Rodney King

In 2010, he announced that he was to marry one of the jurors, Cynthia Kelly, from the civil suit that he filed against the City of Los Angeles. In 2012, he was found dead in the pool by her.

Rodney King was born on April 2, 1965 in Sacramento, California, to Ronald and Odessa King. His father died at the age of 42, leaving Rodney and his four siblings to his mother.

When he was 24 years old, he robbed a store that belonged to a Korean in Monterey Park, California. He stole 200 dollars in cash and hit the owner. He was convicted and put behind the bars for a year.

In 1991, King and two of his friends, Bryant Allen and Freddie Helms, were chased by California Highway Patrol husband-wife police officers, Tim and Melanie Singer, after his car was caught speeding on the freeway.

King refused to pull over and the officers kept pursuing him through the residential streets at 55-80 miles per hour. After 8 miles, his car was cornered into pulling over and other officers arrived on the scene.

The first five LAPD officers who arrived at the scene were: Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseno and Ronaldo Solano. Tim Singer commanded King and his accomplices to get out and lie face down on the ground.

King’s friends obeyed the officer and got arrested but King did not get out of the car and when he did get out, he acted strangely and insultingly by giggling and waving to the police helicopter above his head.

He then grabbed his backside which Officer Melanie Singer thought was an act of taking his weapon out, to which she drew her gun out and ordered him to lie face down on the ground. She was about to arrest him.

King was arrested again in 1993, for crashing his car into a wall in LA, under the influence of alcohol. He was put on probation after this incident and was made to sign up an alcohol rehabilitation program.

In 1995, King was arrested again by the Alhambra Police, when he attacked his wife with his car. He got 90 days in the jail under the conviction of hit and run. His wife was badly hurt and fell on the ground when she was hit.

In 2003, he was arrested for speeding and fleeing a red light. He did not pull over this time as well and instead smashed his car into a house, effect of which broke his own pelvis.

In 2008, he entered Pasadena Recovery Centre, California, and got filmed for ‘Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew’. The next year, he appeared in another show called ‘Sober House’ which showed him living and coping in a sober environment.

In 2009, King won a celebrity boxing match against ex-police officer from the Chester City, Officer Simon Aouad, in Pennsylvania. He also did another season of ‘Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew’, but this time he was one of the speakers.