Effects Of Racial Discrimination, South Los Angeles (Essay Sample)

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Effects of Racial Discrimination
In 1992, Four Los Angeles policemen were declared innocent after being accused of harassing and beating Rodney King, who was an African descent. The policemen were caught on a camera beating the man and the information was broadcasted across the nation and in the entire world. The decision of the court to release the four policemen resulted in the outbreak of the violence in the entire city of Los Angeles because the black residents felt that there was no justice that was administered to Rodney King. Despite the evidence from the tape that displayed that police officer applied excess force on Rodney King, the juries asserted that there was no convincing evidence that pointed that security agent’s tortured the victim. The verdict attracted a great resentment and for that reason, the residents set fires, demolished as well as looted fast food restaurants, grocery stores and any other business that was available in the city. Racial discrimination is a potential factor that ignites social unrest by the discriminated group thus resulting in massive destruction of property as well as loss of lives. Consequently, this paper will explore the effects of racial discrimination in Los Angeles that were perpetrated by the police and the judicial institutions in the city.
The incident of racial discrimination was evident through the presence of racial hatred that existed among the residents dwelling in Los Angeles and other parts of United States. The extent of racial hatred was displayed by the acts of the white policemen in torturing a black African American on the basis of his skin colour. The torture was very severe that he suffered from body injuries after been battered by a squad of white police officers. Los Angeles is one of the cities that has the highest number of black African Americans where the unemployment rate was very high, gang activity was rising, drug trafficking in the city was becoming rampant as well rise of violent activities in the city. When the riots emerged, it is estimated at least 50 residents from this city died within a short duration of the outbreak of the violence in the city and lots of destruction of property was experienced during this incident. Racial differences worsened the situation because every race perceived the other race as the enemy and consequently when Rodney King was tortured by white police officers, the blacks responded by targeting the light-skinned residents in the city both the white and Latino where they were pulled out of their vehicles and beaten by the angry black Americans.
The whole section of South Los Angeles was full of violence as the blacks expressed their discontent with the criminal justice system that was available since they perceived it was biased against the blacks. Moreover, the security agents were very brutal against the blacks where it was recorded King was subjected to a 15 minutes torture by the police. Additionally, police brutality was evident when a 15-year-old African American was shot by a Korean in South Los Angeles. This was another factor that fuelled the situation after the beating of Rodney King. The murder of this girl who was accused that she was trying to steal a juice from the store a situation that made the relations between the Koreans and blacks in South Los Angeles to be very rough. After the Korean store was taken to court for killing an innocent 15-year-old African American, he was later set free he received a probation and fine of $ 500. This situation made the blacks to be very bitter about the satiation and for that reason, it worsened the gap between the black community and the Koreans since the blacks felt the legal system had failed to administer justice to the young African girl that was killed as she trying to clutch the money to pay for the orange juice. Additionally, the black community felt that they are no longer protected by the Los Angeles police when they need their assistance but instead they harassed for no good reason.
From the deadly incidents that are evident from the documentary such as the killing of Rodney King and a 15-year-old girl, it is justifiable to argue that the Los Angeles police unit was a security force that biased against residents of colour. The documentary covers hostile paramilitary policing that was characterized by a culture that was cruel towards communities of colour where the abusive of force was applied to suppress the blacks protest in South Los Angeles. The Los Angeles had a negative perception towards the black community and they did not even bother to distinguish between a criminal and the innocent blacks. All the blacks were regarded as criminals and the Los Angeles police department strived to quash and contain the black community in the area. The ill-motive of the security agents in Los Angeles was caused by racial discrimination that had become very rampant during that period. The effects of racial discrimination had also affected the criminal legal justice in the area because the blacks were denied justice in the available judicial institutions.
The manifestation of Los Angeles police negligence was depicted when the cops drive in the presence of rioters without stopping to inquire what was wrong. This situation was common where the rioters were black Americans and for that reason, the police did not bother to offer any protection to the black community. During this incident, the gang members took the advantage and they started attacking the white residents who were dwelling in the area. Reginald Denny was one of the white victims who was attacked by the gangs during the riots and he was left in a critical condition. Reginald was saved by a group of blacks residents that rushed him to the hospital where he received the medical treatment. During this incident, police officers were passing by without offering any help to those that had been injured during the time of riots. The police unit at the headquarters was also reluctant to assist the innocent black Americans when the riots began. Despite the efforts that were made to dial the emergency number to respond to the uprising riots, the security personnel were not deployed immediately. It was clear that Los Angeles police force was not adequately prepared for the situation (Iceland, p.212). The unpreparedness of the Los Angeles police was evident through lack of the official plan for the central department to handle the social unrest that was experienced within the city. The negative culture and hatred towards the people of colour by the Los Angeles police department made the department to fail to respond in a responsible manner to the riots that were developing within the city. Instead, the police were shirking away from their core responsibilities of maintaining law and order in the community (Itagaki, p.230).
One of the salient features of lack of law and order among the rioting residents was the perpetual looting and violence in Los Angeles for almost three hours in absence of the police. Police initially did not respond to the riots and the looting that has been executed by the rioters. The absence of police unit at this time resulted in massive destruction of property especially to the businesses that were run the Korean residents. The black community and other non-white residents in the city were denied the protection from the security on the basis of racial differences and thus several people suffered during this time of social unrest. The police unit that was entrusted to ensure there are law and order were depicted to be brutal and cruel to the black residents and also unwilling to protect them when they needed their help. On the third day of social disorder in the city, Peter Wilson, California Governor intervened by ordering 2000 National security agents be deployed in the city to manage the social unrest in the city. By the third day of the riots, fighting among the riots had spread significantly which made the Rodney King appeal to Los Angeles people to stop fighting. It is clear that the Los Angeles authority had abandoned the residents in this city and it is like they had been left to handle their welfare. The police failed to provide the protection at the time they were needed or before the escalation of the riots in the city (Chang p.90).
It is estimated during the time of the riots, approximate more than 50 deaths that were related to riots were experienced and at least 10 people who died were those that were shot by the Los Angeles police along with National Guardsmen. This was an indication of use of excessive force towards the rioting residents. ...