1991 LA Riots: A Case Study

For decades now, the controversy over deadly force has continued to show up in the news when police officers have acted in a manner that some citizens find just while others deem completely unfair. Many lawsuits stemming from shootings and crimes have found their way to local courts or the Supreme Court to deal with this issue. A portion of the U.S. population finds deadly force unnecessary when non-lethal weapons such as pepper spray or batons just as easily subdue the criminal. In addition, these citizens argue that officers might be liable for cases filed against them if they use excess force on people that seem suspicious but have not actually committed a crime. On the other hand, the opposing argument in favor of deadly force states that

The Life and Death of Eric Garner Eric Garner was born on September 15, 1970. He was 6 feet, 3 inches and 350-pounds. He had just turned 43. Garner, who was married to Esaw Garner, had been described by his friends as a “great guy and great with kids” and as a happy with nothing, but smiles Garner’s record was not clean he had several times been arrested by the New York Police Department on multiple occasions since the mid 80s such as resisting arrest, grand larceny, and assault. Multiple times since 1980 he has been arrested for illegally selling cigarettes.

Law enforcement and citizens each have their own explanation and definition what excessive force is and how it should be handled. There are different ways how law enforcement uses their excessive force which could have been different in the past from now. There needs to be various amount of changes in the police department to reduce the incident of excessive force. Excessive force is a current issue that needs to be reduced to justify every case correctly and avoid this hot controversy. All individuals in society have their own definitions and point of views on what excessive force is and how it should be handled.

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.

Is loyalty to your family stronger than loyalty to the law or is the Law stronger than Loyalty to the family? The ones who are with Law says that it keeps everything in order while ones who are with Family says that family will always support you. There is a line between Law and Family but family will always dominate the Law. Family are people who will be by your side they don’t even have to be related to you to be Family. In the passage Rioting in Baltimore, a black man was killed by a police officer and caused a riot, His family weren’t going to be quiet and just let this happen they fought back

At what point does enforcing a law with physical or verbal force turn to abuse or just simply go to far? This muddy subject means many different things to many different people. Is it the point when even after someone is captured the beating continues? Police brutality is considered to take place when someone in law enforcement is over enforcing a law or using excessive force? This can come in the form of verbal or physical abuse.

Have you been judged on how you dress, what color you wear, or how you speak? Now just imagine that happening every day because of the simple fact that you have a different skin color. The Harlem Renaissance was approximately the birth of what we call today as racism. During the 1920 or the Renaissance time, African American were taken from the home in the deep South to work in the Northern and Midwestern states. With the birth of segregation and racism there came, riots and wrongly convicted black in the courts.

What is Racism? Racism is a social issue that continues to plague society as people work toward the common good. It arises as a result of individuals seeking dominance and power over those of different race and ethnicity. Unfortunately, this ideology causes both harm and suffering to those targeted and a sense of superiority to perpetrators.

Due to the recent finding of police brutality, most cases involved a white male police officer using force against a person of color. History will lead us to believe that race of an officer will be the number one contributing factor in the use of excessive force. As I stated above, in recent cases it has been a white male using force against a person of color. However, studying some research studies, it has shown that the no matter what the race is of the officer, it has no causal effect on the use of excessive force. What I mean by this is not all cases dealing with excessive force involves race.

For many years, it has been difficult in identifying the proper meaning of the use of force or the proper use of force, regarding on police officers. Use of force by police officers is acceptable under specific circumstances, such as self-defense and of another individual or group when necessary. There are officers caught abusing their power by using excessive force in the wrong situations. Many people can view police officers as using excessive force in a way to complete their job, but others can view them as using excessive force inappropriately in cases like racial profiling.

Assurance in equal justice remains as an overwhelming political principle of American culture. Yet withstanding unbelief exists among numerous racial and ethnic minorities. Their doubt comes as no surprise, given a past filled with differential treatment in the arrangement of criminal equity, an issue particularly clear in police misconduct. Researchers have investigated police responses to racial and ethnic minorities for quite some time, offering sufficient confirmation of minority burden on account of police. These examinations raise doubt about different police techniques of coercive control, maybe none more so than police brutality.