The symbol of police excess and the catalyst for brutal riots in LA is dead at age 47.
Rodney King was found at the bottom of his swimming pool in Rialto, CA. No foul play is suspected.
Rodney King, victim of brutal LA police beating, dead at 47: report - NYPOST.com
13 comments:
The reports say he died after a bout of drug use and drinking, yet you say no foul play was involved. Have we really gotten to that point? Funny how things work out in the end.
Bumper sticker seen on LAPD patrol car,circa 1990s, "Come to LA,we'll treat you like a King!;-) "..
I like that you said he was the catalyst for riots rather than the reason like the MSN said. I know I did not riot when OJ was found not guilty indicating there must be another reason for the riots other than just the cops being found not guilty for beating the 100mph driving PCP using black guy.
well 8:20 your answer is found in the 'humorous' posting at 7:54.
Among the viciously beaten by the LAPD were chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer (a recluse, he was mistaken for a vagrant & almost killed by the police) & ex-football player Lyle Alzado.
Alzado was dying of a brain tumor, he could barely walk, completely unable to defend himself, when the LAPD beat him senseless in front of his child and wife.
There were rumors that the LAPD had also beaten Joe Morgan of the Cincinnati Reds.
King had the luck to have his beating captured on video-tape. The pigs couldn't deny it happened.
Beatings by the LAPD were a long-suffered problem by the community.
Justify rioting? No.
But stop being naive. The police are not your friend.
I cannot help being naive but I never thought police were my friends either...I mean at least once I went to college and heard of how they treated a few acquaintances.
But Rodney king and all those rioters are not your friend either and would likely treat you a lot worse than your average pig would if given the chance. So now its time for you to stop being naive.
“…there must be another reason for the riots other than just the cops being found not guilty for beating the 100mph driving PCP using black guy.”
More erroneous information from the right wing echo chamber...
Exactly, 10:29. He was only doing up to 80 MPH in residential areas and only had a BAC of .19 two hours after the arrest amidst other erratic behaviors. Completely acceptable for left-wing apologists.
DINGDINGDING!! Ladies and gentlemen,we have a winner,9:59..the only one responsible for his behavior and the resultant riots was him,rodney..tho nice to see that there are actually idiots dumb enough to be indoctrinated by their anti american communist college "instructors"..saw through it right away,but apparently some people can't figure out being led..
Woooh, a little police hatred stupidity here on the web. Cool. And I thought they were all dead. They are fun to listen to now and then. But when thinkers like 4:34 and 10:29 finally die, they wash up on your shoreline and stiiink. I wait for an offshore wind and be done with them.
“…there must be another reason for the riots other than just the cops being found not guilty for beating the 100mph driving PCP using black guy.”
More erroneous information from the right wing echo chamber...
PART #1
FALSE STATEMENT # 1: “…100mph driving PCP using black guy”
FACT: Tapes of CHP and police radio conversations make NO mention of freeway speed, but say King's car was clocked at 65 m.p.h. on surface streets. Hyundai officials say that the model can't top 100 m.p.h.
“… According to King's own statements, he refused to pull the car over because he thought a driving under the influence test would violate his parole for a previous robbery conviction.”
“… After being tested five hours after the incident, King's blood-alcohol level was found to be just under the legal limit. This meant that his blood alcohol level was approximately 0.19—almost 2 1/2 times the legal limit in
California—when he was driving.”
FACT: Sergeant Stacy Koon clearly lied in a failed attempt to cover up the abuse charges as King’s toxicology results tested NEGATIVE for PCP.
End part #1...
PART #2
TRUE/FALSE STATEMENT # 2: “…the cops being found not guilty”
“… The Los Angeles district attorney charged officers Koon, Powell, Briseno and Wind with use of excessive force. While Sergeant Koon did not strike King and had only used the Taser, he was the supervisory officer at the scene and was charged for "willfully permitting and failing to take action to stop the unlawful assault."
On April 29, 1992, the jury acquitted three of the officers, but could not agree about one of the charges for Powell.
Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley said, "the jury's verdict will not blind us to what we saw on that videotape. The men who beat Rodney King do not deserve to wear the uniform of the L.A.P.D."
President George H. W. Bush said, "viewed from outside the trial, it was hard to understand how the verdict could possibly square with the video. Those civil rights leaders with whom I met were stunned. And so was I and so was Barbara and so were my kids."
After the riots, the United States Department of Justice reinstated the investigation and obtained an indictment of violations of federal civil rights against the four officers in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The federal trial focused more on the evidence as to the training of officers instead of just relying on the videotape of the incident. On March 9 of the 1993 trial, King took the witness stand and described to the jury the events as he remembered them.
FACT: The jury found Officer Laurence Powell and Sergeant Stacey Koon GUILTY, and they were subsequently sentenced to 32 months in prison, while Timothy Wind and Theodore Briseño were acquitted of all charges.
So, while it is true that three of the officers were originally found “not guilty” of use of excessive force in L.A. County Court, two of the four officers were subsequently found guilty of “violation of Rodney King’s civil rights.”
Rodney King was in FACT the VICTIM of extraordinary and excessive police brutality:
“…Koon acknowledged that he ordered the baton blows, directing Powell and Wind to hit King with "power strokes." According to Koon, Powell and Wind used "bursts of power strokes, then backed off." The videotape shows King apparently continuing to try to get up. Koon orders the officers to "hit his joints, hit the wrists, hit his elbows, hit his knees, hit his ankles." Finally, after 56 baton blows and six kicks, five or six officers swarm in and place King in both handcuffs and cord cuffs, restraining his arms and legs. King is dragged on his stomach to the side of the road to await arrival of a rescue ambulance.”
FALSE STATEMENT: “…there must be another reason for the riots other than just the cops being found not guilty for beating the 100mph driving PCP using black guy.”
End part #2
So please tell us 8:20am -- what is the “other reason” that you refer too? And in the meantime, maybe the rest of us can ponder what truly motivates your thinking.
As previously stated, “more erroneous information from the right wing echo chamber...”
SOURCES:
Text:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_King
CONTRADICTIONS: DISCREPANCIES IN POLICE REPORTS:
http://articles.latimes.com/1991-03-24/local/me-1422_1_king-s-injuries-officer-laurence-m-powell-beating
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW1ZDIXiuS4
There you go again… lying like a ‘Zimmerman.’
First it was 100 mph under the influence of PCP. Now it’s 80 mph under the influence of alcohol.
It strikes me that your association with the facts in any capacity tends toward the meager.
Befuddled, or Foxidized?
Why would it matter if Rodney King was speeding and under the influence of alcohol or any other drug for that matter? The four police officers involved were clearly way out of bounds.
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