What was Rodney King’s Net Worth?
Rodney King, an American citizen, gained notoriety after experiencing police brutality at the hands of the LAPD. At the time of his death, he had a net worth of $250,000.
The LAPD officers’ assault on King took place on March 3, 1991, and was filmed by an onlooker named George Holliday. The video revealed officers beating King with batons while other officers stood by and watched.
During the subsequent state trial, three of the four officers were acquitted, and the fourth received no verdict. These verdicts caused the 1992 Los Angeles riots. However, two of the officers were found guilty of civil rights violations in a federal trial and were sent to prison.
King received a $3.8 million settlement as a result of the civil rights trial, which he used to establish his own Hip-Hop music record label called Straight Alta-Pazz Recording Company.
Rodney King Early Life
Rodney King was born on April 2, 1965 in Sacramento, California. He grew up in Altadena, California with his four siblings, raised by his parents Ronald and Odessa King. King attended John Muir High School and enjoyed his social studies class. His father passed away when King was 19 years old, in 1984, at the age of 42.
The Rodney King Beating and Trials
On March 3, 1991, Rodney King and two friends were chased and arrested by five police officers, who beat King with batons, an incident caught on tape by a bystander. The officers claimed King was resisting arrest, but the footage showed otherwise. The trial of the four officers charged with assault and use of excessive force ended in acquittal, leading to the 1992 Los Angeles riots that caused over 60 deaths and 2,000 injuries.
The Department of Justice then sought indictments of the officers for violating King’s civil rights, with two officers found guilty and sentenced to 30 months in jail. King sued the city of Los Angeles and was awarded $3.8 million in damages and $1.7 million in attorney fees. In 2012, King published his memoir, “The Riot Within: My Journey from Rebellion to Redemption.”
Rodney King’s Life and Legacy
Rodney King was married twice and had three daughters, one from each of his relationships. He struggled with alcohol and drug abuse throughout his life and was arrested several times for driving while intoxicated or under the influence. He also faced charges of domestic abuse against his partner, Cynthia Kelley. King checked into the Pasadena Recovery Center in California and participated in the second season of “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” in 2008 to get clean. However, he began drinking again in the last years of his life.
On Father’s Day in 2012, Cynthia found King dead in the bottom of his swimming pool. His autopsy report revealed that he had drugs and alcohol in his system, which likely combined with his pre-existing heart condition to cause a cardiac arrhythmia, leaving him incapacitated in the water and leading to his drowning. King’s funeral was attended by many, with Reverend Al Sharpton delivering the eulogy. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.
King has since become a symbol of police brutality, and his story has been addressed in various artforms and media, including the 1997 film “Riot,” the 1998 film “American History X,” and the one-man play “Rodney King” by Roger Guenver Smith. His daughter, Lora King, has started the Rodney King Foundation in his honor.
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