Police

10 Pages 2383 Words

The policemen reported that Mr. King appeared to be on PCP at the time he
was pulled over. Subsequent tests indicated Mr. King had no drugs or alcohol
in his system (Serrano, 1991 p. A1). The Rodney King incident was however,
captured by a private citizen on videotape. This videotape has subsequently
been broadcast nationally and the ensuing trial against the police officers
involved captivated our nation.(LA Times March 19, 1991 p. A20).
Twenty-seven uniformed officers witnessed this incident from various law
enforcement agencies. None of the officers (those individuals who are
supposed to protect citizens) made any effort to stop this abuse.(LA Times
March 19, 1991 p. A20). The level of escalation even went so far as to call in a
police helicopter! (Ironically, the lights from the helicopter actually improved
the lighting for the videotape.) The King beating brought complaints from the
Mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley and national attention from civil rights
leaders. Many believed the beating was racially motivated and extended from a
pattern of abusive behavior by police towards blacks. (McDonald 1991) This
act of violent behavior from police officers has brought many questions to the
national table, such as: • Is police brutality on the rise? • Is the police hiding
behind their badges? • How does the public view police brutality? • How can
we raise public awareness? Is police brutality on the rise? This is an important
question to ask ourselves and the police departments. A study in seventeen
counties in Northern California indicated that in the past two years excessive
force and neglect has resulted in at least seven deaths and fatal injury. (Saari,
no date) In fact a nine-month period from August 26, 1996 to June 29, 1997
seven citizens died as a result of police brutality. Sonoma County California
currently has the highest rate of custody deaths in the bay area (Saari). In
many cases the situation...