*(Via CNN) – Rodney King, whose beating by Los Angeles police in 1991 was caught on camera and sparked riots after the acquittal of the four officers involved, was found dead in his swimming pool Sunday, authorities and his fiancee said. He was 47.
Police in Rialto, California, received a 911 call from King’s fiancee, Cynthia Kelly, about 5:25 a.m., said Capt. Randy DeAnda. Responding officers found King at the bottom of the pool, removed him and attempted to revive him. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital, DeAnda said.
There were no preliminary signs of foul play, he said, and no obvious injuries on King’s body. Police are conducting a drowning investigation, DeAnda said, and King’s body would be autopsied.
Rodney King: What happened in 1991
“His fiancee heard him in the rear yard,” he said, and found King in the pool when she went outside.
Kelly was a juror in King’s lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles in 1994.
King’s beating after a high-speed car chase and its aftermath forever changed Los Angeles, its police department and the dialogue on race in America.
“Rodney King was a symbol of civil rights and he represented the anti-police brutality and anti-racial profiling movement of our time,” the Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement. “It was his beating that made America focus on the presence of profiling and police misconduct.”
King was 25 and on parole after a robbery conviction in March 1991. In an interview in 2011, he recalled he had been drinking and was headed home from a friend’s house when he saw a police car following him and panicked, thinking he would be sent back to prison. So he attempted to flee.
“I had a job to go to that Monday, and I knew I was on parole, and I knew I wasn’t supposed to be drinking, and I’m like ‘Oh, my God,’” he told CNN.
Read/learn more at CNN
Prior to his fiancee discovering his body around 5:25 a.m. at the bottom of the pool, makes you wonder why in the hell was he near, or in the pool especially in the wee hour of the morning? Per the upcoming autopsy report I hope there’s no sign of drugs, or alcohol found in his body. Rodney has been through quite a bit, made bad decisions, dealing with the law and personal issues etc. Once taken a terrible beat down from the hands of LAPD cops who were later acquitted of any wrong doings.
Let’s hope not, but TMZ is already saying that “Cynthia Kelley told friends that King had been at the house drinking and smoking some weed all Saturday.”
Could the LAPD be responsible for Rodney King’s death years later?
King was still plagued with health problems from the beating 20 years later despite years of physical therapy. Reporters noted that because of his brain injuries King would lose his train of thought easily mid-conversation, which embarrassed and frustrated him. He told The Daily Beast: “I still have some pretty bad headaches from that beating.
Could this lead to complications while swimming, or was it totally something else?
CNN:
King’s fiancee, Cynthia Kelly, told police King was an “avid swimmer,” but that she was not. She reported the two had just had a conversation and she went inside, but came back out after hearing a splash and saw him at the bottom of the pool.
But then according to TMZ,
she was woken up by the sound of King screaming in the back yard. She said that he was naked and banging on the glass. Then she heard a splash and discovered him in the swimming pool.
Oh, I’m suspicious.
Such a sad ending to a life plagued with darkness.
Wow what a tragic and sad ending for his life!
What a tragedy, condolences to Rodney Kings’ family.
Poor Rodney, Rest in Peace.
Unfortunately Rodney had a substance abuse problem and made unwise decisions etc. He endured a terrible excessive beating by cops that left him some form of permanent damages. Since then he has also had off & on troubles with the law. I have never heard of anyone referring to Rodney as an hard core criminal. He was somewhat of a likeable guy, most people felt sorry for in some way or another. No more pain or troubled life. So R.I.P. Rodney King!
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