Rodney King dead at 47
 

Rodney King dead at 47 - CNN.com


Los Angeles (CNN) -- Rodney King, whose beating by Los Angeles police in 1991 was caught on camera and sparked riots after the acquittal of the four officers involved, was found dead in his swimming pool Sunday, authorities and his fiancee said. He was 47.

Police in Rialto, California, received a 911 call from King's fiancee, Cynthia Kelly, about 5:25 a.m., said Capt. Randy De Anda. Responding officers found King at the bottom of the pool, removed him and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until paramedics arrived. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital, police said.

There were no preliminary signs of foul play, De Anda said, and no obvious injuries on King's body. Police are conducting a drowning investigation, he said, and King's body would be autopsied.


ABC video about the beating.



Dude lived a hard life.

RIP

A SYMBOL of black civil rights. Whether you like it or not, he's apart of black history in the United States.

RIP

Yeah, an icon for the black human rights movement by evading police in a high speed car chase, while drunk and on parole, then acting like a total retard and resisting arrest, taking swings at the officers!

Yeah, a real class act. Great example for all.

Yup, you're right, it wasn't a case of police brutality at all. It must've just been all media hype. 2 officers were sentenced to jail time for absolutely no reason...You're an idiot dude. Very few people would say that Rodney King isn't an example of police brutality and human rights struggles. We learn about this shit in undergraduate and graduate school probably because Rodney King isn't a testament to any sort of movement at all...


For the rest of you who haven't heard of Rodney King or the story around him, take a look at the video above. Although it is a clip and can be taken out of context...there is no question that the blows by the officers are UNNECESSARY and dangerously abusive.

Whether you like it or not, whether you agree or not, he has a legacy. He will be remembered throughout history for what he went through. His story marked a first for public awareness and common citizen actions in our society. As Robert Dziekanski was for Vancouver, Rodney King was for L.A., the U.S. and African-Americans. The role of personal recording devices and the impacts that it can have on our legal system wasn't realized until this particular case.

Sure there was police brutality, I'm not saying otherwise dickhead. But Rodney King was a criminal, and to say he deserves some sort of recognition or commemoration is offensive to all those that actually deserve it.

You're treating him like some sort of fucking martyr, which he is not.

Right because an "ICON for black human rights" is considered being a martyr. You're an idiot. It's not a matter of opinion. It's a FACT that Rodney King is an iconic character when it comes to civil rights in America. Google it and let me know how many hits come up with it . Hit up a library and take a look at the index to see how many times Rodney King is references in law books. There's a REASON for it. You can sit in your little hole and deny the fact that he's made an impact, whether positive or negative, but the unfortunately for you, the facts are that he is revered as a iconic figure for police brutality and humans rights cases.

Needless to say, the majority of the world disagrees with you.

The argument here isn't whether or not he did something valid, something worth while or whether he is a martyr. The point I've made her is that when people think of Rodney King, he is immediately associated with african american civil rights. That cannot be contested. Everything else you're talking about is irrelevant because myself nor anyone else here has yet to praise his actions or call him a martyr. We've simply acknowledged his place in history.

Rodney King was the proof that the Lockness monster exists. Lots of people say they have seen the Lockness monster but where 's the proof. Many blacks had complained about police brutality but there was never any proof. This was the first time of actual proof of Police brutality by the L.A. police. Rodney King just happened to be thew one who got beaten up.

An Icon for the Black Human Rights Movement??

First of all, I don't even know what that means. The Civil Rights Movement basically ended in the late 60's.

He deserves zero personal credit for what his 'incident' led to.

It actually makes me a little nauseous that you would try to lump a guy like him in with people like Rosa Parks, Malcom X, Dr. Martin Luther King etc.

He is the black eye of the movement. At best, you could refer to him as the catalyst that caused some sweeping changes in the LAPD.

If he wasn't black, that night would have been a catalyst for nothing, absolutely nothing. Kinds of puts things into perspective.

Wonder what would have happened if Robert Dziekanski was Black, and this happened at LAX, would we have saw the incarnation of the modern father of the black human rights movement? According to you, seems likely.

^^ Malcolm X was committing B&Es before he became the Icon that he was and he was considered a terrorist when he was

Rosa Parks was guilty of disorderly conduct and spent a night in jail + a fine

Martin Luther King was in prison for 4months

Marcus Garvey was sentenced to 4 years in prison for mail fraud


many civil rights activists are significant for what they spawned and the movements that arose because of them not because of their personal histories

America/California ignored the claims against police they tried to stifle voices that spoke out like "fuck the police" by N.W.A. and rap music in general because of the LA rap scene singing against the police

It wasn't until Rodney Kings incident that the issues were thrown in front of people so that it couldn't be ignored and yet the government did try to ignore it hence the LA Riots that got all the rich people scared which resulted in change

There really isn't any need in trying to detract from Rodney Kings significance



you could try and belittle it by saying all he did was get his ass beat but all rosa parks did was sit her ass down but that's not the point you see, as mentioned, its what spawned from their incidents wherein lies their importance

You fail to distinguish the difference between an "icon" and a "father of the black human rights movement."

An icon is someone who is distinguished for something...Someone who is universally seen as an image of an act, event or object. Being the father of the black human rights movement would be to say that he is the face of it all. He is the originator and most prevalent figure in the movement. Way to embellish your ideas to make another view sound ridiculous.

Neither of you members have explained why so many people and so many educators and authors have felt the need to publish Rodney King's story and teach his scenario in schools. Neither have you have touched on the fact why people so many people feel that he is a figure of human rights violations and human rights movements. It cannot be argued that in the history books, Rodney King is going to be known for human rights violations. Are all these people simply ignorant in their ways of thinking?

Dr. King

‘I have a dream’ speech
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Congressional Gold Medal
US Federal Holiday named after him
Led the March on Washington
Nobel Peace Prize
American Liberties Medallion
Memorial in Washington DC
300,000 attended his funeral in one day

Malcom X

Published 11 books
Dozens of Schools and Streets named after him
His own postage stamp
Credited with rooting black power movement
Invited by Fidel Castro to visit Cuba after a 1on1 meeting
Met with other heads of state all of the world for discussions
30,000 people attended his funeral

Rosa Parks

Presidential Medal of Freedom
Congressional Gold Medal
NAACP Springham Medal
Statue in US Capitols Statuary Hall
First woman granted lying in honor at Capital Rotunda
Founded Rosa Parks Scholarship foundation
Founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Intitute for Self Development
Donated her speaking fees to these causes
Wrote two books
50,000 attended her funeral
Chapel, streets, and schools named after her

Rodney King

Drove drunk
Fought with police
Told everyone ‘can’t we all just get along’
Drove over his wife with his car (maybe drunk again)
Appeared on celebrity rehab TV show
Appeared on sober house (spinoff of aforementioned)
Won a celebrity boxing match
Married a juror who helped him become a millionaire
Drowned in his backyard pool
(funeral attendance TBA)

http://gafmaster.files.wordpress.com...picture-82.png

I don't think Rodney King was anyone special, but the video of his arrest brought to light what black people were complaining about for a long time

...thus making him an icon - a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something: "police brutality" and "black civil rights"

heh. in some ways he was LUCKY to have gotten involved all those years ago in that incident.

if he hadn't, i doubt he would have had a swimming pool today.

also he wasn't anyone i would actually mourn, say, in the same way i would mourn ghandi. definitely not someone i would consider an exemplary human being. he was merely a catalyst for the riots that ensued. he was caught at the wrong (right?) place at the wrong (right?) time. nothing more

He is Nothing

Using your own definition, the Rodney King Video is an iconic image - The man is not. It represented everything that Rodney King gave us.

What else do you know about Rodney King? In fact, what else does anyone know about Rodney King? Absolutely nothing, because aside from being born black and getting in a felonious rampage that fateful spring evening, he did nothing before or after worth talking about.

It's really all a bunch of semantics here, I just don't like seeing him get credit for somehow furthering a movement he had no intention of helping at anytime is his entire life to begin with.

King was taken to Pacifica Hospital immediately after his arrest. He suffered a fractured facial bone, a broken right ankle, and numerous bruises and lacerations.[24] In a negligence claim filed with the city, King alleged he had suffered "11 skull fractures, permanent brain damage, broken [bones and teeth], kidney damage [and] emotional and physical trauma.

Would you go threw all that for 1.5 mill. He one 3.8 but he claims he ended up with 1.5 million.

Almost all true except for one part. He wasn't actually taken to the hospital immediately after his arrest. The police officers had actually taken him back to the station to show their arrest to the rest of the squad. They had altered time logs in their notes to cover that up but it was later confessed at trial.

So much bickering.. can't we all just get along?

:troll:

RIP

Couldn't have said that better myself.

Bingo.

^^^ many leaders/icons dont ask for or want their roles there are millions of famous quotes that speak to the same thing, it matters not...

again you guys are missing the point, its not the man and his actions really its what they spawned/represented

no one thinks he was a saint who went and fought for the cause of ending injustice towards blacks in California but he and his circumstances caused/created/represented the movement that fought for ending such injustice thus making him an icon

it is what it is... and if you guys can't see or get over that it suggests other things



it's like that Neda girl in Iran who was hanging out with friends supposedly planning on protesting the government but was blocks away from the unrest she got shot in the head (supposedly by a sniper who was covering the unrest blocks away), she didn't do shit.... but she became an icon for the movement against the government not because of her personal life/actions but rather her circumstances

From reading your posts over the years I have decided that you clearly believe white people are inherently racist.

Goodnight sweet King

RIP