As patrolman brutalizes woman hints of Rodney King similarities emerge
David Diaz captured a video that shows a California Highway patrolman seeming to uncontrollably beat a defenseless woman. He punched the woman over and over again.
The optics of the beating is not unlike the beating received by Rodney King at the hands of Los Angeles police officers way back in 1991. Back then it was videotaped by George Holiday. Inasmuch as the actions of the Los Angeles police officers were clearly observed on the videotape, the five police officers perpetrating the beating were acquitted. Their acquittal triggered the 1992 Los Angeles riots in which 53 people were killed and thousand’s injured.
The similarity is obvious. A video clearly shows a woman that irrespective of what occurred before, was being brutalized. She appeared to be offering no resistance. She appeared to be simply attempting to protect herself from the attacks from the patrolman.
What is interesting is the response from California Highway Patrol Assistant Chief Chris O’Quinn. He said the tape only shows a small part of what transpired and that prior events led up to the beating. He may be correct on that point. After-all the police said that the woman was a danger to herself and others. It said she was walking within traffic lanes, continued to ignore officer’s commands when she was asked to stop, and ultimately became physically combative.
The problem is that every single one of those ‘realities’ if true seems irrelevant. A police officer is a trained public servant. They are trained to maintain control in virtually every situation. The video displays a patrolman out of control. The police officer’s superior seem to be using the same type of terminology used during the Rodney King beatings. One hopes that the department is cognizant of the potential risk of attempting to make a violent beating by an uncontrolled officer seem justified.
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Pathetic. The officer will be exonerated, as is almost always the case. Some people call them heroes. This instance makes a mockery of that designation.