Desperate Measures
             Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. often stood up for something that is not popular, but an issue that is morally right. Some of his ideas included moderation and extremity. He practiced non-violence and peaceful protest. In his letter from a Birmingham jail he states, "In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps. The first is to determine whether there are injustices alive. The second is negotiation between the two-arguing parties. The third and fourth step is self-purification and direct action."# I believe in the saying, "Desperate times call for desperate measures." I do not believe that Dr. King would disagree with me, but his approach to a situation would be different from mine. I have used nonviolence to solve problems, but sometimes that always does not work. Sometimes one has to use alternative measures to get a point across.
             Many people remember the case of Rodney King. Rodney King became a reluctant symbol of police brutality a decade ago when amateur photographer George Holliday provided evidence that was hard to ignore. The videotape Holliday shot showed several white Los Angeles police officers using their batons to beat King, who had led them on a car chase after they tried to stop him for speeding, was broadcast around the world. The public and the media supported Rodney King and felt the police officers were wrong. But a Los Angeles jury seemed to ignore the video evidence. And when the four policemen charged with the beating were acquitted, it set off the worst riot in U.S. history.
             The King beating was followed by criticism of how police handled the 1992 riots and later the O.J. Simpson murder case. And now, the department is struggling with a
             corruption scandal in its Rampart Division that has led to charges against five officers, dismissal of more than 30 others and more than 100 convictions being overturned.#
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