Looting During Rodney King Riots of 1992
Rodney King was the victim of police brutality after he failed to comply with their orders to remain still. The Rodney King riots took place after officers were acquitted in the beating of Rodney King, which was caught on videotape by a citizen who happened to be in the area. The videotape aired on many news programs worldwide and sparked outrage among many citizens. It was obviously a case of police brutality and many people claimed that race was the motivation in the beating and in the Rodney King Riots. Even with the videotape, it was not easy to decipher all of the details involved in the incident. It is clear that the officers acted inappropriately but one cannot feel their fear by watching the videotape. Individuals can also not completely grasp the pain felt by Rodney Kind while he endured the beating. Yet, those factors combined to cause the Rodney King riots, which included looting, arson and other violent crimes that took place in Los Angeles and other cities across the country. The footage of the beating showed King receiving over fifty hits by police batons in addition to other actions that constitute assault. The public was outraged when the tape aired. Upon seeing the officers acquitted, the Rodney King riot immediately erupted, spreading to other cities across the nation. The Rodney King riots resulted in at least fifty deaths, over two thousand injuries and damages to over three thousand structures. During the Rodney King riot, many individuals participated in mass looting across the city. In fact, looting resulted in millions of dollars of losses in many cities involved in the riots. After days of violence in the Rodney King riots, King spoke before a crowd on television, begging people to try and get along since the riots would not change anything. He also said that they could get justice but that the rioting and looting were not the way to get it. After the acquittal and subsequent Rodney King riots, several of the officers did, in fact, face charges in which they were found guilty. Indeed, the Federal charges resulted in over two years in Federal prison for two of the officers. In addition, the Government put a nationwide focus on the training of police officers so that events like this could be avoided in the future. King was awarded three million dollars in a civil suit, but the damage caused by the Rodney King riots greatly exceeded that number. The looting alone resulted in losses in the millions of dollars.
