This Day in History: Rodney King Beating Is Videotaped
- 4 years ago
This Day in History:
Rodney King Beating
Is Videotaped March 3, 1991 Rodney King, a 25-year-old African American construction worker, is beaten by four white LAPD officers, as George Holliday videotapes
from his nearby apartment. King had been involved in a
high speed chase with police
after he attempted to outrun
California Highway Patrol. Unarmed, King was tased twice,
struck by officer's batons
33 times and kicked six times. Two days after the beating,
Holliday took the video
to KTLA television. It became an instant media sensation,
leading to charges against the officers,
of which they were acquitted on April 29, 1992. Within hours of the acquittal,
riots broke out in Los Angeles
that would last for six days. The riots resulted in 63 deaths,
thousands of injuries, fires and
over $1 billion in financial losses.
Rodney King Beating
Is Videotaped March 3, 1991 Rodney King, a 25-year-old African American construction worker, is beaten by four white LAPD officers, as George Holliday videotapes
from his nearby apartment. King had been involved in a
high speed chase with police
after he attempted to outrun
California Highway Patrol. Unarmed, King was tased twice,
struck by officer's batons
33 times and kicked six times. Two days after the beating,
Holliday took the video
to KTLA television. It became an instant media sensation,
leading to charges against the officers,
of which they were acquitted on April 29, 1992. Within hours of the acquittal,
riots broke out in Los Angeles
that would last for six days. The riots resulted in 63 deaths,
thousands of injuries, fires and
over $1 billion in financial losses.