Rodney King

Rodney King was an African American man whose 1991 beating by Los Angeles police officers was recorded on video. The officers’ acquittals helped ignite the 1992 Los Angeles uprising.

Rodney King video: A bystander’s video recording of Los Angeles police officers beating Rodney King on March 3, 1991. The footage made the beating visible to a mass audience and central to the case.
Police brutality: The use of excessive or unjustified force by law enforcement officers. The video became a widely seen example in debates about police violence.
Daryl Gates: The Los Angeles police chief from 1978 to 1992, whose tenure ended amid criticism after the unrest. His leadership came under intense scrutiny over LAPD practices and the response to the crisis.
California state criminal prosecution: A criminal case prosecuted under California law in a state court. The state trial acquitted all four officers, unlike the later federal case.
Los Angeles Police Department: The municipal police agency responsible for law enforcement in Los Angeles, California. Its officers beat King, and its practices faced scrutiny after the recording aired.
Police accountability: The obligation of police agencies and officers to answer for their conduct. The verdicts raised questions about whether existing systems could hold officers accountable.
Stacey Koon: The LAPD sergeant who supervised officers during Rodney King’s beating and was convicted in the federal case. He was the senior officer at the scene and one of the federal defendants.
Federal civil rights prosecution: A federal criminal case alleging that someone deprived another person of constitutional rights. Federal prosecutors retried selected officers under a different legal charge and obtained convictions.
Trial of the Los Angeles police officers in the Rodney King case: The 1992 state trial of four Los Angeles police officers charged in King’s beating. The jury’s acquittals transformed public reaction to the recorded assault.
Racial profiling: The use of race or ethnicity as a basis for suspicion or law-enforcement action. King’s beating intensified scrutiny of racial disparities in policing.

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