ipl-logo

Essay On The Rodney King Riots

1353 Words6 Pages

The Rodney King Riot happened in Los Angeles in the year of 1992. Rodney King was an African American male who was arrested on charges because of speeding, drunk driving, and refusing to stop his vehicle. Four police officers who have claimed to have witnessed King’s actions such as being high on drugs and was trying to attack them explains why they did what they did. A resident nearby by the name of George Holliday captured about 12 minutes of the attack on film. King was tasered, brutally beaten with side-handled batons, then forced to the ground to lie still which was where he was handcuffed. The four officers were brought to court and tried on charges of assault.
During the trial, an officer argued that Rodney King resisted arrest, and that they believed King was under the influence of Phencyclidine (PCP) which caused him to be very aggressive and violent toward the officers. When the police thought King was reaching for a weapon near his waistband, they thought the use of force would be “necessary”. The officers did not handcuff King until he lied still. …show more content…

Racial tensions between African Americans and Koreans had always been present especially after the incident with Latasha Harlins. When Latasha Harlins entered into Soon Ja Du’s store she was accused of stealing orange juice. “A year prior to the Los Angeles riots, storekeeper Soon Ja Du physically confronted black ninth-grader Latasha Harlins by grabbing her sweater and backpack over whether the 15-year-old had been trying to steal a bottle of orange juice from Empire Liquor, the store Du's family owned in Compton. After Latasha hit Du, Du shot Latasha in the back of the head, killing her. (Security tape showed the girl, already dead, was still clutching $2 in her hand when investigators arrived.) Du was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and forced to pay a fine of $500, but not sentenced to any prison

Show More
Related

  • Essay On Dr King Assassination

    441 Words  | 2 Pages

    On June 8, authorities captured the man that was believed to be Dr. King’s assassin, the small time criminal James Earl Ray. He was captured in London’s Heathrow Airport. Eye witnesses said they saw Ray fleeing from a house near the Lorraine Motel carrying a bundle. Prosecutors said that Ray fired the bullet that killed Dr. King from a bathroom in the building. Ray’s fingerprints were found on the rifle used to kill Dr. King, also on a scope and a pair of binoculars.

    Read More

  • Anna Deavere Smith's Twilight: Los Angeles 1992

    1312 Words  | 6 Pages

    Rough Draft Essay #3 When the LA riots happened many thought it was a race difference between African Americans and White Americans, but it was much more than that. Anna Deavere Smith’s book Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, shows the different races involved in the LA riots and the true feelings of the LA riots from a range of different people. After interviewing over 300 people, Smith included 25 people. People who have dealt with racism, witnesses of the riots, Korean store owners, police officers and more.

    Read More

  • Rodney King Research Paper

    1225 Words  | 5 Pages

    History March 3, 1991, Rodney King is beat over 50 times by members of the Los Angeles Police Department. In retaliation, riots broke out across Los Angeles. Cars and stores were looted and torched during these violent riots. This was a terrible time to be living in the areas involved with the riots, especially for families and children. Undoubtedly, the riots left scars on all the people involved.

    Read More

  • Destroying The Civil Rights: Rodney King And Oscar Grant

    981 Words  | 4 Pages

    Destroying the Civil Rights Rodney King and Oscar Grant cases both have racial injustice. Rodney king was in a high speed chase, he was caught; therefore, the officers pulled him out of the car and beat him. A couple of police Officers were detaining Oscar Grant then another officer shot him in the back. The beating and shooting of people, because of racial issues can and will defeat the purpose of civil rights.

    Read More

  • How Did The Rodney King Trial Cause Conflict In America

    2046 Words  | 9 Pages

    Since the beating of King was taped and shown to the general public many people began to take sides and express their views on how they felt. This caused major conflict in LA and around America, specifically

    Read More

  • Rodney King Court Case

    1278 Words  | 6 Pages

    Rodney king, born in Sacramento, California in 1965 and grew up to be known as a polite yet not very intelligent child and teenager. King was a high school dropout and a single father with a history of criminal activity. Rodney King was most famously known for his court battle against L.A.P.D. officers Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Ted Briseno, and Timothy Wind . On March 3, 1991 two crimes occurred involving King, one of which he was the offender and the other where he was the victim. On this Saturday night at 12:50 am Rodney king was driving his white Hyundai under the influence of alcohol along with his two fiends Freddie Helms and Bryant Allen.

    Read More

  • Rodney King Riots Research Paper

    1121 Words  | 5 Pages

    Rodney King Riots Protest Movement Paper On April 29, 1992, A week of non stop urban violence and mayhem erupted in the streets and cities of Los Angeles, the riots were commenced by the unjust trial that let the four white police officers set free of any charges. All four officers were captured on videotape beating on a black motorist named, Rodney King after a traffic stop gone wild. The Rodney King riots impacted society greatly by presenting the nations people with an understanding of how racism was still present in america. A reminder that "justice for all" was still a long way off being set in stone and to followed by most people.

    Read More

  • Chicago Race Riots Essay

    746 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Chicago Race Riots of 1919 was a major conflict that began in Chicago Illinois because of racial tension between black and whites because of cultural differences. The Chicago race riots is also referred to as the “Red Summer” because of all the bloodshed that took place the summer after World war 1. The race riots began on July 27th, 1919 and ended August 3rd, 1919. On the first day of the riots thirty eight people died, 23 were black, 15 were white and 537 people. The race riots are a part of Chicago’s history that had a major affect on racial, political and social problems.

    Read More

  • Police Brutality Lies

    961 Words  | 4 Pages

    The issue, however, is constantly hanging there like a dark cloud over the American justice system. One of the most memorable cases of police brutality occurred in 1991 when Los Angeles taxicab driver Rodney King was nearly beaten to death by four officers after failing to stop and leading the officers on a chase. The officers were “charged with numerous criminal counts, including assault with a deadly weapon, the use of excessive force, and filing a false police report.” The jury found that the officers were not guilty of any of the eleven counts. Subsequently, riots erupted in Los Angeles resulting in

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Rodney King And To Kill A Mockingbird

    894 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout history, African American men have been treated with less respect than their white counterparts. As years have progressed, and the American people continued to perpetuate this cycle, discomfort in society grew. One of the key developments in this Civil Rights movement was the Rodney King Case. King was an African American man, a simple taxi driver. He was pulled over for speeding and after a prolonger altercation where he allegedly ran from the police he was detained and brutally beaten by four police officers.

    Read More

  • Graham V. Connor And The Rodney King Case

    1253 Words  | 6 Pages

    After the incident, Graham had a broken foot, cuts, and an injured shoulder. An investigation occurred and found Graham innocent. The officers then dropped him at his house (Pollock, 2013.page 157-158). Furthermore, Rodney King was a passing a police car that leads to a car chase. When the Police caught up with King.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Los Angeles And The Watts Riots Of 1992

    579 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the 1900’s, two riots came about that each took place in Los Angeles and both dealt with social, economic, and political issues. One incident was the Watts Riots of 1965 and the other was the Rodney Kings Riots of 1992 in which both had similarities and differences that were related to the beatings of black citizens by white police officers. We can see how this triggered the caused an outrage and a national debate on police brutality. These riots erupted the social causes burning of buildings and the killings Caucasians even when they had nothing to do with the beating of either black men. A social cause that came from this is that the negroes ended up looting stores, setting fires, beating up Caucasian people who walked by in which they would pull from cars, the burning, stoning and shooting of police officers.

    Read More

  • Essay On Racial Injustice

    808 Words  | 4 Pages

    From history of hundreds of decades, we have witnessed the great progress made by human, in technology and in society. But injustice always exists everywhere in this world. Injustice and unfair treatment could not be erased from the world easily. Just like the situation described by John Steinbeck, the immigrants faced injustice. But there are too many injustices that even worse in the world.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Los Angeles Riots 1992

    869 Words  | 4 Pages

    Social injustice was being perceived by the citizens, which lead to tensions rising for several years. What finally reached the tipping point was the verdict of Rodney King. The aftermath of the Rodney King verdict was the main cause of the Los Angeles Riots of 1992, and it is important in portraying the social injustice and economic inequality the citizens faced. It all started one evening in 1991, through the streets of Los Angeles County. Rodney King led police on a chase for going over the speed limit.

    Read More

  • Police Brutality Annotated Bibliography Summary

    1391 Words  | 6 Pages

    • Grigsby Bates is a Los Angeles based correspondent for National Public Radio news and has authored published books. She focuses on cultural and international issues, as well as reporting of general news. NPR.org is a neutral news source that provides reliable and unbiased information. • This article and website will be useful in adding views of the Rodney King riots in a form that is looking back on the event. Most of my sources are published during the 1990s, so I think this will be beneficial in adding a source that looks at the event from a different point of view instead of writing about it shortly after it occurred.

    Read More

More about Essay On The Rodney King Riots

Open Document