The Riot Within – A look back at our 2012 interview with Rodney King

Saturday marks the 25th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots, for 5 days racial tension and rage collided into mayhem and violence.

Watch: The full 2012 interview with Rodney King

Five years ago, News Channel 3’s John White sat down with Rodney King just prior to the 20th anniversary of the riots. King had just released a new book “The Riot Within.”

He described the 1991 videotaped beating in great detail, “I thought I was going to die, I did.”

King admitted he made a series of poor decisions the night he was beaten. He was drinking and driving. And he didn’t pull over because he knew he would go to jail for a parole violation.

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

The beating was far from the last run-in with the law for King.

He was in and out of the courtroom for the rest of his life and continued to battle his demons. He admitted to me he wasn’t staying entirely sober, saying he slipped but didn’t drink like he used to.

King was looking forward to getting married in 2012, starting a new life, and settling down.

It didn’t happen.

He died in June, just a couple of months later. An autopsy later confirmed he had multiple drugs in his system including, PCP, cocaine, and marijuana.

The title of his book “The Riot Within” turned out to be Rodney King’s life story to the end.