Rodney King, whose videotaped beating in LA in 1991 sparked riots, dead at 47

The Miami Herald –

Rodney King, whose beating by Los Angeles police in 1991 was caught on videotape and sparked riots after the acquittal of the four officers involved, was found dead on Sunday. He was 47.

King was found at the bottom of his a swimming pool at his LA home, authorities said.

In 1991, King’s beating after a high-speed car chase in LA, which was videotaped by a witness, led to the arrest of the officers involved and forever changed the city?s police department.

After the officers were acquitted a year later, riots erupted in LA. At a press conference to calm tempers in LA, King uttered the famous words: ?Can?t we all get along??

The King beating had a powerful impact on America: The event sparked a dialogue on race across the United States; it also gave rise to the era of news events being captured on video by regular people.

At the time of the beating, King, 25, was on parole after a robbery conviction in April 1991.

In an interview in 2011 with CNN, 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.

The video captured the officers beating a defenseless King with clubs.