Did Rodney King deserve a beating?

ghost

A mistreatment of any person by the Boys in Blue, is a model of what can happen when police get out of control. 16 years ago it happened to Rodney, tomorrow it could happen to your brother, or mother. Police need policing themselves.

Brandon

Police cannot severely beat someone who is on the ground curled in a ball because he is a Wife beater or PCP addict. And who said he was an African-American Hero? Are you racist or something?
Regardless of what crimes hes committed, excessive force is, excessive force, judge all you want, you can't beat someone half way to death because you do not like the history they have.
Oh, and
"Guerrillas in the mists."

robbob

Many African-Americans would prefer to say that he was a victim of police brutality.

It's been a long time since I saw the video, but, from what I remember, the force used to apprehend King was far in excess of what a reasonable person would think is sufficient.

Takgeyon

Rodney King did not deserve the beating he got that night on camera. For all practical purposes, he was already subdued but then again LA cops were never known for their bedside manners. On the flipside King is an addict and a sometimes pusher. No he is not a role model for anyone.

Jack Burton

he wasnt a hero, he just happened to be the poor guy getting the crap kicked out of him by the l.a.p.d. that video just showed the way cops in south l.a. conduct themselves. he didnt do anything heroic...

Kris

I don't think he is really viewed as a hero, more of an icon.... The answer is no, he did not deserve a beating from the police. Cops are not there to punish, that is the job of the courts and the corrections system.

totellthetruth8

Why did you attempt to correct another responder to your question, when in fact, your question is poor constructed in such a manner to imply that African Americans view Rodney King as a hero? Buddy, get your facts straight first and in proper order.

How about you go back and review the facts of that particular case? After a person is subdued, there is no need for excessive physical abuse.

BIG JD

I hate what police represent! They abuse their power and not one time has one benefited me or my family. What gets me the most is when they call your house asking for money... It's like they were drafted to do their job. No, they picked their profession and I picked mine too. I'm not calling everyone asking for money. In the case with King, I think that they guy was having a good time and would have made it home fine if the cops wouldn't have messed with him. Instead their actions caused taxpayers a lot of money from vandalism cause. Idiots!!!

DaveNCUSA

It is up to the courts to decide guilt or innocence and then administer punishment of the guilty, not the police and, the last I heard, we do not use corporal punishment in the US.

rob w 6.0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCxpSmVQIWU

chilebreath

The term "subdued" means a suspect is handcuffed and in control. As long as a man refuses to place his hands behind his back to he can be cuffed he is not subdued, and he still poses a threat to the officers trying to arrest him. With this idea in mind officers trying to control a suspect must do what they can make a suspect submit to being cuffed, even it it means using force. Was the amount of force used on King reasonable? You can argue that until the cows come home, but the bottom line is he wasn't shot so you really can't say it was terminally excessive.

Get a grip people, being a cop and doing the work of a cop is not easy, and sometimes it's not pretty. But heaven help us if those men and women ever stop doing their work and leave the streets to us and the animals who roam among us.

Ruth S

Right or wrong, black or white, if Rodney was un-manageable at the time he was pulled over, being beaten by several Police officers, was wrong on THEIR part. They could have subdued him without beating the crap out of him! But, you have to realize, cops are human too, THEY lost it, in the heat of the moment!! Yeah! I know, that isn't an excuse, but it happened, and the officers were punished for the beating. What tickles me is - Now he's on one of those reality shows! LOL!

Internet Explorer

It is up to the court to decide that.

lightstalker22

I think the whole rodney king incident is ridculous. He deserved it no doubt. The way the african americans reacted just shows how much of apes they really are. If you have ever seen anyother videos of people on pcp getting arrested its intense. The drug alters thier mind so much they need a asskicking just to get them on the ground.

dmg1969

What he LATER turned out to be has nothing to do with whether the force used on him at the time was justifiable.

How about we punish YOU fors something you MIGHT turn out to be?

And BTW...I'm a white guy. I wasn't there and don't know what happened, but remember seeing it on TV. And I don't think African Americans look to him as a hero.

Lauren

Being that he was on PCP he was more difficult than the average person to detain and i think the officers were justified to a POINT. The LAPD has policies on how to detain suspects under those conditions and those officers clearly did not follow them. The officers really dugg themselves a hole with the radio traffic prior to the traffic stop and they made it even worse because CHP made the original stop and when they got there they told the CHP officers to pretty much leave the scene.

Lurch

What people fail to realize is he was high on PCP that night. One of the effects of the drug is a feeling of superhuman strength. He fought the officers for several minutes before the infamous 20 second clip shown globally.

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