In two pages, write about about the 1991 Rodney King incident and it’s relation to how poor ethics can destroy a community. 12 font, double spaced, times new roman
1991 Rodney King Incident
Over the years, police brutality has been a serious problem, where the United States has made several steps, but still insufficiently aggressive. Rodney King’s incident provided the reality of police abuse, where after the event, the government leader’s discouraged excessive use of force. It is unfortunate that a few months after the incident, for instance, in 1996 and 1997, police brutality cases were already reported. The paper seeks to discuss the 1991 Rodney King incident, and it’s relation to how poor ethics can destroy a community.
Rodney King incident began when he refused to stop after being authorized by the California Highway patrol. However, the police officers did not give up, hence decided to chase the car accompanied by a police helicopter. The police officers got hold of Rodney and immediately kicked and beat King mercilessly. The brutal treatment left King with a fractured skull, crushed bones, broken teeth and a damaged kidney (Bowen, 2015). The incident occurred in 1991, where a cameraman captured the whole incident within twelve minutes and as shared, aired and televised in Los Angles.
The normal traffic stop escalated into a policing and racial issue where people witnessed the level of misconduct and unpleasant behavior. Officer Stacey Koon, Timothy wind, Theodore Briseno and Laurence Powel were two days later charged with excessive force, assault using a dangerous weapon (Bowen, 2015). According to the civil rights trial, the police brutality was racially motivated. King was, however, compensated for damages caused and awarded almost four million. According to the community, the charges were not fulfilling; hence, they took justice in their own hands and organized a three-day Los Angeles riot where fifty-three people lost lives, and two- thousand four hundred got hurt.
Rodney King’s video made communities re-evaluate policing practices and moral values. Poor ethics can affect the community-police relationship leading to conflict. The police brutality in King’s incident caused a five-day riot, which affected the community and practice members. The riot caused the death of people, injuries and destruction of properties in Lo Angeles (Katz, 2016). The riot’s damage was approximately one billion, where the state invested two billion to rebuild the damaged properties; some individuals were taken to custody, even those not involved with the riot. The police ethical behavior affected most businesses, including retail shops, fast food restaurants and grocery stores.
Additionally, police ethics raised tension between different communities, such s the black community and the white community. Also, Koreans had issues with African Americans, especially after the Korean shot, an African –American black girl. People of color were much affected by police ethical behavior, where police officers acted cruelly and abused black people. People’s daily lives were disrupted, where various activities were affected and stopped due to curfew, For instance, going to work or school (Katz, 2016). Poor ethics can economically and socially affect the community because it may extend and cause other issues. Los Angele was forced to develop a community- relations service framework to discuss community policing, responding to incidents, such as excessive use of force and developing community policing principles.
The relationship between American and law enforcement is based on violence. Various police departments and civil rights organizations are making excessive use of force a priority after incidents, such as Rodney King’s incident. Police officers should adopt the principle of good/community policing to reduce issues caused by poor community ethics.
References
Bowen, S. (2015). A framing analysis of media coverage of the Rodney King incident and Ferguson, Missouri, conflicts. The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, 6(1), 114-124.
Katz, J. (2016). Culture within and culture about crime: The case of the “Rodney King riots”. Crime, media, culture, 12(2), 233-251.
