Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck has written an editorial for the Los Angeles Times on the 25th anniversary of the Rodney King riots, saying the department will never “fail” the city again.
When the video of Los Angeles police officers beating Rodney G. King shocked the world 25 years ago, the baton quickly became a symbol of law enforcement abuse.
Rodney King, whose videotaped beating by LAPD officers sparked a national debate about police use of force two decades ago, died Sunday at his home in Rialto.
Sunday marked the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Rodney King Riots in Los Angeles. In 1992, major rioting would continue until May 25. Much has changed since those days of anti-police rioting, yet much has remained the same.
Sunday marks the 20th anniversary of the Los Angeles riot that followed the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department officers who were prosecuted by the state for using excessive force on Rodney King. There was extensive looting and burning, and 53 people lost their lives.
Rodney King's arrest Tuesday on a drunk driving charge is the latest run-in with law enforcement for the man whose videotaped beating sparked the Los Angeles Riots in 1992.
Rodney King was pulled over by an Arcadia (Calif.) PD police officer about 4:15 p.m. Wednesday, after driving erratically in a green Mitsubishi.
Compared to the Los Angeles Police officers who arrested Rodney King, cops today are much more aware of the fact that someone is almost always watching, and potentially recording, their actions.
For the 20-year anniversary of the Rodney King incident, POLICE Magazine has prepared several perspectives and collected others that paint a fuller picture of the incident's impact on law enforcement.
Traffic on the I-10 Freeway was non-existent, save for those who absolutely had to go to work under a hazy film of smoky clouds. I remember thinking that all of the other commuters must have been either cops or firefighters.