King, Rodney (1965—)

An international symbol of racial violence and ongoing social injustice, the brutal police beating of Rodney King on March 3, 1991, and the subsequent acquittal of all officers involved, were the trigger events that led to the Los Angeles uprisings in April 1992.

Born in Sacramento, California, in 1965, the second of five children, the life of Rodney Glen King prior to the beating was, in many ways, typical of many African-American men. When his family moved to South Pasadena, King's father, who worked in maintenance and construction, turned more and more frequently to alcohol. Left back a grade in high school, and relegated to special education classes, King, who was only functionally literate, dropped out of school altogether in 1984. He fathered two children with two different women early on, but was unable to provide for his family with the occasional construction jobs that he was able to secure. In marrying Crystal Waters, who had two children of her own, King took on additional responsibilities that soon overwhelmed him.

Convicted of attempted robbery in 1989, King served one year at the California Correctional Center in Susanville before being paroled and allowed to return home. More unable than ever to find construction work, King was eventually hired as a part-time laborer at Dodger Stadium.

When he wasn't working, the 6'3" man referred to as a "gentle giant" by his loved ones, could be found hanging out with old friends and drinking 40-ounce bottles of Olde English 800. On the night of March 2, he and his friends were doing just that. In fact, there was an open bottle of beer in the car when King saw the flashing lights of the California Highway Patrol. Knowing that he was violating his parole, King initially tried to get away, leading the officers on a high-speed chase. When King finally pulled off the freeway, he was in a community called Lake View Terrace. By then several Los Angeles Police Department squad cars had arrived, and there was a helicopter hovering above.

George Holliday, who was awakened by the commotion, reached for his new Sony Handycam recorder and began taping the activity below his apartment window. His nine-minute amateur videotape, which revealed some 81 seconds of King being brutally beaten by at least four police officers, was broadcast on KTLA 5, a local Los Angeles news station, the next day. In the video, viewers watched as King was stunned with Taser darts, and then pummeled repeatedly with steel batons—blows that resulted in a fractured eye socket, facial-nerve damage, 11 skull fractures, and a severe concussion, which has led to permanent brain damage. King also suffers from leg numbness and a permanent limp.

In a 1992 trial held in the predominately white community of Simi Valley, officers Stacey Koon, Theodore Briseno, Laurence Powell, and Timothy Wind were found not guilty on charges of using excessive force. Almost immediately following their April 29th acquittal, Los Angeles erupted in a groundswell of violence. Dozens of residents were left dead, and hundreds of businesses were burned to the ground, leaving an estimated $550 million in damage. Two days after the verdicts, King made his now famous plea for an end to the rebellion. Facing news cameras outside his attorney's Wilshire Boulevard office, a visibly shaken and tearful King spoke: "People, I just want to say … can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it horrible for the old people and the kids? … We'll get our justice…. Please, we can get along here."

Not all of the protest was unorganized. Unified Against Genocide, for example, was a San Francisco-based group headed by activist Angela Davis, whose members called for a retrial under California's hate crime law. Most, however, looked to the upcoming Federal trial for justice. That trial, which took place in 1993, found two of the officers—Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell—guilty of violating King's civil rights. Both men were ordered to serve 30-month prison terms.

Although King's first attorney, Steven Lerman, had initially stated that he would seek $56 million (one million for each blow) in a civil rights suit against the Los Angeles Police Department, the amount went down to around $9 million by the time King and his new lawyer arrived in court. On April 20, 1994, a third jury awarded King $3.8 million in damages.

Since the infamous 1991 beating, King has spent most of his days sequestered in his Altadena home, and at the local park, watching baseball games and organizing recreation programs for local youths. He has also invested in his own music label—a rap recording outfit called Straight Alta-Pazz.

And yet, King continues to be haunted by his past. Despite having completed at least one 90-day alcohol abuse program as a condition of his earlier parole, he has been arrested several times since 1991, on charges of both drunken driving and spousal abuse.

—Kristal Brent Zook