Rodney King deserved what he got?

Question

CUT & PASTED:Rodney Glenn King (born April 2, 1965 in Sacramento, California) is an African-American who — while being videotaped by a bystander (George Holliday) — was continually struck with batons, and subsequently arrested by Los Angeles police officers (LAPD). This followed an 8 mile (13 km), high speed (110 mph / 180 km/h)[citation needed] freeway pursuit by police, after King refused to pull over on March 3, 1991, in the residential community of Lake View Terrace. He suffered eleven skull fractures, broken bones and teeth, kidney injuries, and permanent brain damage due to injuries suffered during his arrest. In a later interview, King, on parole from prison for a robbery conviction, said that he feared being arrested and returned to prison for a parole violation.

Question: He is obviously a convicted criminal who endangered lives of many on that day during the high speed chase. He deserves the punishment he got on the side of the road?

Answer 1

He broke the rules. He had it comming. I am a convicted felon myself. And now I realize that the cops would have never bothered me or even come in contact with me if I had not been braking the law. There comes a point in time where a person has to own up to their own stupid behavior, be responsible and quit crying like a little baby when the law finally does get them.
I caused my own demise, and I blame nobody but myself. I grew up. I guess some people will always blame all their mishaps on everyone else. He is just mad because he got caught, he pissed them off, and he got a huge spanking....probably a long overdue man-handling that he should have gotten from his momma or somebody else who should have whooped his butt.
I am not a hypocrite. I believe the same for myself. He should have been given the same treatment as me-and I got it too. I just ain't crying over it and blaming everyone else for the fact that I was a scum-bag screw up. I was then, but I ain't now.
I changed my life around, and so can he...He just had to grow up, and so did I.
I HAVE NO SYMPATHY FOR MYSELF OR ANYONE ELSE WHO PUTS THEMSELVES IN THOSE KIND OF SITUATIONS.

MY ADVICE: GROW UP, SUCK IT UP AND BE A MAN. YOU DID WHAT YOU DID, NOW TAKE YOUR CONSEQUENCES LIKE A GROWN ADULT. THEN MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE. IT IS YOUR DECISION--EITHER STAY WHERE YOU ARE AT...OR PICK YOURSELF OFF AND DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR LIFE. IT IS ALL UP TO YOU.

Answer 2

No - and that was the point of the conviction. Rodney King is a scumbag. He deserves to be put into jail for life. However, what the Rodney King incident had to do more with was the abuse by the LAPD under the Daryl Gates administration. The Rodney King incident was happening nearly on a daily basis. It was one of the first times that such a brutal attack was captured on film and shown to the world.

Being a cop in LA is a tough job. But you need to be tough minded. What these cops did was nothing more than what I would expect a criminal to do. If you act like a criminal, then you are one. I think most of them got off too light. I want our officers to uphold the law but understand that they are NOT the law.

Answer 3

Even though he is a dirtbag the cops went way too far. But it is a shame that those blows didn't knock some sense into him.
Since then, King has been arrested several times. He beat up his wife a few times. Also he got arrested for almost running over a vice cop. King was caught by the undercover officer as he sucked off a male transvestite in a car and King respnded by nearly running him down! Whoa!

Answer 4

while i certainly dont think anyone will defend what he did to put himself in the situation, its what happened after he was pulled over that was wrong. i can understand a police officer striking someone if they're resisting arrest, but police training specifies that you should always use the minimal force required to apprehend someone, unless they've openly attacked you. after he was downed, they repeatedly struck him in the head. there was no point to that, other than to get their aggression out. i'm not positive that it was because he was african american, or if they were just bad cops in general. but, it shouldnt have happened.

and, respectfully, i have to disagree with the girl right above me. if a police officer tries to pull someone over and they dont comply.... well, that police officer doesnt know if the person in the car is fleeing because they just killed someone or not. and if someone broke into your house and damaged things, or stole your belongs to sell for drug money, i'm pretty sure you'd want that person found and punished. wouldnt it suck to know that the police officer saw the person speeding, and the car wouldnt pull over, but the officer said "well, i didnt see them commiting any serious crimes, so i wont chase them" ?

Answer 5

I think that he deserved a punishment, yes, but not a brutal beating. What if that was your family member? The officers involved obviously did not keep their emotions in check and Mr. King suffered for it. No one deserves to beaten that badly no matter what they did. Courts decide punishments not police.

Answer 6

He was under the influence of drug and just plain stupid. He probably did not read the terms of his parole. He resisted arrest and that was the only way the police could subdue him. But did he deserve it? No. You act like an @hole and the police will treat you like poop.

Answer 7

Not to worry. Because of the rampent vengeful attitude of the American people the USA is rapidly turning into a police state. Your day under the knife will come too, and nobody will give a damn.

Answer 8

I don't eschew violence on anyone. But, I'm pretty sure that given the circumstances, ANYONE would have been treated the same way. And, because we didn't punish those police officers who were caught beating him, we had to let O.J. go. There's a reason it's called 'Hollyweird'

Answer 9

I think you are right, Maybe the cops went a little over board but lets just say it.... if he was white we would have never have known about it and it would have been no big deal.
And no, I am not raciest, I have just noticed that a "hate crime" is not a "hate crime" if the victim is not a minority.

Answer 10

there is a sh!t load more of people who have done the same thing he did and they do not get treated like that and about about "punishment" he got on the side of the road it was not up to the police to "punish" him nobody deserves that you do not solve anything through violence!!!!

Answer 11

Police should not conduct a high speed chase of a non-violent criminal. he wouldn't have ran if they were not chasing him. Putting citizens in danger to catch a drug addict who probably robbed to get drug money anyway is ridiculous and chasing someone who you KNOW may be under the influence of drugs is ridiculous and dangerous also.