Kevin Clougherty
10/7/14
Policing Article Essay

Rodney King Beaten by LAPD
The article I am focusing on is the notorious case in which 4 white police officers beat a black man in the city of Los Angeles. Rodney King who was on parole due to an armed robbery. Rodney allegedly drove drunk down a highway in LA. Not only was he driving drunk, he refused to pull over when he was attempted to be stopped by a cop. Prior to the pursuit, he resisted arrest while the police officers attempted to arrest him. In response to his negligence during the arrest, the officers started to beat him brutally with their nightsticks, and tasers, following all of this brutality, another involved officer proceeded to kick the suspect in the head. The police officers were essentially doing their job by following the laws of the road to not drive under the influence, however questions were raised in the eye of society as to whether or not this was a racial stunt. This case caused riots in the city of LA by the black community due to the result of the case prior to the situation May 2nd 1991. This case could be looked at both ways, but in my opinion everything was totally lawful except the kick to the head.

This case was such a big controversy in the eye of the public. They got word of this case due to a man who heard the commotions and in result he proceeded to take a video from his balcony of this altercation. In history of white police officers getting into altercations with black civilians over the time of history. There are many cases similar to this that always raise questions in the public eye. This case is not the only case, there are many similar, and however this has raised so much commotion due to the riots it caused. A case like this goes hand in hand with all of the police brutality and discrimination during the times when segregation and discrimination was accepted before the civil rights movement in the 1950’s.

The police in this case displayed a racial act that was severely frowned upon by the public and within society. In the 1950’s it probably wouldn’t have even raised an eye brow due to the acceptance and hatred faced toward the black community. However, because of how society viewed, segregated, and discriminated blacks, cops are pressured so much in society today when it comes to white cops dealing with black people who commit a crime. A great example of this is when my grandfather who was a sheriff in the state of California, stopped