Rodney King Was Brutally Beaten By Police

Another Black man by the name King

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rodney King are symbols of racism

Most people have heard of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. even though he died years ago. He was a Black man who worked tirelessly against racism during his short life. He was assassinated in 1968 at the age of thirty-nine. He became a symbol for peaceful demonstrations to fight against racism. He was against violence. Another man by the name of King lived in the Los Angeles area. He became a symbol of racism and police brutality in 1991.

King was driving with two friends after they had been drinking on March 3, 1991. They were involved in a high speed chase with officers of the California Highway Patrol. After they were stopped and ordered to exist the vehicle, the two passengers got out of the car and were manhandled. King was going to be arrested when four officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said they would take over.

The officers brutally beat King. He was hit several times with a police baton. An amateur cameraman caught the beating on videotape. It was broadcast to the nation to show the police brutality.

The four officers involved in the beating were indicted on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and excessive use of force. After a three month trial held in Simi Valley, a predominantly white jury acquitted the officers. There were no African American jurors. This set off the violent 1992 riots in Los Angeles.

On the third day of the riots, King made a public appearance. He said: “People, I just want to say, can’t we all get along? Can’t we all get along?”

Later the United States Department of Justice filed federal civil rights charges against the four officers. Two were found guilty with the other two being acquitted.

Born in Sacramento, California, in 1965, King was twenty-five when he was beaten by the police officers in Los Angeles. He became a symbol for the racial tension in America. His life was not easy after that encounter. He had a troubled life, and he was found dead in a swimming pool in 2012 at the age of forty-seven.

Bernard Parks had served as chief of the LAPD from 1997 to 2002. He said: “I am saddened by the death of Rodney King. Although his beating will forever be thought of as one of the ugliest moments in the history of the City of Los Angeles and its police department, the victimization of Mr. King and the circumstances that followed created an atmosphere that allowed LAPD and the city to make historic disciplinary and community-based reforms that have made for a better police department and a better city as a whole.”

The Reverend Al Sharpton said in a statement: “Rodney King was a symbol of civil rights and he represented the anti-police brutality and anti-racial profiling movement of our time. It was his beating that made America focus on the presence of profiling and police misconduct.”

Unfortunately, the racial profiling and police brutality against Black men did not end after the incident with Rodney King. It did not end with the death of George Floyd.

Racism has not ended. The issue of race is important to discuss. Black Lives Matter as do all lives. There is still much work to do.

[Source: Wikipedia]