Police: No apparent foul play in Rodney King pool death
Washington - Rodney King, the African-American whose videotaped beating by Los Angeles police was captured on camera and sparked the city's 1992 race riots, has died, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.
The 47-year-old was found dead Sunday at the bottom his swimming pool, the Times said.
Police said that there was no sign of foul play.
King was beaten by police in 1991 when he resisted arrest following a high-speed chase in Los Angeles. A bystander videotaped the incident from a distance, unbeknownst to the officers who continued striking him with batons as he tried to crawl away.
The officers' subsequent acquittal a year later on state criminal charges sparked deadly rioting in Los Angeles, which left more than 50 people dead. The riots left thousands injured and caused more than 1 billion dollars in property damage in mostly poor neighbourhoods.
Two of the officers were later convicted on federal criminal civil-rights violations against King. A civil jury later awarded King 3.8 million dollars in damages from the Los Angeles police.
Over the ensuing two decades, King continued to have run-ins with the law.
In 1993 was arrested for being under the influence of the psychedelic drug PCP, and in 2007 he was wounded in a shooting near his California home.
King released a memoir, The Riot Within: My Journey from Rebellion to Redemption, that was published in April to coincide with the 20th anniversary the LA riots.//DPA
