The Rodney King Case

George Clooney, Stephen King, and Jerry Seinfeld, all famous personalities in the public spotlight. Most people make it to the public’s spotlight by their achievements, by what they have done, others make it by what has been done to them. Rodney King a man thrust into the public spotlight not by his achievements, rather due to being brutally beaten by law enforcement. It is accurate to say that the Rodney King case is a famous American trial that provoked to an uproar of violence within this great state of California. The date was April 29th, 1992 a date remembered in the United States but most significantly in the city of Los Angeles. Following the acquittal of four white LAPD officers, the city of Los Angeles erupted in violence. The Los
Korean Americans saw more than 2,000 of their businesses looted or burned, about half the approximately $770 million in estimated material losses incurred during the Los Angeles upheavals (Ban, 1997). The media never bothered to address the different populations nor discuss the crisis between Hispanics and Asian Americans. During the three days of the Los Angeles riots, news media such as the Los Angeles Times, Nightline, and KCAL-TV were targets of criticism for not reporting the unjust behavior of law enforcement within these ethnic groups (Ban, 1997). What does this signify? Is there a heavier presence of abuse by law enforcement that does not adhere to equal justice and is chosen by major media coverage not to cover? There are many examples that can lead this theory to be an accurate accusation. For example Latasha Harlins, an African American honor roll student was shot and killed over an altercation between the shopkeeper and herself. The American justice sentenced the shopkeeper to five year probation an unequal justice to yet another African American. The equality of human rights is now in high demanded. Although many tragic events occurred during the riots, the outcome changed us as a society. The practical wins helped the region believe there was something other than a dystopian future after the grim reality of the riots -- not to mention improving the
Rodney King was brutally beaten by four white male officers and the court’s decision was less than desirable. The majority believes that the decision was based on the fact that Rodney King was an African American man. Law enforcement did not treat the African American population in an ideal fashion during these times in Los Angeles. The court’s decision evoked major riots in the Los Angeles area that led to deaths, arrests and close to a billion in damages. The riots were not a result of Rodney King, but rather the unequal rights offered to citizens by those in charge. The decision was a breaking point for minorities that believed in unequal treatment. The riots that occurred in Los Angeles were a long time coming. Much remains contested today about the event its causes, its aftereffects, even its name. On the Internet, it is simultaneously called a riot, an unrest, an uprising, an insurrection, and a rebellion (Kim, 2012). Californians paved the way for the rest of the country. Previous protests and riots set the stage for the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The Free Speech movement of ’64 in California Universities set the way for us citizens to demand our human rights. The 1975 Watts fire also paved the way for the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. The riots were a long time coming to the city of Los Angeles, but in the