The photos are images of a man before and after an
experience that changed his life forever. Rodney King couldn’t have known
that on March 3, 1991 he would be beaten within inches of his life by officers
of the LAPD.
This month marks Twenty years since the police beating of
Rodney King. On March 3, 1991 officer of
the LAPD officers used their batons striking Rodney King over 56 times. A Log
Angeles citizen videotaped the beating and gave it to a local television
station. The station played the tape in its entirety. What would have been a
small fire eventually became a forest fire. The videotaped beating spread all across
America as well as internationally. Four officers were later charged with use
of excessive force. In 1992 the four officers, (Koon, Powell, Briseno and
Wind), went to trial.
On April 29, 1992 many people here in America as well as
people in other countries who had seen the videotaped beating waited to hear
what the verdict would be. The verdict finally came down; three of the officers
were acquitted. The jury could decided on the forth officers so the trial ended
in a hung jury. Many people in Los Angeles were outraged at the verdict and
began rioting. People started fires throughout the city, businesses were
looted, and some people resulted to violence against others. When the smoke
cleared, there were “53 deaths, 2,383 injuries, more than 7,000 fires, damages
to 3,100 businesses and nearly $1 billion in financial losses.”1
Here we are twenty years later as many people have looked back
to March 29, 1992. We all should remember where we were the moment the verdict
was read and how we felt. Rodney King has since recovered from the beating
although some of his injuries were so severe that there will be lifelong
affects. Rodney King has since written a book titled “The Riot Within: My
Journey from Rebellion to Redemption.”
SOURCE: 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_King
