Roger, I must agree with you. We never saw or heard the whole story, no matter now many times they play a VERY SHORT SECTION of a video. What struck me in that video segment, is that the man NEVER assumed a position for being arrested. Rodney kept getting to his knees AND lunging toward the officers, not away to the car. Compare the tape with the truck driver being beaten in the LA riots. That man was clearly struggling back away from his attackers, and he most certainly went down flat on the street.

I guess I am trying to imagine what a reasonable person would be doing if pulled over and surrounded by police officers (and of another "race"). SHIT! I would be down, face in the mud, hands on my head or back as directed by the officers! If they beat me, I wouldn't be getting up (just like the man from the riots). WHERE would I be able to escape to? There were LOTS of them. I would just have to pray that in that crowd, a voice of reason would prevail. I would not be getting up to provoke them! Even if I felt they were really going to beat me to death, I probably would only be able to muster a fetal position. Rodney got to his knees again and again and again. He also brought ONE arm up to shield his face as he attempted to get-up. The man in the riot tape, was covering his head with BOTH arms. That man was being beaten! Rodney looked like a person resisting arrest.

I wonder what I would have done as a officer. Rodney is clearly a VERY large man. If the man did not assume the position in order to be cuffed, would I risk serious body harm by physically attempting to subdue him? Could any of the officers have subdued him? I don't believe there are many Arnie Schwartzenegers (sp?) on the police force. What if, in a physical brawl, the man grabbed a police gun? Maybe the officers should just shoot people who fail to submit?

I will admit, I felt one officer looked "out-of-control". Most of the blows were one or two smacks, then an interval when Rodney attempted to regain his feet. One officer looked liked he was going for more than 1-2, but that was at the end of the publicized tape. What happened then? We need the whole story to really render a judgement and I believe the media has done a great job of keeping it LOOKING like police brutality.

I support the jury. That is the system we are to believe in. I hope they do go for a new trial. I want to see the WHOLE story! I know the riots were wrong and merely an excuse for plain, simple violence by people who could have really cared less about the trial. I want to hear from ol' Rodney himself!