Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Rodney King Charged With DUI for July Arrest

Rodney King Charged With DUI for July Arrest

King became a symbol of police brutality after being beaten by 4 LAPD officers in 1991.

Rodney King Booking Photo
Rodney King Booking Photo (HANDOUT)
MORENO VALLEY, Calif. -- Rodney King was charged Wednesday with two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence following his arrest in July.

According to prosecutors, King was driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana and had a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit when he was pulled over July 13 near the Moreno Valley town center.

The 46-year-old was reportedly driving a 1994 Mitsubishi when officers observed him committing "multiple infractions."

King, who lives in Rialto, was taken into custody and was eventually arrested and booked on suspicion of driving under the influence at the Robert Presley Detention Center.

If convicted, King faces up to a year in jail because of a prior DUI conviction in San Bernardino County.

In 1991, King became a symbol of police brutality after being beaten by four LAPD officers after a police chase through the San Fernando Valley.

The beating was captured on videotape and was first aired on KTLA.

The video caused outrage across Los Angeles.

Four officers involved in the incident were tried and acquitted, sparking the Los Angeles riots of 1992 which lasted four days and left 55 people dead.

Two of them were later charged with violating King's federal civil rights and served time in prison.

King has not been a stranger to law enforcement or substance abuse in the years since the incident.

In May 1991, he was arrested on suspicion of trying to run over a vice officer who allegedly found him with a transvestite prostitute in Hollywood, but no charges were filed.

In 1992, King was arrested for DUI, but again no charges were filed.

In 1993, King entered an alcohol rehabilitation program and was placed on probation after crashing his vehicle into a block wall in downtown Los Angeles with a blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit.

He was arrested for DUI again in May 1995 in Pennsylvania. He was tried and acquitted.

In July 1995, he was arrested by Alhambra police, who alleged that he hit his wife with his car, knocking her to the ground.

He was sentenced to 90 days in jail after being convicted of hit and run.

In, September 2001 King was arrested in Claremont and charged with being under the influence of the psychedelic drug PCP.

He was also arrested in 2005 after he allegedly threatening his daughter and ex-girlfriend.

Then in 2007, King told authorities he was sprayed with pellets from a shotgun while riding his bicycle near the border of San Bernardino and Rialto.

Rialto police, who were the first to respond, said King was intoxicated when they arrived and that it was difficult to decipher what had happened.

No suspects were ever found.

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