Rodney King

Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965 – June 17, 2012) was an African-American man who on March 3, 1991 became a victim of police brutality when he was severely beaten by officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during his arrest after a high-speed pursuit on California's state freeway, Interstate 210 having initially evaded arrest. George Holliday, an uninvolved resident, saw and filmed the incident from his nearby balcony and then sent the footage, which showed an unarmed King on the ground being beaten, to KTLA, a local news station who broadcast the film, which was then rebroadcast by other stations casting a worldwide spotlight on the LAPD and King. King was taken to Pacifica Hospital after his arrest where he was found to have suffered a fractured facial bone, a broken right ankle, and multiple bruises and lacerations. Nurses later reported that the officers who accompanied King openly joked and bragged about the number of times they had hit him. Blood and urine samples taken five hours after his arrest measured King's blood alcohol content at 0.075%, below the legal limit of 0.08%. The LAPD initially charged King with "felony evading", but later dropped the charge. Upon his release, King spoke to reporters from his wheelchair, with his injuries evident: a broken right leg in a cast, his face badly cut and swollen, bruises on his body, and a burn area on his chest where he had been jolted with a stun gun. King described the beating and also stated that he was scared for his life when the officers drew their guns on him. Three of the four officers were charged with excessive force. Within hours of their acquittals the 1992 Los Angeles riots started, sparked by outrage among minorities over the trial's verdict as well as...