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Glen "Rodney" King (born April 2 , 1965 in Sacramento, California ) is an African-American who — while being Videotape d by a bystander (George Holliday) — was continually beaten with batons, often over the head and subsequently arrested by Los Angeles Police Officers ( LAPD ) after a short but high speed (110 MPH) freeway pursuit by police where King refused to pull over on March 3 , 1991 , in the residential community of Lake View Terrace . In a later interview, King, on parole from prison for a robbery conviction, admitted that he feared being arrested and returned to prison for a parole violation. The incident raised a public outcry, among people who believed the incident was racially motivated. The subsequent acquittal in a state court of four officers charged with using excessive force in subduing King led to the 1992 Los Angeles Riots . INDICTMENT AND PROSECUTION 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 -- it was argued -- the policemen 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-American s, 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. At trial, the defense 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. Not the least of their reasons for making such a judgement was that King, having been subjected to at least one ' Taser ' jolt showed zero response. Where the Taser will immediately deactivate the most powerful of belligerents, it is known to frequently have little effect on suspects who prove later to have been under the influence of PCP. However, the videotape clearly shows that King was putting up little or no resistance against the attacks by the policemen, and for most of the incident lay on the floor, shielding himself. However, most Police experts agree that the officers were folllowing their training, and standard police practices, by striking King in his legs and arms, which is very unlikely to cause serious injury, and is known as pain compliances techniques. The officers can been seen very clearly on the tape, striking King a few times, then giving him verbal commands, and repeating this process until compliance is achieved, which is a standard and taught Police technique in countries such as China and Turkey, where police brutality is widespread. The infamous video tape, while showing most of the incident, is notably lacking in the first few minutes of the confrontation, during which King had lunged for the weapon of one of the police officers present. This attempt, perhaps most of all showed how senseless and incoherent King's actions were that night. The other two (African-American) males riding in the back of King's speeding vehicle suffered no aggressive arrest treatment; when told to exit the vehicle and submit to arrest and after seeing the treatment of King, they immediately complied. After an examination of their identification, and a determination that the vehicle was not stolen, the two passengers were released from custody immediately, on site. 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 The verdict triggered Massive Rioting in Los Angeles, which left hundreds of buildings severely damaged or destroyed, that totalled 1 billion dollars, with 55 people killed, 2383 injured, and more than 8000 arrested. Smaller riots occurred in other U.S. cities. King made an appearance before television news cameras to plead for peace, saying, "Can we get along here? Can we all get along?" Since the 1991 incident, King has been arrested several times for drug infractions, spousal abuse, soliciting a prostitute and motoring offenses. Although he received $3.8 million in a civil suit against the LAPD, he is currently bankrupt and living in a drug rehab center. 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, several Copwatch organizations were formed nationwide to safeguard against such abuses in the future. African American community and civil rights leaders have repeatedly used the Rodney King incident in analogy with other incidents of police violence against black suspects. Anti-police abuse organizations and justice committees for victims of police violence increased after 1992 - a national umbrella group known as the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality was established. Examintaions by numerous Police experts reached the same opinion, that the officers did as they were trained to do. NOTES King's remark is often misquoted as "Can't we all just get along?" REFERENCES
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