Rodney King

* Rodney King was hurt pretty badly by the Los Angeles Police Department, but he survived and will be able to enjoy life again. Now he wants to be a millionaire and sues the City of Los Angeles for $9.5 million for the physical and mental pain he suffered. If the jury decides that he should get that amount, how big a pension should go to the family members of a police officer killed on duty by a hoodlum? I don’t think that a police officer’s pension comes even close to the amount that Rodney King wants. Are a few broken bones, pain, and stress worth more than a police officer’s life? Was King completely without any responsibility when this whole ordeal happened?

HANS VAN DER TOUW

Colton

* I received a mass mailing from former LAPD Sgt. Stacey Koon wanting me to sign an agreement that I felt he and Officer Laurence Powell got a “raw deal” and were political scapegoats for ambitious and cowardly politicians, and to enclose a note of condolence to his family. I of course feel remorseful for the family, but I do not feel he got a raw deal. He claims that he followed the standards of the LAPD, which I doubt, and if their atrocious behavior is a standard of performance, the whole Police Department needs to be examined.

I don’t care whether Rodney King was an ex-felon or high on an illegal substance or gave the police a little lip. None is an excuse to be beaten nearly to death. Clearly from the video there was mass overreaction, as sufficient police officers to subdue King were present. No, Sgt. Koon, you got exactly what you had coming as the senior police officer at the scene. The police must be held to a high standard of behavior or else they will all be cut out of the same cloth as the people they arrest.

THOMAS DUNNAHOO

Azusa