Rodney King was found dead in a pool June 17, 2012. According to his fiance, Cynthia Kelley, he was drinking and smoking weed all day before he passed.

In Los Angeles, King is synonymous with police brutality and injustice. Back in 1991 he was videotaped being beaten by the LAPD. A day after the incident, the footage was made public on news broadcasts. A year later when a jury acquitted the officers of their brutality, the LA Riots were born. This year marked the 20^th anniversary of that fateful day, and just a couple short months later, Rodney is gone. He was only 47 years old. Let’s take a second to get to know a bit more about the man behind the riots.

-When President Bush went on TV to address the nation about the riots, King notably asked, “Can we get along?”

-King won $3.8 million in the case against LA for the beating.

-He had numerous charges after the riots including assault and DUI.

-King won a celebrity boxing match (term used loosely) against ex-Chester City, Pennsylvania police officer Simon Aouad in 2009.

-He was engaged to Cynthia Kelley a juror in his civil suit case against the city of LA. 

-Rodney King appeared on Judge Pirro’s court tv show in a 2010 case where he sued his ex-friend for not repaying a $4500 loan. 

-He said earlier in 2012, “I’ve learned from all of my mistakes. I am a work in process. I’m constantly working on myself, knowing what my limits are and feeling comfortable with me.