famous after his violent arrest by officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was videotaped by a bystander, George Holliday.

The incident raised a public outcry among people who believed it was racially motivated. In an environment of growing tension between the black community and the LAPD as well as increasing anger over police brutality and more general issues of unemployment, racial tension, and poverty facing the black community in South Central Los Angeles the acquittal in a state court of the four officers charged with using excessive force in subduing King provided the spark that led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

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[edit] Confrontation

On the day of March 3, 1991, California Highway Patrol officers saw King speeding on Interstate 210 and chased him for 8 miles at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. When he stopped in Lake View Terrace, he did not obey repeated commands to lie down and as can be seen in the first few seconds of the video, charged one of the officers, after which the police struck King with a PR24 baton that put him on the ground. King's black male passengers were taken into custody without incident and later released without charges.

Initially, a female highway patrol officer, Melanie Singer, approached King and drew her pistol. Officer Singer reported that King then turned around and shook his buttocks at her and did not comply with her commands. When the local police arrived, Sergeant Stacey Koon requested that Singer stand down and that weapons not be pointed at King. Verbal commands were made to force King to comply but he refused[citation needed]. A Taser was used on King, however, King repeatedly attempted to get up. King was repeatedly told to put his hands behind his back, but still refused to comply[citation needed]. At that point, Sergeant Stacey Koon commanded the officers to use their PR24 batons to break King's arms[citation needed].

At trial, the defense for the policemen argued that the officers had legitimate reason to believe King was extremely dangerous and possibly on a mind-affecting drug such as PCP and that the force used was justified by that threat. One piece of evidence offered to support this argument was that King showed no response after having been shot by at least one Taser weapon.[1] The video also shows the officers repeatedly striking King while giving him verbal commands. However, the videotape shows King repeatedly trying to get up, for most of the incident. The officers later argued that they were responding to King's failure to comply with their commands, and that their actions were in compliance with standard police procedure.

Rodney King was charged with felony evasion the night of the incident, but this charge was later dropped.

[edit] Indictment and prosecution of arresting officers

Three officers and a sergeant were indicted on March 14 for "assault by force likely to produce great bodily injury" and with assault "under color of authority," and two were charged with filing false police reports. Three of the men charged were white, and one was Latino.

The defense successfully filed for a change of venue away from Los Angeles County, where the incident occurred and where, they argued, the defendants could not receive a fair trial, to suburban Simi Valley, in Ventura County, whose population is more affluent, contains a much smaller proportion of blacks, and contains a disproportionately large number of law-enforcement officers. However, the jurors themselves were drawn from the entirety of Ventura County, which is not an entirely white and conservative county and includes some blue collar and minority districts. On April 29, 1992, three of the officers were acquitted by a jury of ten whites, one Latino, and an Asian. The jury could not agree on a verdict for one of the counts on one of the officers.

[edit] Verdict, LA riots, and aftermath

Main Article: 1992 Los Angeles Riots

The verdict triggered massive rioting in Los Angeles, which lasted for 3 days, making it one of the worst civil disturbances in Los Angeles history. By the time the police, Marine Corps and National Guard restored order, there was nearly $1 billion in damage, with "58 deaths; 2,383 injuries; more than 7000 fire responses; 3,100 business damaged. (Smith, Anna Deavere) Smaller riots occurred in other U.S. cities. On May 1, 1992, the third day of the Los Angeles riots, King appeared in public before television news cameras to appeal for calm and plead for peace, asking, "People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?"[2]

After the riots, federal charges of civil rights violations were brought against the officers. Two officers, Officer Laurence Powell and Sergeant Stacey Koon, were found guilty and another two acquitted.

Since the 1991 incident, King has been arrested several times for attempting to run over an undercover police officer, drug infractions, domestic violence, soliciting a prostitute and other motoring offenses. He has also worked in construction and started the rap label "Straight Alta-Pazz". Although he received $3.8 million in a civil suit against the LAPD, he is reportedly bankrupt and living in a drug rehab center. To quote BBC news, "much of it went to pay his lawyers, but he used the rest to found a rap record business, the Straight Alta-Pazz Recording Company".[3]

[edit] Analysis and cultural impact of the event

The video of the incident is an example of inverse surveillance (i.e. citizens watching police). As a result of the incident, several Copwatch organizations were formed nationwide to safeguard against future abuses. Counter-police-abuse organizations and justice committees for victims of police violence increased after 1992, and a national umbrella group known as the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality was established. Black community and civil rights leaders have repeatedly used the Rodney King incident in analogy along with other incidents of police violence against black suspects.

[edit] References in popular culture

  • Within a month after the riots, popular TV show L.A. Law depicted the riots involving a plot in which major character Stuart Markowitz (Michael Tucker) receives a near fatal beating from a rioter.
  • In the Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride episode of South Park one of the announcers at the football game said, "I haven't seen a beating like that since Rodney King".
  • Footage of the Rodney King incident was used in the title credits of the movie Malcolm X.
  • The Rodney King incident was discussed extensively in American History X.
  • Rodney King and the April Riots are the focus of the song "April 29, 1992 (Miami)" by Sublime; although the first line of the song reads, "April 26, 1992, there was a riot on the streets tell me where were you..."
  • The 1996 film Jingle All The Way, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, contains a scene in which the character Myron Larabee (Sinbad) gets jumped by an angry mob in a shopping mall and he yells out "Rodney King! Rodney King...," relating it in a comical way.
  • The 2002 film Dark Blue, starring Kurt Russell, takes place during the days leading up to and including the Rodney King trial verdict.
  • Numerous rappers have used Rodney King as an example of police brutality.
  • In a season 3 episode of The Office, Michael Scott pleads "Can't we all just get along?", but attributes the quote to the Martin Luther King by mistake.
  • In Naked Gun 33⅓, the Black character Tyrone is interviewed during a prison riot. He says, "Can't we all just get along?"
  • In the film Airheads, the chant "Rodney King" is used by the rock fans apparently from presence of police officers in the movie.
  • In an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 with the short movie Last Clear Chance, Mike Nelson replies "Like being spanked by Rodney King" when onscreen the police officer is asked why he can't go to a funeral.
  • In another episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 with the movie The Amazing Colossal Man, one of the characters states the police won't hurt the main character, "...unless he gives them any trouble" to which Crow responds, "Yeah, like Rodney King!"
Peter being beaten in Family Guy
Enlarge
Peter being beaten in Family Guy
  • Finally, in the MST3K film "Crash of the Moons" (EP417), Gypsy, Crow and Tom Servo sing a song called "Gypsy Moon", where Gypsy references Sgt. Stacy Koon. "Gypsy: Although I'd just as soon take Nyquil with a spoon, Then listen to you two drone on about the gypsy moon, If the choice between you too goons, I'd rather date Stacey Koon!

Crow and Tom: [whisper] Stacey Koon?"

  • On the Family Guy episode, "Brian Does Hollywood", Peter pretends to get beaten up by the LAPD (in the same way the LAPD beat up Rodney) so Lois can videotape it during their trip to L.A. to visit Brian. Additionally on the episode " Prick Up Your Ears" Mayor Adam West watches Rodney King of Queens.
  • In the film, Three Kings, when the main characters storm the Iraqi bunker, the soldiers there are viewing footage of the incident.
  • Ice Cube says "Didnt wanna go out like my man Rodney King" in his song Alive on Arrival. He also brings up April 29 and Malcolm X references in his song, Wicked.
  • The song "Cop Killer" by Body Count is about the Rodney King incident.
  • Rodney King is substituted into the chorus instead of the title line in the song "Like a King" by Ben Harper.
  • In the movie Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood there is a scene where police officers are playing an arcade game titled "Rodney's Ride", in which the object is to beat a suspect. At one point, a "bonus" applies when a video camera appears to tape the beating.
  • In the film Bad Santa, a voice-over narration by the character Willie (played by Billy Bob Thornton) likens an act of police behavior in the movie to the Rodney King incident: "...everyone agree(s) that the Phoenix Police Department shooting an unarmed Santa is even more fucked up than Rodney King."
  • In the 1998 film Ride two characters steal a local police officer's gun and when the officer finds the two and arrests them, one character utters "Rodney King".
  • In the TV series Reno 911!, in the 14th episode of the second season, when a "tourist couple from Sparks" videotapes the beating of Milkshake by members of the Reno Sheriffs Department and subsequent death in traffic, it is possible to tell from clues in the DVD commentary and Google Earth that this scene was filmed around the corner from where the Rodney King incident took place (Foothill Blvd and Osborne St, right by Hansen Lake near Sun Valley). It can only be assumed that this location was chosen by the show's creators on purpose, judging by the content of the episode, though this of course is pure conjecture.
  • In the TV series Boston Legal - Season 1, Episode 15: "Tortured Souls", Alan Shore studies footage of the Rodney King police beating, which is seen on screen. In this episode he is taking on a case of police brutality.
  • In one of his books, Howard Stern said that drunk driver King should be beaten any time he reaches for his car keys.
  • In D-12's song "fight music" they refer to beating someone saying, "if any nigga lookin too hard, we rodney kingin' 'em."
  • In the My Name Is Earl episode Y2K, Randy wants to do some looting duringY2K, saying "I'm still kinda mad about that Larry King verdict."
  • The Boondocks also made a couple of refrences to Rodney King. In the episode Granddad's Fight Riley quotes "Granddad, Rodney King just called and said Damn! I thought I got my ass whooped." Also in the episode The Block is Hot Ruckus is beaten by cops the same way Rodney King was.
  • In the music video for Ministry's 1992 single N.W.O., a parody of the Rodney King beating features a young white woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty being beaten by police.
  • In the intro to the Eazy-E song 'Neighborhood Sniper', Rodney King is giving a speech while everyone listening is yelling insults at him; afterwards, King and everyone else involved is scattering in fear while Eazy-E is firing shots.
  • In Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, which is set around 1992, there is a mission where a similar situation sparks a similar style of riot.
  • Twiztid's Diemuthfuckdie! from their 1998 debut album Mostasteless contains the verse "And every cop should be beat like Rodney King/Non stop from the summer till it turn to spring/Shove a doughnut in their mouth and a badge in their ass/Because the pigs don't get no class/They get their wigs spilt."
  • In the sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air", Will tells Carlton that if he wants to get his head bashed in he can star in the next Rodney King video. In a later episode the Los Angeles cop that brings Will after Uncle Phil boots him out of the house tells the family that he had better "beat it"

[edit] References

  • Koon, Stacey (1992). Presumed Guilty: The Tragedy of the Rodney King Affair. Regnery Publishing. (ISBN 0-89526-507-9).

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ The Rodney King Trial: Police Transmissions
  2. ^ Ralph Keyes. The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When. ISBN 0-312-34004-4 [1]
  3. ^ BBC, "On This Day, April 19, 1992: LA in flames after 'not guilty' verdict"[2]

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

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