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The poor man never got his life together after the 1991 beatdown by LAPD that was captured on video. TMZ:
According to our sources, King’s fiancée found him dead at the bottom of a pool. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ they responded to a call at 5:25 AM PT…Our sources say he was pronounced dead at 6:11 AM.
…King became famous in 1991 when he was the victim of police brutality at the hands of the LAPD. The officers involved in the incident were acquitted the following year and the announcement of the verdict led to the Los Angeles riots.
The discussions generated by the beating and the riots once again drew out in stark relief the disparity of public perceptions when it came to race, class, and the criminal justice system. King called for calm in the wake of the riots after the trial that saw the cops get away with the beatdown.
It makes me sick to watch that beating — and a Simi Valley jury acquitted three of the officers after viewing that tape. The injuries and humiliation suffered by King were abominable.
“He suffered a fractured facial bone, a broken right ankle, and numerous bruises and lacerations…At Pacifica Hospital, where King was taken for initial treatment, nurses reported that the officers who accompanied King (including Wind) openly joked and bragged about the number of times King had been hit.”
We always need a stark reminder about how f*cked up it was (and frankly still is in too many places when it comes to young black men dealing with law enforcement). It’s time to watch this again:
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5 Comments
So sorry….He became immortal for his thoughtful and important question:
Can’t we all get along? I treasure his wisdom.
Only 47 years old. I had not realized he was so young at the time of the trial/riots….So sad.
Centurynet is running a headline calling King a “key figure in the LA riots.” Almost as if he was involved in the rioting. Bigot buttheads.
His life was pretty not together prior to the beating. His apparent drug problems almost certainly led to the behavior that resulted in his being pulled over and his refusal to cooperate.
Rodney King had troubles and made poor choices prior to the beating. The beating was despicable, but Rodney lucked out and manage to survive the attack. He was awarded 3.8 million dollars for his substantial suffering and what did he do? He flushed it down the toilet. Another chance to turn his life around and he chose NOT to do it. Some people are destined to never make it.