- 1
- 2
- next
- | single page
Rodney King sat down for an interview with KTLA 20 years after the L.A. Riots. (KTLA-TV) |
LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- It's been 20 years since the Los Angeles Riots, and Rodney King -- the man at the center of it all -- is in the news again.
King, whose videotaped beating by police was seen all around the world, is now an author.
In his new autobiography, "The Riot Within," King says that his biggest regret is not pulling over that night in 1991, before his confrontation with the LAPD.
"I would have pulled over," he said in an interview with KTLA's Eric Spillman. "I would have just pulled over and got the ticket."
"I had a job to go to that following Monday, and I knew that I'd been drinking and was on parole, and I thought I could get away," King explained.
King says that during the beating that followed, he did not resist. Instead, he says he was just trying to stay alive.
"When I heard the words, 'N****r run, we're gonna kill you, n****r run'... You know, here in a street fight that's to the death," King said.
"I knew life was just a matter of seconds of me dying, so I've gotta try and cover up what I can... Keep my hands above my brain and just scream as loud as I could and as long as I could."
A year later, in April of 1992, King watched on TV as a jury acquitted the four police officers and riots broke out.
RELATED: Eric Spillman Blogs About How We Covered The L.A. Riots
King says he was shocked to see the violence, but he was not surprised by the jury's verdict that led to the rioting.
"My case was so strong and so believable, they had to turn that thing around and make it seem like I was being combative and I was resisting arrest," King said.
"There was no other direction that they could have took because it was so clear as day that they had almost took my life."
The mayhem that followed the verdict resulted in 56 deaths, thousands of people hurt and hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage.
In his book, King reveals that on the night the riots started, he put on a disguise and drove into South L.A. to see the burning and looting with his own eyes.
"I put on my reggae hat and braids and started out," King recalled.
"It was just too rough for me," he said. "I'm a tough guy, but that was a war zone out there. In our own backyard, we had a war zone."
King also reveals that, on that first night of rioting, a cousin brought over a pickup truck loaded with liquor and electronics that had been looted from stores.
"They were saying, 'This is for you man. We did this for you,'" King said.
King, whose videotaped beating by police was seen all around the world, is now an author.
In his new autobiography, "The Riot Within," King says that his biggest regret is not pulling over that night in 1991, before his confrontation with the LAPD.
"I would have pulled over," he said in an interview with KTLA's Eric Spillman. "I would have just pulled over and got the ticket."
"I had a job to go to that following Monday, and I knew that I'd been drinking and was on parole, and I thought I could get away," King explained.
King says that during the beating that followed, he did not resist. Instead, he says he was just trying to stay alive.
"When I heard the words, 'N****r run, we're gonna kill you, n****r run'... You know, here in a street fight that's to the death," King said.
"I knew life was just a matter of seconds of me dying, so I've gotta try and cover up what I can... Keep my hands above my brain and just scream as loud as I could and as long as I could."
A year later, in April of 1992, King watched on TV as a jury acquitted the four police officers and riots broke out.
RELATED: Eric Spillman Blogs About How We Covered The L.A. Riots
King says he was shocked to see the violence, but he was not surprised by the jury's verdict that led to the rioting.
"My case was so strong and so believable, they had to turn that thing around and make it seem like I was being combative and I was resisting arrest," King said.
"There was no other direction that they could have took because it was so clear as day that they had almost took my life."
The mayhem that followed the verdict resulted in 56 deaths, thousands of people hurt and hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage.
In his book, King reveals that on the night the riots started, he put on a disguise and drove into South L.A. to see the burning and looting with his own eyes.
"I put on my reggae hat and braids and started out," King recalled.
"It was just too rough for me," he said. "I'm a tough guy, but that was a war zone out there. In our own backyard, we had a war zone."
King also reveals that, on that first night of rioting, a cousin brought over a pickup truck loaded with liquor and electronics that had been looted from stores.
"They were saying, 'This is for you man. We did this for you,'" King said.
