Rodney King Beating by LAPD Officers
March 3, 1991 · 20th Century
On March 3, 1991, four Los Angeles Police Department officers beat Rodney King, a Black motorist, for over a minute following a traffic stop in Lake View Terrace, California. The beating was recorded on video by a bystander — one of the first instances of filmed police violence to gain national broadcast. The footage showed King being struck over 50 times while lying on the ground. The four officers were charged with excessive force. Their acquittal on April 29, 1992 triggered the Los Angeles uprising. The case transformed public understanding of police accountability and documented evidence.
Key Figures
Rodney KingStacey KoonGeorge Holliday
Locations
Los Angeles, California
Topics
civil rightsUSAafrican american historyracismpolicingpolice violencecriminal justice
Connected Events — 6 Connections
Absence of federal protection for Black citizens traced to Civil Rights Cases of 1883
Continued documented pattern of racial violence echoing Murder of Emmett Till
Demonstrated persistence of patterns documented by Kerner Commission Report Released
Directly triggered by acquittal of officers in 1992 Los Angeles Riots and Uprising
Documented pattern of filmed police violence continuing from Killing of Eric Garner
Filmed police killing — first to result in murder conviction unlike Murder of George Floyd
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