Rodney King found dead in swimming pool

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Originally Posted by trish

I hope that in all your future encounters with the police, they behave appropriately.

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I anticipate that they will not, that is why I am wary

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Originally Posted by fastingforlife

Shortly after the riots, he beat the living crap out of his then wife. Putting her in the hospital with far more serious injuries then he suffered at the hands of the police. Hopefuly, she sued him for some of the $3.8 mil he robbed from the taxpayers.

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I respect your position and positions generally, but based on what I know about this case (not close to everything), I thought the force was clearly excessive. It's not that I object to police using force, just not more than is necessary to take a criminal into custody. There had to be a better way to get handcuffs on Rodney King than beating the crap out of him with a baton. Now, I was only a kid and haven't revisited the story since, but I remember police video of him getting mercilessly pummelled.

Though this has nothing to do with the merits of Rodney King's case, the riots afterwards were terrifying and there is no possible justification for the anarchy and craziness unleashed on the city after the first verdict.

Also, Trish is right that if he beat his wife, it in no way presents a post hoc justification for his beating. I'm not trying to sound like a defense attorney but it is possible that he suffered brain damage from that beating if it was as I remember it and though not a necessary result, it is possible severe frontal lobe brain damage could predispose someone to act impulsively and violently. Again, I'm not saying that happened in his case, but it is something to think about.

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Originally Posted by fastingforlife

Shortly after the riots, he beat the living crap out of his then wife. Putting her in the hospital with far more serious injuries then he suffered at the hands of the police. Hopefuly, she sued him for some of the $3.8 mil he robbed from the taxpayers.

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Yeah, I looked it up. He suffered a facial fracture from a blow to the face and was hit 56 times with batons. Yes, he kept making futile attempts to get up but he was so groggy and injured he could have had cuffs slapped on him no problem.

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Originally Posted by broncofan

I respect your position and positions generally, but based on what I know about this case (not close to everything), I thought the force was clearly excessive. It's not that I object to police using force, just not more than is necessary to take a criminal into custody. There had to be a better way to get handcuffs on Rodney King than beating the crap out of him with a baton. Now, I was only a kid and haven't revisited the story since, but I remember police video of him getting mercilessly pummelled.

Though this has nothing to do with the merits of Rodney King's case, the riots afterwards were terrifying and there is no possible justification for the anarchy and craziness unleashed on the city after the first verdict.

Also, Trish is right that if he beat his wife, it in no way presents a post hoc justification for his beating. I'm not trying to sound like a defense attorney but it is possible that he suffered brain damage from that beating if it was as I remember it and though not a necessary result, it is possible severe frontal lobe brain damage could predispose someone to act impulsively and violently. Again, I'm not saying that happened in his case, but it is something to think about.

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King had a very long rap sheet at the time of his arrest. The cops did not beat him on his head or anywhere else that he could have suffered serious injuries. Strictly, buttocks, thighs, upper arms, wherever there is adequate protection. I agree that the tape looks awful, but it is nearly identical to their own training tapes. So if you behave according to the rules, how can you be guilty?

As for King, I always thought his "can we all get along" comment was a moving statement, summing up America and the world then and now.

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Originally Posted by broncofan

Yeah, I looked it up. He suffered a facial fracture from a blow to the face and was hit 56 times with batons. Yes, he kept making futile attempts to get up but he was so groggy and injured he could have had cuffs slapped on him no problem.

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I would have to look at the tape again to see if the cops "intentionally" hit him in the face, or did he fall on his face. But, the jury went over the evidence in painstaking detail, and found the cops innocent.

Juries get the cases right only 73% of the time.

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Originally Posted by trish

I hope that in all your future encounters with the police, they behave appropriately.

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I saw what you did there! :geek:

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Originally Posted by fastingforlife

King had a very long rap sheet at the time of his arrest. The cops did not beat him on his head or anywhere else that he could have suffered serious injuries. Strictly, buttocks, thighs, upper arms, wherever there is adequate protection. I agree that the tape looks awful, but it is nearly identical to their own training tapes. So if you behave according to the rules, how can you be guilty?

As for King, I always thought his "can we all get along" comment was a moving statement, summing up America and the world then and now.

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I hear you. Let me put it this way. I am not trying to belittle juries but they often see things in black and white terms. I don't mean racially, but maybe they think if he was guilty of something or did not react in the way he should have, then he deserves what he gets.

Now I don't know specific police training or procedure but if the point of an apprehension is to get a guy through the legal system, police have a very specific job. They are not there to mete out punishment because a guy doesn't follow instructions or to break someone's will until they listen. And I would assume the ethic is "use the least amount of force necessary". Maybe they are taught to hit someone with batons in specific places when they pose a threat, but again, not when they sort of make futile, if illogical attempts to do something.

I don't know, I think the beating was excessive but I'll admit it's not always so clear cut and maybe the police weren't breaking so radically with what they were taught. I understand the counterarguments but think they apply more in the abstract than in the specific situation these cops were presented with.

Fastingforlife,
Also, let me say. Just because I think Rodney King was the victim of police brutality doesn't mean I think he was a good guy, a guy minding his own business, a hero, a symbol of nonviolence, or a man of peace. But one doesn't have to be to be a victim of a specific bad act. I can see how people would be annoyed if his story is used more broadly than it should be.

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Originally Posted by broncofan

Yeah, I looked it up. He suffered a facial fracture from a blow to the face and was hit 56 times with batons. Yes, he kept making futile attempts to get up but he was so groggy and injured he could have had cuffs slapped on him no problem.

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I would have to look at the tape again to see if the cops "intentionally" hit him in the face, or did he fall on his face. But, the jury went over the evidence in painstaking detail, and found the cops innocent.