Rodney King Dead at 47
Rodney King, the victim of police brutality who became the face of the 1991 Los Angeles riots, has been found dead. He was 47.
According to reports from law enforcement officials on TMZ, King was found dead at the bottom of a swimming pool in Rialto, California on Sunday morning. He was discovered by his fiancée Cynthia Kelley, who promptly called 911.
Paramedics attempted to revive him through CPR, but pronounced him dead at 6:11AM. The Rialto police department will open a drowning investigation, but say at this time there has been no sign of foul play.
King became a national sensation after an amateur video showed him being brutally beaten by seven police officers following a high-speed pursuit for speeding. Four of the officers were tried in court and three were acquitted, sparking national furor and days of violence in Los Angeles.
In an odd twist of fate, King became engaged to one of the jurors from the trial in 2010. He has three children from a previous marriage.
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