Rodney King

Rodney Glen King was an African American victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was severely beaten by officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during his arrest after a high speed pursuit for driving while intoxicated on Interstate 210. An uninvolved resident, George Holliday, saw and filmed the incident from his nearby balcony and sent the footage, which showed King on the ground being beaten, to a local news station, KTLA. The station broadcast the film, which was rebroadcast by other stations, with this exposure precipitating riots.