It was the acquittal of four L.A. police officers in the videotaped beating of King in 1992 that sparked rioting that spread across the city and into neighboring suburbs. Cars were demolished and homes and businesses were burned.
At the end of it all, 55 people were dead, 2,300 injured and more than 1,500 buildings were damaged or destroyed.
King spoke recently about about the Trayvon Martin case and says he prays for just for Martin’s family.
Video + details below…
TMZ caught up with King who spoke on video about the situation, expressing how Trayvon’s case makes him realize how lucky he was to have his beating captured on tape.
“It’s not one day that goes by that I don’t think about the incident … I get these headaches … when I [sniff], my sinuses start burning.”
Now, with the Trayvon Martin case stirring up similar emotions as his legal saga … King says the judicial system is a “slow process” …. and adds, “I’m hoping he gets justice for his family … ’cause he’s no longer here, so for his family.”
King went on to talk about how his own life is finally heading in a positive direction … but noted, “Luckily I got [my attack] seen on tape.” (source)
Their subsequent acquittal sparked a rage that had already been brewing during that time and it affected an entire generation.
Now 20 years later, Rodney King reflects in a recent interview about the riots and his life in the interim.
He’s been a record company executive and a reality TV star among many other things.
To millions of Americans, though, he will always be either a victim of one of the most horrific cases of police brutality ever videotaped or just a hooligan who didn’t stop when police attempted to pull him over.
He’s indisputably the black motorist whose beating on a darkened LA street led to one of the worst race riots in American history.
It’s been an up-and-down ride for King since he went on television at the height of those riots and pleaded in a quavering voice, “Can we all get along?”
He’s been arrested numerous times, mostly for alcohol-related crimes. In a recent interview with The Associated Press he said, “I still sip, I don’t get drunk.” He has been to a number of rehab programs, he said, including the 2008 appearance on “Dr. Drew” Pinsky’s “Celebrity Rehab” program.
Still, he was arrested again just last year for driving under the influence.
It was his fear of being stopped for drunken driving on March 3, 1991, King said, that initially led him to try to evade police who attempted to pull him over for speeding.
After he did stop, four LA police officers hit him more than 50 times with their batons, kicked him and shot him with stun guns. A man who had quietly stepped outside his home to observe the commotion videotaped most of it and turned a copy over to a local TV station. After a jury with no black members acquitted the officers on April 29, 1992, the city’s black community exploded in rage. Fifty-five people died, more than 2,000 were injured over three days.
King received a $3.8 million settlement from the city, but said he lost most it to bad investments, among them a hip-hop record label he founded that quickly went broke.
He makes money these days taking part in events like celebrity boxing matches. He’s also promoting his just-published memoir, “The Riot Within: My Journey From Rebellion to Redemption.” FULL ARTICLE
Do you notice any similarities between the Trayvon Martin Case & Rodney King’s?