Father’s Day Irony
Legacy Left Race-Baiter Version: Al Sharpton released a statement calling Rodney King ” a symbol of civil rights and he represented the anti-police brutality and anti-racial profiling movement of our time,” Additionaly, Sharpton said of King “History will record that it was Rodney King’s beating and his actions that made America deal with the excessive misconduct of law enforcement.”
Legacy Left Media Version – Rodney King, the man who was at the center of the infamous Los Angeles riots, was found dead this morning, TMZ has reported. He was 47.
According to TMZ, King’s fiancée, Cynthia Kelly, found him dead at the bottom of a swimming pool. CNN has confirmed his passing. King recently marked the twentieth anniversary of the Los Angeles riots — the mayhem that took place after four police officers were acquitted of beating King in 1991. The beating, which was caught on camera, sparked national outrage and put King at the center of heated debate about the state of race relations in America.
CBS Los Angeles has released a radio interview with Rialto, California police Captain Randy De Anda, who says that King may have had some verbal contact with his fiancée, at which time she went outside and found him at the bottom of the pool.
“Rialto police officers responded to the location and removed him from inside of the pool and began CPR. The Rialto Fire Department paramedics responded and transported Mr. King to the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead at 6:11 a.m. this morning,” De Anda said.
Preliminary information showed no signs of foul play, he added.
In his memoir, “The Riot Within: My Journey From Rebellion to Redemption,” published earlier this year, King detailed the high-speed chase that led up to his beating on March 3, 1991 and how he went on to receive a $3.8 million settlement from the city of Los Angeles. Most of the money was lost, however, to bad investments, including a hip-hop record label he founded. (more)
Sensationalist Legacy Media Version – Rodney King‘s fiancée is telling friends Rodney had been drinking all day Saturday … and had smoked weed in the hours leading up to his death … sources close to King tell TMZ.
According to our sources, King’s fiancée, Cynthia Kelley, is telling friends King was at the house all day drinking, and he smoked marijuana at some point, before she went to bed at 2:00 AM.
We’re told Kelley says she next saw King at around 5:00 AM when she was awoken by him screaming in the backyard. Our sources say Kelley found King naked, banging on the glass, and she called out to him, “What’s wrong, Rodney?”
Kelley is telling friends she then went to grab her phone when she heard a big splash. She then went to the backyard and discovered him in the bottom of the pool and called police. Paramedics attempted to revive King, but were unsuccessful. (More)
Truthful Version – King was born in Sacramento, California, to Odessa King, who had four other children. His father died at age 42. King grew up in Pasadena, California.
In November 1989, Rodney King robbed a store in Monterey Park, California. He threatened to hit the Korean store owner with an iron bar he was carrying, then hit him with a pole. King stole $200 in the robbery. He was convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment.
At the time of the his infamous LA arrest, Rodney King was twice divorced and had three children. His ex-wives were Crystal Waters and Danetta. His consistent lifestyle of drug and alcohol abuse, along with numerous addictions left him estranged from his children.
After a day of drug and alcohol use Rodney King was found dead in his swimming pool.
Reflecting on his passing Al Sharpton says:
“Rodney King was a symbol of civil rights movement of our time”
Sadly I tend to agree with Sharpton. Rodney King’s life and death are profoundly symbolic.
hattip sibilj / CR