When Did Rodney King Die And What Did He Die Of?

American protestor and surviving victim of police brutality, Rodney King was reported dead on June 17, 2012. According to an autopsy report, he died of accidental drowning. He was a black man who was stopped after leading the police on an 8-mile chase on the streets of Los Angeles, California on March 3, 1991. He was on pursuit after he was allegedly intoxicated and was caught speeding on a freeway by a California Highway Patrol cruiser. They shared that he refused to pull up when he was asked to, hence the chase.

King’s brutality was captured on tape by a man named George Holliday with his new video camera that filmed almost everything that happened from the balcony of his room. Holliday sold the tape to a media firm which also sold it to CNN, and then eventually made national news. The main culprits involved, Sergeant Stacey Koon and officer Lawrence Powell were sentenced to two and a half years in prison. King was also awarded $3.8 million after suing the city of Los Angeles.