Police Brutality In Los Angeles

In the spring of 1991,” In Los Angeles, California, four Los Angeles police officers that had been caught beating an unarmed African-American motorist in an amateur video an acquitted of any wrongdoing in the arrest.” [“1992 Riot in Los Angeles”]

We hear and read about police brutality more than we should. Police brutality is a major problem in our country. Many times it is pushed aside or covered up. Sadly we find that a major reason for all this happens, has to do with racism as well. Due to that many people are hurt killed.

One of the most recently talked about police brutality cases has been the case of Freddie Gray. A man in Baltimore Marilyn who was beaten into a coma and later died. An article in New York Times magazine written by D.

The vicious cycle started, when “Paroled felon Rodney King led police on a high-speed chase through the streets of Los Angeles.” King was “Intoxicated and uncooperative.” [“1992 Riot in Los Angeles”] Although, being far from innocent, you must agree that a brutal beating during the arrest by LAPD is barbaric. A 98 second video recorded by a bystander show King being beat by police men, using their “batons and kicking him long after he was capable of resistance.” [“1992 Riot in Los Angeles”] The arrest was only the tip of the iceberg. After the video was released to the press, it triggered the infamous riot of 1992. The riot began in the middle of town a d lasted three days. Throughout these days, the president “ordered military troops and riot trained federal officers” [“1992 Riot in Los Angeles”] to help control the situation. As hard as they might have tried, “the three days of disorder killed 55 people, injured almost 2,000, [and] led to 7,000 arrest.” [“1992 Riot in Los Angeles”] The riots caused “1 billion in property damage, including the burning of nearly 4,000 buildings.” [“1992 Riot in Los

Acts of racism. To begin with, King was an African-American beat by four white police officers. Up to this point we don’t want to make any racist accusations, because it might sound stereotypical or predictable. However, we are given two specific examples about how it really turned into a racist act. During the downtown riot, while all traffic was at a stand-still, three African-American beat Reginald Denny, a white-truck driver. He was pulled out of his truck and nearly beaten to death. Also in the story it mentions how “Korean shop owners in African-American neighborhoods defended their businesses with rifles.” [“1992 Erupt in Los Angeles”] In the case of Gray, he was by three white police men, two black men, and a black woman, opponents argue that incidents like Grey’s death “trigger explosive protest and rioting because they unveil a culture in which African-Americans routinely face harassment and violence at the hands of