Rodney King dead at 47

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

I do think it's a rather important detail to point out that King was on PCP. I've seen the effects of this drug first hand, and it's frightening. Users lose all fear, and have an indescribable ability to withstand pain - it really seems like they can't feel anything. Kind was on PCP and was tased twice. The taser had no apparent effect on him.

 

That fact IN NO WAY excuses the actions of the officers, but I will say, after having being led on a high speed chase that lasted about 15 minutes and exceeded 110 mph, and after having the subject come after me once he finally stopped his car, and after tasing him twice and watching him continue coming at me as if nothing had happened...I can't say for sure what my reaction would have been. I, for one, am somewhat surprised that King didn't have an officer shoot him.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

I'm curious. What race were the other two men in the car with Rodney King? And what happened to them that night? I honestly do not know.

 

I know one of them testified in the original trials that he was also beaten.

[PurplePride92]

I'm curious. What race were the other two men in the car with Rodney King? And what happened to them that night? I honestly do not know.

 

Both black I believe. Could be wrong.

[PurplePride92]

I do think it's a rather important detail to point out that King was on PCP. I've seen the effects of this drug first hand, and it's frightening. Users lose all fear, and have an indescribable ability to withstand pain - it really seems like they can't feel anything. Kind was on PCP and was tased twice. The taser had no apparent effect on him.

 

That fact IN NO WAY excuses the actions of the officers, but I will say, after having being led on a high speed chase that lasted about 15 minutes and exceeded 110 mph, and after having the subject come after me once he finally stopped his car, and after tasing him twice and watching him continue coming at me as if nothing had happened...I can't say for sure what my reaction would have been. I, for one, am somewhat surprised that King didn't have an officer shoot him.

 

I remember watching the video amazed that he kept trying to stand up. PCP is a hell of a drug.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

I remember watching the video amazed that he kept trying to stand up. PCP is a hell of a drug.

 

Yeahhhhhhhh buddy...

[lawildcat]

I'm not going to discount the beating that Rodney King took that night. It was way beyond brutal. However, if I put myself in one of those officer's shoes that night, I'm sure the adrenaline was off the charts for them! You're already in a job that is highly dangerous; every stop you make, you're not sure if you're going home that night. Everyone hates you just because you're a cop. You finally stop a guy who has been running from you and the guy is super human (he's on PCP but you don't know that) and he just won't go down after being tased and hit with a baton countless times. By the time he does stop resisting, you are still in adrenaline mode and wanting to make sure it's him and not you that night. Basic survival instincts have already kicked in.

I have ultimate respect for the police for putting their lives on the line every day to protect me and my family and I will always defend them as a whole even if there are bad apples who use the badge for their own personal gain/glory. Just my opinion.

[TAC]

I remember watching the video amazed that he kept trying to stand up. PCP is a hell of a drug.

 

That was a big part of the problem. The officers at the scene probably thought the same thing. You beat a man, and he keeps getting back up. Not knowing what this drug will lead him to do. A normal man would have stayed down after the first few whacks. This man did not. In the flash of a moment there had to be a fine line of what was enough. Normal force obviously was not. Add to that a high speed chase that had the blood flowing, it all led up to a tragic night.

[PurplePride92]

I'm not going to discount the beating that Rodney King took that night. It was way beyond brutal. However, if I put myself in one of those officer's shoes that night, I'm sure the adrenaline was off the charts for them! You're already in a job that is highly dangerous; every stop you make, you're not sure if you're going home that night. Everyone hates you just because you're a cop. You finally stop a guy who has been running from you and the guy is super human (he's on PCP but you don't know that) and he just won't go down after being tased and hit with a baton countless times. By the time he does stop resisting, you are still in adrenaline mode and wanting to make sure it's him and not you that night. Basic survival instincts have already kicked in.

I have ultimate respect for the police for putting their lives on the line every day to protect me and my family and I will always defend them as a whole even if there are bad apples who use the badge for their own personal gain/glory. Just my opinion.

 

 

I understand what you're saying. If those cops can't temper their adrenaline after a subject is clearly subdued then they don't deserve to wear a badge. Adrenaline or not.

[PurplePride92]

That was a big part of the problem. The officers at the scene probably thought the same thing. You beat a man, and he keeps getting back up. Not knowing what this drug will lead him to do. A normal man would have stayed down after the first few whacks. This man did not. In the flash of a moment there had to be a fine line of what was enough. Normal force obviously was not. Add to that a high speed chase that had the blood flowing, it all led up to a tragic night.

 

He kept standing back up. At what point did he begin to attack the police to provoke that savage beating? I wish I could find that video.

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

He kept standing back up. At what point did he begin to attack the police to provoke that savage beating? I wish I could find that video.

 

I get what you're saying...standing up does not necessarily constitute "attack" in any way. Still, isn't it kind of regular procedure for police officers to subdue combative suspects to the ground? I mean, I've never been a combative suspect being arrested by the police, but I sure as heck know that that's how police do things when they're trying to get control of a combative suspect. Why did he keep trying to get up?

 

It's a rather complicated situation in which I believe the officers undoubtedly went wrong in the end - but it wasn't before King did wrong in the first place. King was the one who initially jumped out of his car and came at the police officers attempting to subdue him. The officers - whose job it was to arrest him - tried to stop him with tasers to no avail. Their options then are 1) let a guy get away after he ran from police and led them on a 15 minute chase involving multiple police cars and exceeding 100mph, 2) use deadly force in the form of a gun, or 3) use physical brute force to subdue him. They went with number 3 and they went WAY overboard. King could have been trying to instinctually get away from his attackers maybe? Sure. Where was King's instinct to not charge at the dozen armed police officers trying to arrest him though?

 

There is one thing that's for sure though. The police officers DID undoubtedly exceed the necessary force needed to subdue Rodney King. They went from being in the right, to being in the wrong. Let's not forget why and how the police officers got there in the first place, though.

[PurplePride92]

I get what you're saying...standing up does not necessarily constitute "attack" in any way. Still, isn't it kind of regular procedure for police officers to subdue combative suspects to the ground? I mean, I've never been a combative suspect being arrested by the police, but I sure as heck know that that's how police do things when they're trying to get control of a combative suspect. Why did he keep trying to get up?

 

It's a rather complicated situation in which I believe the officers undoubtedly went wrong in the end - but it wasn't before King did wrong in the first place. King was the one who initially jumped out of his car and came at the police officers attempting to subdue him. The officers - whose job it was to arrest him - tried to stop him with tasers to no avail. Their options then are 1) let a guy get away after he ran from police and led them on a 15 minute chase involving multiple police cars and exceeding 100mph, 2) use deadly force in the form of a gun, or 3) use physical brute force to subdue him. They went with number 3 and they went WAY overboard. King could have been trying to instinctually get away from his attackers maybe? Sure. Where was King's instinct to not charge at the dozen armed police officers trying to arrest him though?

 

There is one thing that's for sure though. The police officers DID undoubtedly exceed the necessary force needed to subdue Rodney King. They went from being in the right, to being in the wrong. Let's not forget why and how the police officers got there in the first place, though.

 

I'm not. That's definitely not forgotten. It also isn't forgotten that at a certain point they were having as much fun beating him as the gangbangers had beating up a defenseless and innocent Reginald Denny. The difference is that the cops are supposed to be protecting us from folks like those gangbangers and in turn they became the gangbangers. The fact that the LAPD had a reputation for excessive violence and police brutality just made this an even more volatile situation than it already was.

 

Just a sad moment in history for everybody.

[Clyde]

Go the 9:00 mark. The PCP argument doesn't fly. King was down and could have been cuffed and controlled. The police chose to beat him instead thinking no one would ever know.

 

[mexitucky]

I think we all can agree that he was rightfully arrested and should have been forcibly restrained for resisting. However, after he had given up, the police continued to fight him. Say he deserved it if you want to. Police are held to a higher standard than average citizens though. Everyone involved deserved to be held accountable for their actions, including the crime, the chase, the resisting and the beating.

 

An average citizen, who when provoked defends themselves, will be held accountable if they beat an incapacitated opponent. Once your opponent gives up and you continue your fighting, it becomes battery on your end. They should have gotten major jail time. You and I would have.

[Lawnboy13]

What a joke, I can't believe these cops didn't see the inside of a jail for their use of accessive force. :irked:

[Colonels_Wear_Blue]

Go the 9:00 mark. The PCP argument doesn't fly. King was down and could have been cuffed and controlled. The police chose to beat him instead thinking no one would ever know.

 

 

Oh, no doubt that it came to a point where the police chose to beat him instead of putting the cuffs on and taking him in. King was beaten senseless by the time it got to the part of the video that you were referencing. That was somewhere around the point where it became clear that the police took it WAY out of hand. As for the PCP argument though, I've got to say, until you see first hand what it does to a person while they're on it, you have no idea what they (the police officers) were messing with.