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Collin's Theory Of Police Violence

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The beating of Rodney King – the presence of situational and emotional dynamics in violent situations.

Most incidents of police violence which have created a public scandal has the appearance of atrocity due to its disproportionate use of force. The Rodney King beating in Los Angeles, March 1991 is an archetypal instance. King was caught by police officers after a high-speed chase and was brutally beaten (Karstedt, Loader & Strang, 2013). Local witness George Holiday filmed much of it from his balcony and the video later aired around the world, which raised concerns about police treatment of minorities in America (Karstedt, Loader & Strang, 2013). After a three-month trial the officers were acquitted and the outrage sparked the violent 1992 …show more content…

Randall Collin's (2009) micro-sociological theory of violence can be employed. According to this theory, violence is successful when antagonists overcome the barrier of confrontational tension/fear. This essay focuses on the role of situational and emotional dynamics that caused the violence event to occur. The essential thesis of the essay is to fit the police violence into the framework of Collin’s theory. This leads to the discussion of the theory of the “tunnel of violence”, where actual violence involves dominating the emotional attention space and the attacker enters an altered state of consciousness (Collins, 2013). Collin’s proposed "pathways" that lead into the tunnel of violence will also be drawn upon. The pathway of the "forward panic" is particularly useful for illustrating the finer details of precisely how the police mobilised the violence. Collins (2008) shifted the attention away from background and cultural conditions in this case, suggesting that there are "no violent individuals, but [only] violent situations" (p.70). This essay concludes by suggesting important implications about confrontations between police and civilians, especially when officers are in full forward panic

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Roy King Riots Case Study

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Leadership, decision-making processes can sometimes result in dilemmas. The dilemmas are often the result of contradictions between personal perceptions and biases on the one hand and the application of legal principles and best practices on the other (Bergesen & Max, 1998). The Roy King Riots case study is a prime example of how conflicts between personal perceptions and set rules can clash resulting in ethical dilemmas. In the case, a Los Angeles jury had acquitted four officers caught on camera brutally assaulting a suspect, Roy King, until he was unable to move before arresting him (Bergesen & Max, 1998). Television stations aired the tape, which sparked uproar within the Los Angeles African-American and Latin American communities claiming the incessant use of brutal force by police officers from the LAPD and constant lack of response from the institution’s top leadership.

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In the essay titled “Police Brutality”, Danna Hernandez uses rhetorical devices to declare that police brutality is dreadful. She utilizes anecdotes to support her claim, pathos to persuade the audience to agree with her argument by producing an emotional response, and imagery to illustrate her hardships caused by police brutality. Danna does this in order to make the general public realize that police brutality is a significant issue that should not be treated as a trend. Danna Hernandez uses anecdote to support her argument. The vast majority of the essay is an anecdote that tells of the tragic death of her son due to unjustified gun usage by a police officer(which constitutes as police brutality) and the emotional consequences that followed.

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Police Brutality Annotated Bibliography Summary

1391 Words | 6 Pages

While the other book used is useful for providing an account of what happened at the beginning of the decade, this book is able to look at police brutality throughout the 1990s and how the earlier events impacted the later ones. Journal Articles Matheson, Victor A., and Robert A. Baade. “Race and Riots: A Note on the Economic Impact of the Rodney King Riots.” Urban Studies, vol. 41, no. 13, 2004, pp. 2691–2696, Academic Search Premier, doi:10.1080/0042098042000294628.

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The Injustice Case Of Rodney King In 1992

406 Words | 2 Pages

After the trial and the verdict had come back, the four police officers were acquitted of the crime. The community began to riot, loot, and kill which fifty-four people lost their lives, over seven thousand people were arrested, and cost the city of L.A.

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Rodney king, born in Sacramento, California in 1965 and grew up to be known as a polite yet not very intelligent child and teenager. King was a high school dropout and a single father with a history of criminal activity. Rodney King was most famously known for his court battle against L.A.P.D. officers Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Ted Briseno, and Timothy Wind . On March 3, 1991 two crimes occurred involving King, one of which he was the offender and the other where he was the victim. On this Saturday night at 12:50 am Rodney king was driving his white Hyundai under the influence of alcohol along with his two fiends Freddie Helms and Bryant Allen.

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1121 Words | 5 Pages

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Analysis Of Pathway I: Attack A Weak Victim

1007 Words | 5 Pages

Pathway I: Attacking a weak victim Collins (2009) claims that it is easier to surmount the confrontational tension when the victim is considered weaker. Although King was a muscular man, he was outnumbered, off-balanced, and able to be emotionally dominated in the situation by officers (Aho, 2013). In Collins' study of riots, he found that violent behaviour is often committed by four or five people against one victim (Collins, 2008). Holiday's video is horrific because violence displayed in the media appears different as groups are usually balanced. Moreover, policemen with training and organisation allows them to overcome confrontational fear more easily and to readily attack a weak victim Research has shown that violence is easier for military and police forces, as they have been trained on to use weapons and to conduct violence (Worden, 1996).

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A Perpetrator Is Not The Most Dangerous Part Of The Holocaust

435 Words | 2 Pages

"A perpetrator is not the most dangerous enemy. The most dangerous part is the bystander because neutrality always helps the killer. " This quote, said by Holocaust survivor, Miles Lehrman, presents the idea that being a bystander to a situation is worse than being the perpetrator. While it is true that bystanders can play a role in enabling violent actions, it is an oversimplification to say that they are the most dangerous part of the equation. In fact, perpetrators of violence are an even greater threat to society than passive bystanders.

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1445 Words | 6 Pages

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1554 Words | 7 Pages

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282 Words | 2 Pages

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