Rodney King

Rodney King

Rodney King Obituary

Published by Legacy Remembers on Jun. 17, 2012.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rodney King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history, was found at the bottom of his swimming pool early Sunday and later pronounced dead. He was 47.

King's fiancée called 911 at 5:25 a.m. to report that she found him in the pool at their home in Rialto, Calif., police Lt. Dean Hardin said.

Officers arrived to find King in the deep end of the pool and pulled him out.

King was unresponsive, and officers began CPR until paramedics arrived. King was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:11 a.m., police said.

Police Capt. Randy De Anda said King had been by the pool throughout the early morning and had been talking to his fiancee, who was inside the home at the time. A statement from police said the preliminary investigation indicates a drowning, with no signs of foul play.

< P>Investigators will await autopsy results to determine whether drugs or alcohol were involved, but De Anda said there were no alcoholic beverages or paraphernalia found near the pool.

Authorities didn't identify the fiancée. King earlier said he was engaged to Cynthia Kelley, one of the jurors in the civil rights case that gave King $3.8 million in damages.

The 1992 riots, which were set off by the acquittals of the officers who beat King, lasted three days and left 55 people dead, more than 2,000 injured and swaths of Los Angeles on fire. At the height of the violence, King pleaded on television: "Can we all get along?"

King, a 25-year-old on parole from a robbery conviction, was stopped for speeding on a darkened street on March 3, 1991. He was on parole and had been drinking - he later said that led him to try to evade police.

Four Los Angeles police officers hit him more than 50 times with their batons, kicked him and shot him with stun guns.

< P>A man who had quietly stepped outside his home to observe the commotion videotaped most of it and turned a copy over to a TV station. It was played over and over for the following year, inflaming racial tensions across the country.

It seemed that the videotape would be the key evidence to a guilty verdict against the officers, whose trial was moved to the predominantly white suburb of Simi Valley, Calif. Instead, on April 29, 1992, a jury with no black members acquitted three of the officers on state charges in the beating; a mistrial was declared for a fourth.

Violence erupted immediately, starting in South Los Angeles.

Police, seemingly caught off-guard, were quickly outnumbered by rioters and retreated. As the uprising spread to the city's Koreatown area, shop owners armed themselves and engaged in running gun battles with looters.

During the riots, a white truck driver named Reginald Denny was pulled by several black men from his cab and beaten a lmost to death. He required surgery to repair his shattered skull, reset his jaw and put one eye back into its socket.

King himself, in his recently published memoir, "The Riot Within: My Journey from Rebellion to Redemption," said FBI agents warned him a riot was expected if the officers were acquitted, and urged him to keep a low profile so as not to inflame passions.

The four officers who beat King - Stacey Koon, Theodore Briseno, Timothy Wind and Laurence Powell - were indicted in the summer of 1992 on federal civil rights charges. Koon and Powell were convicted and sentenced to two years in prison, and King was awarded $3.8 million in damages.

The police chief, Daryl Gates, who had been hailed as an innovator in the national law enforcement community, came under intense criticism from city officials who said officers were slow to respond to the riots. Gates resigned under pressure soon after. He died of cancer in 2010.

In the two decades after he became the central figure in the riots, King was arrested several times, mostly for alcohol-related crimes, the last in Riverside Calif., last July. He later became a record company executive and a reality TV star, appearing on shows such as "Celebrity Rehab."

In an interview earlier this year with The Associated Press, King said he was a happy man.

"America's been good to me after I paid the price and stayed alive through it all," he says. "This part of my life is the easy part now."

Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement that King was a symbol of the civil and anti-police brutality movement.

"Through all that he had gone through with his beating and his personal demons he was never one to not call for reconciliation and for people to overcome and forgive," Sharpton wrote. "History will record that it was Rodney King's beating and his actions that made America deal with the excessive misconduct of law enforcement."

Attorney Harland Braun, who rep resented one of the police officers, Ted Briseno, in the federal trial, said King's name would always be a part of Los Angeles history.

"I always saw him as a sad figure swept up into something bigger than he was," Braun said. "He wasn't a hero or a villain. He was probably just a nice person."

King's case never would have become such a symbol without the video, he said.

"If there hadn't been a video there would have never been a case. In those days, you might have claimed excessive force but there would have been no way to prove it."

The San Bernardino County coroner will perform an autopsy on King within 48 hours.

___

Associated Press writers Raquel Maria Dillon in Rialto and Anthony McCartney in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

CHRISTOPHER WEBER
Associated Press


Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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April 30, 2017

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720 Entries

V H

February 14, 2020

WOWWW!! REST IN PEACE!!
I'M JUST NOW LEARNING OF MR.KING'S DEATH..
THIS SADDENS ME!!
BLESS YOUR SOUL!!

S Bryant

May 13, 2017

RIP, prayers still go out to the family- loved ones.

Cynthia Stephens

April 30, 2017

R.I.P. my friend

Nazarene McKinney

April 19, 2017

One day you will awaken to a beautiful world filled with love!

Valenda Newell

June 29, 2016

GONE TOO SOON! I was deeply sadden when one heard RODNEY was no longer with us on this place we call earth. RODNEY had been through so much pain and mishaps....MAY GOD COMFORT YOU and PROTECT YOU......BLESSINGS to the KING family

November 10, 2013

R.I.P. RODNEY YOU'LL BE NEVER FORGOTTEN

monique harris

March 10, 2013

Now he is home with his heavenly father, may Rodney enjoy his home.

Ykessha Debmark

September 21, 2012

R.I.P,, sorry for your lose you are in my prayers!!!

Emma Sapp

August 21, 2012

Sorry for your lost may he now rest in the perfect peace God promised.The Sapp family

S. McNeil

July 26, 2012

We are so sorry to hear of Rodney's passing. We were out of the Country and heard the news from friend when we returned. Rodney completed his work here and now rest with our Lord. The strength that Rodney showed in 1991 and to speak those 6 words after all his mind and body enthralled. God knew it all ...Rodney now rest in the arms of the Lord. To the family God is your comforter, and always there to strengthen your hearts. We keep you in our prayers.

C WRIGHT

July 2, 2012

To The King Family, What an amazing and kind man Rodney King was! He taught all of us what forgivness really means, if we know what God has to say in his word about forgivness and I quote "Love your enemies." Mr. King not only loved them he forgave them and it takes the love of God in a person to forgive such a horrific injustice that was done to him. Mr, king will always be remembered as a healer to this nation. I do hope that the world will realizes what a great man passed our way and be thankful as individuals and a country that he did pass our way, We are all the better becuase of him. May God continue to bless and comfort his family. MR KING YOU REST IN PEACE. I personally want to say THANK YOU.

Desiree

July 1, 2012

My sympathy to your family. As you endure this difficult time, I am hopeful that your memories will provide you comfort and keep your loved one alive for generations to come.

Annette Ewell

July 1, 2012

My deepest sympathy to Mr. King's family. May he rest in peace.

Rob Towns

July 1, 2012

Rodney King's personal mishaps left a legacy of social awareness. His personal behaviors caused everyone to become aware of the social injustices that exist in society. He didn't do it like Martin Luther King, Jr. He did it just by living life by his personal experiences and skills. He did not intent to change society; however, his behaviors changed the laws in society. People are now more aware of their interactions between each other and government authorities. That new awareness has led to social change in everything. Police, Schools, government agencies, and other public institutions are now more conscious in how they treat everyone.

Rodney King will be remembered for centuries. His behaviors are an example of what happens when things go wrong in our social systems. In a roundabout way, God sent him to cause people to think about how they treat each other. Rodney King is God's warnings of the effects of your prejudices.
Rodney King fulfill God's mission. Now God request for him to return home to Heaven.

On the day of the riots Rodney King said, “ . . . can't we all get along? . . . ". Well, can we?

Angela Hill

July 1, 2012

My Condolences to the Family.I'm deeply sadden to hear about Rodney passing.He was Truly an awesome man R.I.P. Rodney

Yvette Gaddis

July 1, 2012

My thoughts and prayers are with his family. He will always be someone to remember. He is in heaven in our fathers arms. RIP Rodney

Dzafer Kulenovic

July 1, 2012

My condolences to the family of Rodney King. May he rest in peace!

Bernice Norman

June 30, 2012

My prayers are with the King family. May God rest his soul.What an awesome smile King carried,despite the pain he suffered.

June 30, 2012

May you finally have peace!

Deborah Patterson

June 30, 2012

Rodney is no longer hurting physically or mentally.Let us all try and keep his phrase as we continue living,"can't we all just get along."God bless those related by kin and friend.

michelle griffin

June 30, 2012

to the family of rodney king.have comfort in knowing that rodney now rest in the arms of the father.and one day you will see him again ,never to part.rest in peace rodney.

Denise Jackson

June 29, 2012

RIP Rodney, my condolences to your family....

claudia grier

June 29, 2012

I am so sorry for your loss. Rodney King will be forever missed by soo many people,sincerely Claudia.

LEONIA CYIARK

June 28, 2012

You was blessed with the name KING that name have a meaning
YOU ARE THE KING LETS ALL GET ALONG rings a bell to every one. That message was said by the KING (RODNEY KING)HOPE EVERY BODY LET THIS MESSAGE SINK INTO THEIR BRAINS RIP MR KING

Kimberly Stevens

June 28, 2012

May we keep these words in our hearts "CAN WE ALL JUST GET ALONG". I will continue to pray for the King family. Rodney you have earned your wings.

Carol Berry

June 28, 2012

I loved that smile of yours it was infectious!! You will be missed.

Carol Berry

June 28, 2012

I was shocked to hear the news of your death. I was pulling for you to start a new life and to finally be happy. I am so sorry and may you now finally get the peace you deserve. You may be gone but you will never be forgotten. God bless you and your family and friends. R.I.P. Rodney.

June 28, 2012

R.I.P. Rodney we love you!!

Gwen Fisher

June 28, 2012

Rest In Peace Rodney!

Nancy Henry

June 27, 2012

Heartfelt Sympathy to the King family. May you find comfort and love in your friends and family, and in your heart may you find the strength to help you through this difficult time.
Rest In Peace Rodney!

Pastor_LeClara Whitlock_Lamed

June 27, 2012

Rest in Peace Rodney. No more trouble, No More strife.

Dorothy Moore

June 26, 2012

He will be miss

dante smith

June 26, 2012

Rest in peace
my friend

vera stewart

June 26, 2012

You will be truely missed my friend

Patricia Smith

June 26, 2012

Heartfelt sympathy to the entire KING family.
We arn't perfect, but our Lord knows our heart.
God Bless you Rodney. You left an impression on me.

Mimi

June 26, 2012

Well well with the Angels Mr King. You deserve it...

Heather Lyn

June 25, 2012

Rodney,

I hope you are resting peacefully now. You will never be forgotten.

-Heather

Denise Brayboy

June 24, 2012

To the King family I pray for your strength & comfort through this very hard time. To Rodney my prayer is that God grants you the rest & the peace you weren't allowed to have here on earth since that horrirying day in 1991. i remember watching you on Celebrity Rehab & saying what a nice laid back man you were, we all make mistakes in life but what those officers did to you was inhumane & you did not deserve that! Rest in heavenly peace brother where there is no pain.

Christina Perley

June 23, 2012

I am going to miss your smiling face coming in to see me at the store. You went through so much in your lifetime, I know now you are at piece with your Lord and Savior. Please continue to watch over me like you always have, I miss you.

June 23, 2012

goodbye rodney

Latrina Smith

June 22, 2012

May your soul Rest In Peace! Gone but never forgotten ... My Deepest Condolences To The King Family!! Reminiscing On My Childhood Days... So Many Close Homies Gone... You Are One Of Um! GANSTALEAN... SEE YOU WHEN I GET THERE!!!

Mary Brown

June 22, 2012

Gosh how sad! RIP Rodney..meet you soon. Say hi to my parents for me okay?

Regina Butcher

June 22, 2012

Love and Beautiful Rest to Mr. Rodney King. May God comfort your loved ones.

Audrey Hilton

June 22, 2012

May you have peace,the day I meet you, you told me how you line the beach,and our first date you took me to in and out burger,and the beach,you told me how much peace you got..I'm praying to god,you left here with peace..love and miss you much..Audrey Hilton..

AM Andrews

June 22, 2012

Rodney God have a golden seat in his house for you forever. You had to pay a dear price. Much LOVE to CYNTHIA for being such a brave lady helping you to stay focus on life within in it self. Cynthia I will always love you and pray for you and I don't know you personally. Keep the faith Cynthia Kelley good job.

millicent gildersleeve

June 22, 2012

rest in peace rodney, you was such a nice person

angela Harrison-Kershaw

June 22, 2012

MY DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO THE KING FAMILY,
YOU ARE IN MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS!
R.I.P RODNEY

OLIVIA JEFFERSON-SKINNER FAMILY

June 22, 2012

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.

Yolanda

June 22, 2012

Be Still

Be still like the grass on a melancholy summer day
Be still like desert shrub.

Be calm and you will hear your loved one speak, in the stillness, in the calm, their love resounds.

If you are still this promise I make, you will hear the voice of your loved one helping you along your way.

By Lamaretta Simmons

Dee Allen, and the Ellis Family

June 21, 2012

Gone too soon, be a peace now in the arms of your father.

DENISE PLEDGER

June 21, 2012

Rodney will live on in our memories. I know I will think of him in the days that go by. He is a hero and was a survivor through the toughest of times. May he rest in peace. Goobye Rodney, You are still Blessed. YOU MADE YOUR PEACE WITH WRONGDOERS. HEAVEN AWAITS....

annie owens

June 21, 2012

R.I.P. RODNEY KING ALL PRAYERS GO TO YOUR FAMILY AND FERINDS A. OWENS ORANGEBURG,S.C.

Julia Persley

June 21, 2012

May all of your suffering, scrutiny and struggles be awarded on the other side. Family remember weeping may endure for a night but Joy someday will come in the mornig. You are in our prayers!!!

J. Fields

June 21, 2012

Rodney King was a good and forgiving man. He was an inspiration to us all who live with and fight against racism and discrimination. God Bless You and Rest in peace Rodney and thank you for showing us the way.

BONNIE HINTON

June 21, 2012

PRAYERS ARE WITH YOUR FAMILY. I ONLY KNEW YOU FROM THE NEWS, HOWEVER I FELT A KINSHIP.......REST IN PEACE

loretta carter wimbley

June 21, 2012

Rest in peace,Prayers are with the family!!!

Deborah Griffey Coleman

June 21, 2012

Words can't make your sorrow any easier to bear, but they can show how deeply others sympathize and care.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and the entire family during this difficult time.

Jessie and Vickie Jones

June 21, 2012

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.

Dorothy Crisp

June 21, 2012

TO The King Family:

You are in my thoughts and prayers. Rest In Peace, Rodney.

cleo Hubert

June 21, 2012

I remember meeting you in my home. such a sweet spirit you had indeed. I pray Gods blessing upon your soul and comfort to your family.

Skua wyns

June 20, 2012

Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, he's free at last!

Keysia Robbs

June 20, 2012

R.I.P Rodney King

Chelena Pharr

June 20, 2012

May God's blessings strengthen the King family during this difficult time. We are all praying with you. RIP Rodney!

Brownie Lofton

June 20, 2012

My sweet Brotha Rodney. I will always treasure the years, in altadena, at loma Alta park, at Felicia house us baby sitting Sieglinda...lol. Odessa, please be strong I love you all very much & Yes... we can all get along. God bless

Tonya Shepherd

June 20, 2012

May your soul finally be at peace Rodney. You have suffered enough.

S Salinas

June 20, 2012

I was always hoping he would have a happy and peaceful life. Tragic ending to a troubled past. Rest in peace and may your family be strenghtened during this difficult and trying time. Peace at last, but not this early in life. Wish he could've lived more and pursued happiness and serenity. Sad ending.

Rev. Dr. Veronica Leach

June 20, 2012

To the King Family,
In your hour of sorrow look to the Lord. Trust in the Lord for He is too kind to err, and He knows what is best for all of us, your family will be lifted in prayer.
The Rev. Dr. Veronica Leach
Emporia, Virginia

June 20, 2012

To the King Family,
In your hour of sorrow look to the Lord. Trust in the Lord for He is too kind to err, and He knows what is best for all of us, your family will be lifted in prayer.
The Rev. Dr. Veronica Leach
Emporia, Virginia

E.M. Branch

June 20, 2012

Sorry about your loss, Very sad

Betty Whitfield

June 20, 2012

My condolence to the king family earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal he has true peace once more

Carolyn Frederick

June 20, 2012

As you leave this portal for another Dear Rodney King I hope that we will continue to get along with each other as you suggested many years ago. God bless you. May you rest in peace.

Tracey Prout

June 20, 2012

Rest in peace Rodney.

Tamiko Lindsey

June 20, 2012

May God Bless the King Family for their loss..

Eva Doyle

June 20, 2012

My condolences go out to the Rodney King family. May God Bless you all. Rest in peace Brother Rodney.

Shannon Florez

June 20, 2012

Peace to your family. My Condolesenses to you Rodney. Your A good Person.

Robert Abarca

June 20, 2012

May the Lord be by your side , Always...

David Gonzalez

June 20, 2012

May god bless you always as a good person. And to your family.. may the lord be with you.

YANNA G

June 20, 2012

SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS.......R.I.P.

June 19, 2012

Rest in Peace Rodney King, a real Hero. Deepest sympathys to loved ones left behind. Lisa/Minnesota

carol polite

June 19, 2012

Crossing the Bar

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

By Alfred, Lord Tennyson
The Poetry Foundation

carol polite

June 19, 2012

Rest in peace Rodney

CAROLYN PRITCHETTE

June 19, 2012

Rest in peace Rodney and to the King family my prayers go out for you he went down in history for his faith in what was right for his own rights as a human being

Juanita Stidons

June 19, 2012

My condolences goes out to the King family for the lost of their love one. May God strengthen you during your time of brevement.

Ernest Christine

June 19, 2012

Godspeed, brother Rodney.

ADRIANE FRANKLIN

June 19, 2012

REST IN PEACE

Mattie

June 19, 2012

I am sadden with the loss of Rodney King. You have made peace with yourself and with God. Know rest in peace. Your name will forever be in history. May God keep you in his loving arms.

Betty R. Johnson

June 19, 2012

We were so sorry to hear of the loss of your loved one. We're sending you a hug from afar.

Margaret Gibson

June 19, 2012

I did not know Mr. King but, through his appearance to ask for peace during the riots and his time on Celebrity Rehab i grew to admire him a great deal and am so sad he is gone. Rest in Peace, Mr. King. May you find the peace and health you so wanted in life in the arms of the Angels in Heaven.

Angela

June 19, 2012

May you rest in peace!

Lamont Stanley

June 19, 2012

RIP Rodney King! You will be missed!

No one important

June 19, 2012

My thoughts and prayers to his family. We were deeply sadden to hear of his passing, he will not be forgotten as he has now become a part of history. Rest in peace.

ANTONIO Preston

June 19, 2012

Rest in peace Brotha King.

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February 14, 2020

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