Tyre Nichols' family sues Memphis police over beating, death In 2005, he was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence, and in 2007, police found him drunk with non-life threatening gunshot wounds also believed to be the result of a domestic dispute. African-Americans were outraged by the verdicts and began rioting in the streets along with the Latino communities. The officers later testified that they believed King was under the influence of phencyclidine (PCP),[24] although King's toxicology tested negative for the drug. Neighbor Nahshon Dion Anderson and a family friend observed the aftermath of the beating and recounted the details in unpublished memoir, This page was last edited on 28 April 2023, at 20:26. [26]:6 Taser wire can be seen on King's body. Richard Riordan, Mayor of an Uneasy Los Angeles, Dies at 92 King remained in the car. [20] His bloody baseball cap was turned over to police. King denied he resisted. 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. King later filed a civil suit against the city of Los Angeles and was awarded $3.8 million. He and his four siblings grew up in Altadena, California. And people have forgiven me for some things that I've done and so, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I wasn't able to forgive the officers," he told Harvey. Rodney King himself would speak out publicly on the third day of the riots, proclaiming what would become an iconic statement: "People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? After finally catching King's vehicle, police proceeded with the arrest. How the Rodney King case changed law enforcement - Police1 I just knew how it felt to be a slave.. Doctors gave King several stitches, noting in his medical records that he suffered from a broken cheekbone and broken right ankle. George Holliday, the man with the camera who shot Rodney King while During the riots, on May 1, 1992,[56] King made a television appearance pleading for an end to the riots: I just want to say you know can we, can we all get along? The thing thats changed since then is there are body cameras and cellphones, and everything is videotaped, said Moore. Some would see him as a hero and a martyr, while others would maintain that he was a criminal and a villain, but the police's infringement on King's rights and dignity would become a lasting symbol of the reality of police brutality. A state of emergency was quickly declared by Mayor Bradley, and Governor Pete Wilson called in the National Guard, although LAPD Chief Darryl Gates reportedly told police officers to retreat and offer no helpful response to the violence and looting. Witnesses also claimed King appeared not to resist. Imani Perry: Rodney King, 30 years later King was still suffering more than a year later, on April 29, 1992, when a Simi Valley jury failed to convict any of the police officers who'd beaten. While his father would drink and listen to country music, King and his brother would buffer the floors until 2:00 AM, barely having a chance to get some sleep before having to wake up for school in the morning. What happened in the LA riots of 1992? - The Independent This marriage also ended in divorce. Rodney King: Camera that captured 1991 beating to be auctioned Chauvin Trial: A Look Back At 1992 LA And America Since Rodney King - WBUR Lora King, Rodney Kings daughter, addresses supporters at at a Black Lives Matter protest in the Venice Beach area of Los Angeles last year. With police brutality still a contentious, emotive issue, historian Benjamin Houston investigates. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Los Angeles CNN Rodney King's death in June was the result of accidental drowning, although alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and PCP found in his system were contributing factors, authorities. The acquittals were considered a gross miscarriage of justice, with the mayor of Los Angeles,Tom Bradley, calling the verdict "senseless." He was 61.. Thats enough! Still, he could not find anyone interested in seeing the video. And the DA recently announced his selection for the role: Lawrence S Middleton, the former US prosecutor who won convictions against the policemen who beat Rodney King in a federal civil rights trial. [84], On Father's Day, June 17, 2012, King's partner, Cynthia Kelley, found King dead underwater at the bottom of his swimming pool. In June, Police Chief Gates had resigned, having come under public pressure following the assault and his inaction during the riots. Police: Rodney King's 'accidental drowning' involved drugs | CNN [35] His successor Gil Garcetti thought that by December 1992, too much time had passed to charge King with evading arrest; he also noted that the statute of limitations on drunk driving had passed. The other two were acquitted of the charges. King, whose videotaped beating by police officers led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots . Rodney King's Daughter Reflects on Her Father's Legacy George Holliday, the plumber who shot video of Los Angeles police officers beating Black motorist Rodney King in 1991, has died at a hospital in California due to complications from COVID-19, a . Officer by Lil Wayne on his sixth. King was found dead in his swimming pool on June 17, 2012, in Rialto, California, at the age of 47. [50], Though few people at first considered race an essential factor in the case, including Rodney King's attorney, Steven Lerman,[51] the Holliday videotape was at the time stirring deep resentment among black people in Los Angeles, as well as other major cities in the United States, where they had often complained of police abuse against their communities. The next day, the FBI opened an investigation, and the head of the LAPD promised an inquiry. Powell strikes King several more times with his baton. No one wants to be mad in their own house. Those civil rights leaders with whom I met were stunned. Police officers feel like they are untouchable.. We gotta. Born on April 2, 1965, in Sacramento, California, Rodney Glen King was an African American who became a symbol of racial tension in America, after his beating by Los Angeles police officers in 1991 was videotaped and broadcast to the nation. Chief Darryl Gates, thought by many minorities to symbolize institutionalized racial intolerance. Instead, we saw police double down on violence and brutality telling the world, Dont believe your lying eyes. It reminded us that the truth wasnt really important to a system that put targets on the backs of Black people., Marina Vergara, who grew up in South LA in the 1980s, said she still feared police harassment when she returned to the neighborhood today: The only thing that has changed is who is wearing the badge. Koon also wrote in his sergeant's log that King was "oblivious to pain." He was transported to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, California, and was pronounced dead on arrival at 6:11a.m. (PDT) The Rialto Police Department began a standard drowning investigation and said there did not appear to be any foul play. [71], On August 27, 2003, King was arrested again for speeding and running a red light while under the influence of alcohol. A bystander, George Holliday, videotaped much of the incident from a distance. Four white officers of the LAPD had just been acquitted by a nearly all . Rodney King drowned in his swimming pool in 2012 (image via Matt Sayles, The Associated Press) After the January 10 death of Tyre Nichols after a Memphis . In a separate civil lawsuit in 1994, a jury found the City of Los Angeles liable and awarded King $3.8 million in damages. Advocates are hopeful that there might be some change under the newly elected LA district attorney, George Gascn, who was backed by progressive groups and pledged to hold police accountable and reopen cases of killings by law enforcement. The 1992 LA riots were the worst domestic insurrection in American history. George Holliday, Who Taped Police Beating of Rodney King, Dies at 61 His shocking video, which played a key role in the prosecution of four officers, presaged the now-common use of cellphones. By standing to remove Officers Powell and Briseno from his back, the four officers claimed King had resisted attempts to restrain him. Who Is Rodney King? E.J. . April 29, 1992 - The four white LAPD officers are acquitted of beating King. / CBS News. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. [29][30], Plumbing salesman and amateur videographer George Holliday's videotape of the beating was shot on his camcorder from his apartment near the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Osborne Street in Lake View Terrace. [69] In 1992, he was arrested for injuring his wife, Crystal King. The officers involved in that incident were acquitted the following year and the announcement of the verdict led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Peace is more productive. I just knew how it felt to be a slave. Rodney King died of accidental drowning, had multiple drugs in system Officer Powell strikes King with his baton, and King is knocked to the ground. Through it all, Rodney King was just a man trying to find his way in the world. In 2019, she launched the "I am a King" scholarship, which works toward offering financial support to Black fathers in order to relieve financial insecurity and provide opportunities for the entire family. The footage showed seven officers surrounding the solitary King, with several LAPD officers repeatedly striking a . Armour said the riots had been followed by some financial investments in South LA, but no meaningful LAPD reforms. [6][7] King attended John Muir High School and often talked about being inspired by his social science teacher, Robert E. Both Koon and Powell would later be charged with filing false police reports, since neither of their accounts mentioned the blows to King's head, nor the fact that he was on the ground for most of the time while he was being beaten. Burning, Let It Fall, and Spike Lee's Netflix special Rodney King. [85][86] King died 28 years to the day after his father, Ronald King, was found dead in his bathtub in 1984.[87]. Upon the 25th anniversary of the L.A. In May 1991, he was arrested on suspicion of having tried to run down an undercover vice officer in Hollywood, but no charges were filed.