Rodney King

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Rodney King bigraphy, stories - Victim of police brutality

Rodney King : biography

02 April 1965 – 17 June 2012

Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965 – June 17, 2012) was an African-American construction worker who, while on parole for robbery, became nationally known after being beaten with excessive force by Los Angeles police officers following a high-speed car chase on March 3, 1991. George Holliday, a resident in the nearby area, witnessed the beating and videotaped much of it from the balcony of his nearby apartment.

The videotaped footage shows five Los Angeles area officers surrounding King and several of them striking him repeatedly. During the beating of King, other officers stood by, without seeming to take action to stop King from being struck. A portion of the footage was aired around the world, inflaming public outrage in Los Angeles and other American cities where racial tension was often high. The videotape also increased public sensitivity to, and anger about, police brutality, racism, and other social inequalities throughout the United States.

Four of the police officers from the LAPD who engaged in the incident were charged in Los Angeles County Superior Court with assault with a deadly weapon and use of excessive force for their conduct during the incident. After a judicial finding that a fair and impartial jury could not be impaneled in Los Angeles County, the case was given a change of venue to the city of Simi Valley, in Ventura County, where they were tried. On April 29, 1992, three of the four police officers, (Koon, Wind, and Briseno) were acquitted of all charges. The jury acquitted the fourth officer, (Powell), on the assault with a deadly weapon charge but failed to reach a verdict on the use of excessive force charge. The jury deadlocked at 8-4 in favor of acquittal.

The acquittals are generally considered to have triggered the 1992 Los Angeles riots, in which 53 people were killed, and over two thousand were injured. The riots ended after soldiers from the United States Army National Guard, along with United States Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton, California, were called in to assist local authorities and quell the riots.

On August 4, 1992 a Federal Grand Jury after hearing evidence from federal prosecutors, indicted the four officers on charges of violating King’s civil rights. The four men were put on trial on February 25, 1993 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California located in downtown Los Angeles. On April 16, 1993 the trial ended with two of the police officers, (Koon and Powell) found guilty, and subsequently imprisoned. The other two officers, (Wind and Briseno) were acquitted.

During the riots, King appeared on television and offered what would later be his famous plea, "Can we all get along?" From YouTube. Retrieved June 18, 2012. The line has been often misquoted as, "Can we all just get along?" or "Can’t we all just get along?" King did not use the word "just" or "Can’t" in his original statement.

Death

On June 17, 2012, King’s fiancée Cynthia Kelly found him lying at the bottom of his swimming pool. Police in Rialto received a 911 call from Kelly at about 5:25 a.m. (PT). Responding officers found King at the bottom of the pool, removed him, and attempted to revive him. He was transferred by ambulance to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, California, and was pronounced dead at the hospital at 6:11 a.m. The Rialto Police Department began a standard drowning investigation and stated that there did not appear to be any foul play. On August 23, 2012, King’s autopsy results were released, stating he died of accidental drowning, and that alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and PCP were found in his blood and were contributing factors to his death.

Post-arrest events

King was immediately taken to Pacifica Hospital after his arrest, where he was shown to have suffered a fractured facial bone, a broken right ankle, and multiple bruises and lacerations.Cannon. Official Negligence: p. 205. In a negligence claim filed with the city, King alleged he had suffered "11 skull fractures, permanent brain damage, broken [bones and teeth], kidney damage [and] emotional and physical trauma"."". Report of the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department: p. 8. 1991. Blood and urine samples taken from King five hours after his arrest showed that he would be intoxicated under California law. The tests also showed traces of marijuana (26 ng/ml), but no indication of any other illegal drug. Pacifica Hospital nurses reported that the officers who accompanied King (including Wind) openly joked and bragged about the number of times King had been hit."". Report of the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department: p. 15. 1991. King sued the city and a jury awarded him $3.8 million as well as $1.7 million in attorney’s fees.