Rodney King Dead at 47: Icon or Agitator?

The police clearly broke the law; they certainly committed the acts they were accused of, those acts are clearly a violation of law and the police had no applicable defence apart from their colour (which ultimately worked). However, a higher court overturned the charging court's race-based decision, sending the police to jail for decades. Two of those officers are currently in jail right now.

{Do you just cherry pick you own convenient laws to obey?}

I think that's more a question for you, isn't it?

FACT CHECK:The officers are NOT in jail now! But by your response I guess you think a life sentence would be in order...However, 56 people did died during the riots! Was that a more appropriate punishment for societies ills!

STACEY KOON:
Koon was the police sergeant in charge when Rodney King was beaten. A 14-year veteran of the LAPD who had been commended repeatedly for his work, he has always maintained that King's arrest was handled properly. In his book, "Presumed Guilty: The Tragedy of the Rodney King Affair," Koon blamed the riot on the news media and city officials.

Acquitted of criminal charges, he was later convicted of violating King's civil rights and sentenced to 30 months in prison. Koon, 61, retired after the King beating and lives in an LA suburb.

LAURENCE POWELL:
Powell is the officer seen on the video hitting King more than 40 times. Acquitted of criminal charges, he was convicted of violating King's civil rights and sentenced to 30 months in prison. Powell, who lives in the San Diego area, has said he will no longer discuss the incident.

{The officers are NOT in jail now!}

My mistake; they were sentenced to 30 MONTHS in prison, rather than YEARS. Obviously they've served their time. Of course, they remain convicted criminals.

{However, 56 people did died during the riots! Was that a more appropriate punishment for societies ills!}

Did a jury acquit any of the people responsible for those deaths, despite overwhelming evidence, on a racial basis? Then it's not comparable.

{Koon was the police sergeant in charge when Rodney King was beaten. A 14-year veteran of the LAPD who had been commended repeatedly for his work, he has always maintained that King's arrest was handled properly.}

But he was lying.

DAMN! Now we'll nev... nev... Never.... get alo...get alooo...alooon...Along!!!

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Now tell me, how do you really feel? LOL :D

You're good.

He unwittingly became a symbol of what police brutality looks like - Or at least it seemed to be especially brutal - I think at the time that it all happened video cameras were just becoming widely available to people and so a lot of people were seeing the police in action for the first time..I, personally, think it was excessive force..I mean subdue the man and be done with it..that doesn't justify what happened later though..but, Rodney King definitely wasn't an agitator - he called for an end to all of the violence.

in truth i have always just thought of him as a drunk that mouthed off too the wrong people.

And was then beaten by police, in violation of law.

having your claim to fame be just that you took a beating is a dubious honor.

Which is irrelevant. He deserved justice, and did not receive it. That is what is important.

who say's? on re trial i seem to remember the cops going to prison.

I remember him being to stupid to stay down after the police had to force him down. He's lucky it was in L.A. and not in Texas.

Do you think Texan police are more likely to break the law?

Okay, so the federal court system works. But the local court system- the system that sees most cases- was overtly, openly racist.

Rodney King was a Black alcoholic and drug addict who was wrongfully tortured by mostly White, viscious, racist cops in California. In the end, I will always recall Mr. King for HIS determination about the media circus that sprung-up around his trial and the aftermath of racial riots when the White cops were initially exonerated by the State, he said: "WHY CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?"

We all do some right and some wrong in life; Rodney learned from his experience and is therefore an ICON in my book. Lest anyone misremember, the exonerated White racist cops were re-tried under a Federal racial hate crime statute, convicted and sent to prison. I'm truly sorry to hear Mr. King passed and was treated as a criminal, rather than a man with a deadly disease in need of medical treatment: addiction..

No he did not learn from his mistakes, if he learned from his mistakes, he would be alive and not at the bottom of a swimming pool.

Bobbing for rocks perhaps??!! LOL!

Less Icon than symbol though, and probably not a good one. He had committed an armed robbery, was on parole, and out driving drunk. Bad enough, when police attempted to pull him over, he bolted and took police on a dangerous high speed chase at times going over 110 mph. The police, not knowing who he was or why he was running, had to assume he had done something serious and was determined to not be caught. He endangered not only his life and those of the police, but also the public.

Upon being forced over, clearly the police are assuming he is dangerous and determined to not be taken easily. They command him to lie down - he won't. They attempt to force him to - he won't. The more men they send in, the more he fights and struggles. We can now assume he kept struggling because he was being repeatedly hit. The police, in the moment, only knew that had a large and strong man fighting with them, having already taken them on a high speed chase.

I do not think all cops are good (or bad) and know there are prejudiced cops. But this was a bad subject and incident to try to make any case on... Had I been a cop? I probably wouldn't have used such restraint and would have shot him.

Trouble is. now he'll be an icon to some. and we'll never stop hearing about him.

who???

Although he definitely did not seek the notoriety, he was an unwilling icon. Despite the circumstances, the images of his brutal beating brought to light the reality of police brutality and the ugly face of racism which is still very prevalent in the criminal justice system as well as American society.

He was a drunk then and he died a drunk and drug addicit. could have done better with his life. he wasted it.

He neither wanted to be an icon nor a hero. But what he did bring about how unjust the court system is to many by the jury allowing the cops to walk away scott free. RIP, Rodney. May you have found some happiness in your short life.

I wish others on this site had your's and my own compassion for this man.He has inner demons as we all do.Very few have stated,like both of us that he rest in peace.He was a good family man and did the best he could,and should be honoured in some way.

His beating showed us first hand police brutality.. Rest In Peace now Rodney....

who cares

Criminal, drunk, druggie.......all glorified by Al and Jesse because he got his useless ass beat (which was wrong) for trying to run and refusing to get down on the ground.

He is a an example of how America treats black people like animals.

He behaved like an animal.

He did wrong . however we do not treat people like that .

thats a L.O.S

He tried to bring peace after a horrible incident, but yet could not bring peace to himself. The LA police did kill him in the end anyway.




I like to remember him smiling

Iconic Looser. He was seen using Pot and Alcohol shortly before they found his bloated ass floating in the pool.

Kinda like (most) of the Native American population huh?

I started to write a fitting poem titled "Beat Rodney", but I couldn't find anything that rhymed with Crackhead Parolee.