The Rodney King Video

The Rodney King video displays a harrowing tale of a young man being savagely attacked by a troop of police officers. While the victim is clearly unarmed, the police officers display excessive force and eagerness to harm, hitting him on multiple occasions as he rolls on the ground painfully. The incident is puzzling for many reasons. First, the victim is clearly outnumbered by the police officers and appears subdued as he turns from side to side on the ground. On the other hand, the police officers make no attempt to arrest him but instead keep on hitting him, some using a weapon. While some officers appear to exercise restraint, they make no attempt to stop the assault on the victim and seem contented with the actions of the fellow officers. This paper presents a number of reflections on the Rodney King video.

The reason for the beating up of Rodney King is unclear from the video. This is because the attack seems to be personal in the way it is executed and appears to have nothing to do with law enforcement. If the victim was being punished for breaking the law, the officers would have prioritized restraining him, and only so in the event he resisted. However, there is no evidence of resistance and in essence, the victim appears subdued and in lots of pain. It must also be appreciated that the quality of the camera was quite poor and no accurate deduction can be made from the video alone without contextual information. It is clear though that the victim was not being punished for any crime as no law or situation had sufficed such measures.

It is apparent that the beating by the officers was not a legitimate use of force and the entire group deserved to be charged. The use of force by law enforcement officers is only justified in situations where an individual resists arrest or displays other forms of lack of cooperation. Such force is also supposed to be minimal, just enough to bring the suspect under control. However, the scenario in the video was completely different. The amount of force used by the officers was clearly excessive, and there were no signs of non-cooperation from the victim who looked broken. There was also no indication that the life of the officers was at risk given their safety in numbers and no sign of a weapon in the victim. Though the officers participated in varied dimensions in beating up the victim, they all deserved to be charged. The attack on the victim was life threatening and as law enforcement they needed to not only desist from the beating but also discourage it. The officers who never took an active part in the injustice but watched it unfold were guilty of complicity and negligence. In the given circumstances, they all deserved a charge.

In conclusion, the Rodney King video serializes a case of abuse of authority by law enforcement agencies. It is unclear why the victim had to undergo such a brutalizing beating, given that it was within the powers of the officer to arrest him. There is illegitimate use of force as such, and none of the officers deserved an acquittal. They were either guilty of assault or complicity and negligence for those who watched without any intervention