Hong 1

Xiying Hong

ESL 033B

Project 3

Dr. Carlisi

28 November 2017

Thesis statement:

The beating of Rodney King was preventable, and understanding the adversarial

relationship between African American communities and the police, racist LAPD policy, and the

violence-promoting leadership of Daryl Gates, is needed to ensure this would not happen again.

Outline

I. Introduction:

A. The feelings of distrust go both ways. Both LAPD and the African American community

do not trust each other and think poorly of each other.

B. On March 03, 1991, Rodney King, an African American taxi driver, was pulled over due

to drunk driving and police officers used extreme violence on him for no reason.

C. Thesis statement.

The factors that led to the beating of Rodney King were preventable, and analyzing the

unfriendly relationship between African American communities and the police, racist LAPD

policy, and the violence-promoting leadership of Daryl Gate, is needed to ensure this does not

happen again.

II. The relationship between African American communities and the police.
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A. Unconscious bias (racism)

African American communities were treated unfairly compare to the other

races.Even when police officers do not think that they are being racist, African

Americans still feel it (Danielle 107).

B. Feelings about police and society in African American communities.

African American people more afraid of the police in their neighborhood

than they are of criminals keep me from loitering on the streets.(Danielle 106)

The police tend to arrest black people rather than drug dealers.

III. LAPDs treatment of African American communities and LAPD policy

A. LAPD is racist, as evidenced by how the department gives promotions.

Promotions in the LAPD are given based on race. Promotes whiteness

over blackness. Such racism policy makes African Americans feel powerless.

(Mollow 114)

B. Police mentality about the African American communities specifically.

Black people were being treated unfairly compared to other races. This is

because of the police mentality in which African American communities were

specifically being identified and labeled as criminals.(Alang et al. 1)

C. Police was protected and allowed by law to use violence against Black

communities

Many of these violent acts against were not brought up in criminal cases,

so many of the murders were unpunished. Since these murders were tolerated by
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the LAPD, the police felt further encouraged to use violence against African

Americans.(Hayes III 49)

IV. The violence-promoting leadership of Daryl Gates

A. Tested first SWAT squad in African American communities. African American

lives treated as less valuable and less important. More likely to use violence on

someone whose life you do not value. (Johnson 6)

B. Daryl Gates refuse to admit racism exists in LAPD. Despite video evidence Gates

took 4 days to say police officers would be investigated. The officers involved felt

protected from getting in trouble. These also shows why extreme violence was

used and allowed to against African Americans.(Kramer 2)

V. Conclusion

The problems leading to the beating were primarily police racism and LAPD

policy, these should be taken seriously in order to prevent such bloody racial conflict

would not happen again. The leadership and the policy of LAPD, and Daryl Gates

specifically, are at fault. These issues can be solved if the LAPD uses better engagement

with the African American communities.

I. Introduction
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Did you know that there was a massive riot that happened in LA during the early 20th

century, which lasted several days and caused hundreds of deaths? In the 1990s, the conflict

between African Americans and the police in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) began

escalating. During that time, Daryl Gates was elected as chief of the LAPD. Under Daryl Gatess

racist policies, African Americans felt they were no longer being protected by the policies;

instead, they were being treated as foreigners who do not belong in the United States. The

feelings of distrust went both ways. Both the LAPD and the African American communities

think poorly of and do not trust each other. The LAPD identified most African Americans as

criminals or drug dealers. Meanwhile, the African Americans were afraid of the LAPD more

than they were of actual criminals. One event that sparked the conflict, was the night of the

Rodney King beating. On March 03, 1991, Rodney King, an African American taxi driver, was

pulled over due to drunk driving. By the time he walked out from his car, he was being beaten by

four policemen, even though he was unarmed and showed no signs of resistance. Even though

the beating was videotaped and broadcast on the news, the four policemen were found innocent.

Although many in the black community were angry, Daryl Gates simply treated the incident as

an unnecessary accident. As a result, people began to riot against police brutality and fight for

their rights, which became known as the LA Riots. Some people think the beating of Rodney

King was an individual incident. However, there are multiple factors that caused the beating,

such as the adversarial relationship between African American communities and the LAPD, the

racist LAPD policies, and the violence-promoting leadership of Daryl Gates. By analyzing and

understanding all these factors, it can help us prevent future occurrence of police brutality

against black communities in the United States.

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Body paragraph: III. LAPDs treatment of African American communities and LAPD policy

Another problem that caused the LA riots was the racist policies against African

Americans implemented in the LAPD. In the LAPD, race was a big factor in deciding who got

promoted. LAPD is racist. Police officers are given promotions based on race and there is

discord in the department (Harvey 10). Black people tended to have smaller chance to get to a

higher position, while white people could easily advance. Since there were no black people in the

higher positions, African Americans could not do anything to combat against such brutality

happening to black people. Black communities constantly felt powerless. To give perspective on

the severity of police brutality, it is reported that young Black men were nine times more likely

than other Americans to be killed by police officers (Alang et al. 1). Black people were being

treated unfairly compared to other races. This is because of the police mentality in which African

American communities were specifically being identified and labeled as criminals. In addition to

this police mentality, Daryl Gates gave police officers the right to use physical violence against

black communities. Together, the policy mentality and the allowance of physical violence

resulted in the higher death rate of African American men being killed by police officers. Even

though many black people had been killed by the police, many of the police did not receive

punishment for their homicides. In the article Fuhrman tapes confirm LAPD'S racialized

tyranny, Floyd W. Haynes III reports that once Daryl Gates was elected, he used his power to
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give the police officers a license to kill black people (Haynes III 49). Many of these violent

acts against were not brought up in criminal cases, so many of the murders were unpunished.

Since these murders were tolerated by the LAPD, the police felt further encouraged to use

violence against African Americans.

Works Cited
Alang, Sirry, et al. "Police Brutality and Black Health: Setting the Agenda for Public Health

Scholars." American Journal of Public Health, vol. 107, no. 5, May 2017, pp. 662-665.

EBSCOhost, doi:10.2105/AJPH.2017.303691
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https://login.ezp.pasadena.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tr

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Danielle, Britni. "Fresh Air." Ebony, vol. 70, no. 7, May 2015, pp. 104-107. EBSCOhost,

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=aph&AN=102078645&site=ehost-live. Accessed Nov. 4, 2017.

Hayes III, Floyd W. "Fuhrman Tapes Confirm LAPD's Racialized Tyranny." Black Scholar, vol.

25, no. 4, Fall 95, p. 48. EBSCOhost.

.ezp.pasadena.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph

&AN=9603153868&site=ehost-live. Accessed Nov 4, 2017

Johnson, Stephson. "Daryl Gates' Controversial Legacy in the Black Community." New York

Amsterdam News, vol. 101, no. 18, 29 Apr. 2010, p. 30. EBSCOhost,

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=aph&AN=50332188&site=ehost-live. Accessed Nov 4, 2017.

Kramer, M. "Gates: The Buck Doesn't Stop Here. (Cover Story)." Time, vol. 137, no. 13,

4/1/1991, p. 25. EBSCOhost,

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Krieger, Nancy, et al. "Police Killings and Police Deaths Are Public Health Data and Can Be

Counted." Plos Medicine, vol. 12, no. 12, 08 Dec. 2015, pp. 1-7. EBSCOhost,

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Commission Wrong?." Social Science Quarterly (University of Texas Press), vol. 79, no.

2, June 1998, pp. 378-389. EBSCOhost,

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Mollow, Anna. "Unvictimizable: Toward a Fat Black Disability Studies." African American

Review, vol. 50, no. 2, Summer2017, pp. 105-121. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1353/afa.2017.0016.

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