Post date: Jun 17, 2012 9:12:36 PM
"It appears that this is a drowning and there were no obvious signs of foul play and there were no obvious signs of trauma to Mr. King's body," Rialto police Captain Randy De Anda said.
King was discovered by his fiancee, said De Anda. The San Bernadino County Coroner's office will conduct an autopsy, authorities said.
Rialto police Captain Randy De Anda says it appears Rodney King drowned in his swimming pool and there were "no obvious signs of foul play."
RIALTO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 17, 2012) (NBC) - Rodney King, who came to symbolize racial tensions in the United States after his 1991 beating at the hands of police led to deadly riots in Los Angeles a year later, was found dead in a swimming pool on Sunday (June 17) in Rialto, California, police said. He was 47.
King's death was reported to police Sunday morning in Rialto, about 50 miles (80 km) east of Los Angeles. Police pulled his body from the swimming pool but were unable to resuscitate him, De Anda said.
King became known around the world after he and some friends were stopped by Los Angeles police on March 3, 1991, following a high-speed chase. King was beaten by baton-wielding officers while a bystander videotaped them. The video prompted a national debate on police brutality and race relations.
When the officers were cleared of brutality charges a year later, riots broke out in Los Angeles, resulting in 53 deaths and an estimated 1 billion U.S. dollars in damage.
During the riots, King made a famous televised appeal for calm, saying: "Can we all get along?"
Two of the officers were later convicted on federal charges of violating King's civil rights and were sentenced to prison.
A jury ordered the city of Los Angeles to pay King, who was unemployed at the time of the beating, 3.8 million U.S. dollars in damages.