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Confrontation On the night 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, Sgt 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. 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. At that point, Officer Stacey Koons, in full compliance of the LAPD's use of force policy, commanded the officers to use their PR24 batons to break King's arms. While most police departments teach officers how to perform armlocks and other restraint techniques with their batons, the LAPD officers had only been trained in striking techniques. The Taser will immediately incapacitate most people. 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. Careful study of the video seems to show King repeatedly moving and trying to get up from the ground. King suffered eleven skull fractures, broken bones and teeth, kidney injuries, and possible brain damage due to injuries suffered during his arrest. The video footage, while showing most of the incident, is notably lacking in the first few minutes of the confrontation, during which King is alleged to have lunged for the weapon of one of the police officers present - Lawrence Powell, and in sound. Rodney King was charged with felony evasion the night of the incident, but this charge was dropped. 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 Caucasian, 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 African-Americans, 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. 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 and the National Guard restored order, there was nearly $1 billion in damage, with over 50 people killed, over 2,000 injured, and more than 8,000 arrested. Smaller riots occurred in other U.S. cities. King made an appearance before television news cameras to plead for peace, saying, "People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?" After the riots, federal charges of civil rights violations were brought against the officers. Two officers, Officer Laurence Powell and Sergeant Stacy 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". 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. African American community and civil rights leaders have repeatedly used the Rodney King incident in analogy along with other incidents of police violence against black suspects. Notes See also | ||||||||||
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