Rodney King dies at 47

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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 fiancée said.

He was 47.

Rodney King dead

On June 17, 2012, King’s fiancée found him dead in his swimming pool. Police in Rialto, California, received a 911 call from King’s fiancée, Cynthia Kelly, about 5:25 a.m. PST. 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.

According to TMZ, King’s fiancée is telling friends King had been drinking and even smoked weed in the hours just before his death.

Horrific beating

On March 3, 1991, Rodney King was beaten by Los Angeles Police officers after he was stopped for speeding. Four officers hit him more than 50 times, kicked him and shot him with stun guns. A bystander videotaped much of the incident from a distance.

A year later, a California jury acquitted three of the four officers, three of whom were white and one Hispanic. The jury deadlocked on one of the charges for Officer Laurence Powell.

The acquittal caused the L.A. riots that erupted on April 29, 1992. The riots were among the most lethal in U.S. history. By the time order was restored, more than 50 people had died, nearly 3,000 were injured and thousands of businesses were damaged or destroyed.

Rodney King legacy

Before his untimely death, King had been promoting his book, The Riot Within: My Journey From Rebellion to Redemption, which came out during the 20th Anniversary of the LA riots.

Rodney King is survived by his three children and his fiancee’ Cynthia Kelley.

The Los Angeles Times published a quote that King gave the newspaper earlier this year: “I would change a few things, but not that much. Yes, I would go through that night, yes I would. I said once that I wouldn’t, but that’s not true. It changed things. It made the world a better place.’