Rodney King 20 Years After the Riots

The 20 year anniversary of the Los Angeles riots isApril 29.

The mayhem beganhours after four police officers were aquitted in the beating of Rodney King.

I sat down with King last weekend, two decades after he stepped to the microphones trying to convince Angelenos to end the violence. King pleaded with the public, “I just want to say, can’t we all get along? We’re all stuck her for a while, let’s try to work it out.”

That was on day three of the riots. Parts of Los Angeles were in flames. Rioters were looting stores and beating innocent people. More than 50 people had been killed.

King is sharing his story now in a book titled “The Riot Within.” He says the riots left him hurt and disappointed. He had mixed emotions, ranging from vindication to overwhelming guilt.

It had all started for him more than a year earlier on March 3, 1991. King was driving drunk. Police tried to pull him over and he ran. After a police pursuit, he was beaten by police and much of it was caught on tape by a man watching from a nearby apartment.

In that tape, you can see King get up from the ground, put his hands over his head and eventually appear to lunge at an officer.

King says it happened much differently than it appears.

“When he said, ‘We’re gonna kill you, run,’ I took-off. When I tried to take off, I put my hands up high, because I didn’t want them thinking I was going for a gun, but my right leg was broken.”

King says that made him fall forward, appearing to lunge at the officer. The next several minutes would be excruciating, with the officers landing repeated baton blows. King thought he was going to die.

“My spirits were broken. I thought I was going to die, I did,” he said.

I asked him if he’s been able to forgive and he said he has. “Luckily, I live in the United States. I’ve been given a few chances. And Jehovah, God, forgives us as humans here on earth. This is his planet. If he can forgive us all for the crap we’ve done on this planet, then I have to forgive his mankind for the mistakes they’ve made toward me.”

Two of the officers were later convicted of violating King’s civil rights in a federal trial.

King said progress has been slow over the past 20 years when it comes to race and hate.

“I hate that it keeps happening. That people aren’t getting it as fast as they should, trying to get along and work on peace and just getting along,” he said.

King admits he made a series of poor decisions that night. He was drinking and driving. He didn’t pull over for police. He wanted to get away because he knew he’d go to jail for a parole violation. So, does he accept responsibility?

“I know if I stayed home that night, everything wouldn’t have happened the way it did,” he said.

King has had a number of run-ins with the law over the past 20 years. This past year he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Moreno Valleyin Riverside County. He reached a plea agreement on the lesser charge of reckless driving.

He explained it by saying he had had a beer and thought he had waited long enough for his blood-alcohol level to drop before he drove his car. He called it a mistake and said it won’t happen again.

While he makes that vow, he admits he’s not maintaining his sobriety, even after a very public battle with alcoholism, including a stint on the television show, “Celebrity Rehab.”

“I still drink, not like I used to. I sip,” he said.

Still, he said he’s finding peace in his life and finally getting a handle on the “Riot Within.” He’s also planning on getting married. His fiance was a juror in his civil suit against the city of Los Angeles.

He ended our interview by saying, “I’m looking forward to getting married, settling down, doing it the American way.”

And, he still hopes we can all learn to get along.