to rioting. For five days the violence persisted and spread further and further out of the ghetto reaching across the borders of the black communities of South Central and into adjacent neighborhoods. The subject of police brutality was thrown into the eyes of the public. People could no longer ignore the problem and the city of Los Angeles was made the example of citizens frustrations in clouds of smoke and looted communities .
             Police brutality is defined as "the unauthorized exercise of police discretion where the policeman acts without the formal capacity to impose legal sanctions" (Rucheelman 133). The officers are given the power to use their best judgment in all situations. The main complaint is that the police often use force that is unnecessary. The police argue that they use force in order to protect themselves. The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics (International Association of Chiefs of Police) begins as follows: ...As a Law Enforcement Officer, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation, and the peaceful against violence and disorder; and to respect the Constitutional rights of all men to liberty, equality, and justice... (Ruchelman 17). It later addresses prejudices and violence stating: ...I will never act officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities or friendships to influence my decisions...I will enforce the law courteously
             and appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill will, never employing unnecessary force or violence and never accepting gratuities... (Ruchelman 17). The line between police brutality and the proper force used in any situation is not always clearly drawn. Police officers are in constant danger and need to control people in order to handle certain situations. Police officers need to calculate the amount of force needed as their situat...