The Rodney King Beating (1991)

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international attention christian the videotaped beating of rodney blame game has thrust the los angeles police department and the international spotlight early in the morning on march twenty five year old construction worker was stopped by police for speeding is a matter of dispute the scene was videotaped by a nearby resident the pictures tell the story of the first shopping him with a stun gun three police officers pummeled king who was unarmed with a night sticks while other officers stood by king was released from jail with no charges filed against healthcare of spirit hear from a lot of solid roof on we don't have reverend king's doctor says patients suffered extensive injuries including a fractured skull and possible brain damage five days after the incident la police chief daryl gates recommended felony

prosecution for the officers who became an invalid to discipline the twelve officers to watch this is once again an aberration that is being rejected and then by this department by all the members of the department over and over again we are saying this is not a representation of work the boston police department and you won't find anyone will not find a police officer in this in the city that will in any way of can you justify what those are is nowhere with the outrage over the king beating more fervently expressed been in la is black community the sunday after the incident mark ridley thomas campaigned in various black churches for city council seat ridley thomas is executive director of the local branch of the southern christian leadership conference really

outside church the congregants we spoke to said the only thing that surprised them about the king beating was that it had been videotaped i myself i was a surprise this type of thing happens all the time with the black youth in los angeles is happening even for not as severe and i'm not surprised at all your love has been always suspect it doesn't matter what we're coming out where we're going we're the men carry and we're going to just we're the ones still in the courts i'm a suspect the newest member of la civilian police commission melanie lomax

agrees she disputes the notion that the king beating was an isolated case i don't see it as an aberration i mean i know i'm on i'm more than willing to be convinced has an aberration but i don't i view it is at their that way at all i used to be a lawyer for the end of the ways he paid and over a period of five years in the mid eighties when i was so stay with their organization i really just we received complaints of police brutality that as to allegations of violence by police officers critics point to the fact that last year alone the city of los angeles and ended up a point one million dollars in settlements and on was arising from police misconduct lawsuits all too often say critics offices are guilty of repeat offenses part of it is odd you know by a margin of police officers who are not we do have this is one of the officers involved in this incident have been a lot of presents i hand by and a new question why that

officer was fired earlier for beating up the sit ins but many police officers say they've been dishonored by the brutal behavior of just a few bad apples what we're talking about is three individuals or parkinson's as opposed to the internet or it's not us that's not the way we i never have and i don't think we will please personnel insist on distancing themselves from those who

The Rodney King Beating (1991)

In the early hours of March 3, 1991, Los Angeles police officers sought to apprehend Black motorist Rodney King after a high-speed chase in which they suspected he was driving while intoxicated. The officers severely beat King and continued to pummel him long after he was on the ground. Bystander George Holliday captured the incident on his camcorder, and that footage aired on newscasts across the country in the coming weeks. This segment from The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour includes some of the infamous footage and also explores the response in Los Angeles—both from those like LA Police Chief Daryl Gates who framed King’s beating as an “aberration,” and from Black community members and leaders who argued that the violent incident was typical for the Los Angeles Police Department.

The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour | NewsHour Productions : Washington D.C. | March 15, 1991 This video clip and associated transcript appear from 8:29 - 13:01 in the full record.

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