NCJ Number
147145
Journal
Aslet Journal Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: (January/February 1994) Pages: 16-24
Date Published
1994
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Lawyers for police officers charged with beating Rodney King after a high-speed pursuit present the officers' version of what actually happened.
Abstract
In March 1991, Rodney King led police officers from the California Highway Patrol, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Unified Police District in a high- speed pursuit. When King finally stopped his car 7.8 miles later, he was beaten with police batons as the officers allegedly attempted to get him to comply with their orders to lay down. A portion of this confrontation was captured on now famous videotape by a citizen who happened to be observing. A State trial against the officers for the excessive use of force resulted in acquittals, sparking deadly riots throughout the country. Subsequently, the officers were tried in Federal court for civil rights violations. This time two of the officers were found guilty. The officers' defense counsel alleges that the public was greatly misled about what really happened because of the distorted coverage by the media which continuously played the videotape. According to the author, the officers acted as they had been trained to do; what appeared on the video as a beating was actually an improperly executed and ineffective use of force. The author emphasizes the need for police agencies to have a realistic and clear use-of-force policy that considers nonlethal means of managing aggressive or resistant behavior and when deadly force is appropriate, and to have officer training that must incorporate this policy.