Rodney King - Later Life

Later Life

King successfully sued the city of Los Angeles in a federal civil rights case. The court jury awarded King $3.8 million and awarded King's attorneys $1.7 million in statutory attorney’s fees, which were in addition to the $3.8 million. King's lawyer, Stephen Lerman, distributed the attorney’s fees to the lawyers who worked on King's behalf. King then sued Lerman for legal malpractice claiming King was entitled to those attorney’s fees instead of his lawyers. Lerman successfully defended himself in the action by having the case dismissed on summary judgment, which was affirmed on appeal.

King continued to get into trouble after the 1991 incident. On August 21, 1993, he crashed his car into a block wall in downtown Los Angeles. He was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol, fined, entered an alcohol rehabilitation program and was placed on probation. In July 1995, he was arrested by Alhambra police, after hitting 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. King invested a portion of his settlement in a record label, Straight Alta-Pazz Records, which went under. On August 27, 2003, King was arrested again for speeding and running a red light while under the influence of alcohol. He failed to yield to police officers and slammed his vehicle into a house, breaking his pelvis. On November 29, 2007, while riding home on his bicycle, King was shot in the face, arms, and back with pellets from a shotgun. He reported that it was done by a man and a woman who demanded his bicycle and shot him when he rode away. Police described the wounds as looking like they came from birdshot, but said King offered few details about the suspects.

In May 2008, King checked into the Pasadena Recovery Center in Pasadena, California, where he filmed as a cast member of the second season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which premiered in October 2008. Dr. Drew Pinsky, who runs the facility, showed concern for King's lifestyle and said that King would die unless his addiction were treated. He also appeared on Sober House, a Celebrity Rehab spin-off focusing on a sober living environment, which aired in early 2009. Both shows filmed King's quest not only to achieve sobriety, but to reestablish a relationship with his family, which had been severely damaged due to his drinking and law-breaking.

During his time on Celebrity Rehab and Sober House, King worked on his addiction and on the lingering trauma of the beating. He and Pinsky retraced his path from the night of his beating, eventually reaching the spot where it happened, the site of the Children's Museum of Los Angeles.

King won a celebrity boxing match against ex-Chester City (Delaware County, Pennsylvania) police officer Simon Aouad on Friday, September 11, 2009, at the Ramada Philadelphia Airport in Essington, Pennsylvania.

In 2009, King and other Celebrity Rehab alumni appeared as panel speakers to a new group of addicts at the Pasadena Recovery Center, marking 11 months of sobriety for him. His appearance was aired in the third season episode "Triggers".

In surprising news on September 9, 2010, it was confirmed that King was going to marry Cynthia Kelley, who had been a juror in the civil suit King brought against the City of Los Angeles when he was awarded $3.8 million.

On March 3, 2011, the 20th anniversary of the beating, King was stopped by LAPD for driving erratically. He was issued a citation for driving with an expired license. This arrest led to his February 2012 misdemeanor conviction for reckless driving.

On April 12, 2012, King released a statement to the media regarding the Trayvon Martin shooting. King said he was "grieving for Trayvon Martin" and stated how the scream on the audio of George Zimmerman's 911 call reminded him of his own screaming during his beating by the LAPD.

The BBC quoted King commenting on his legacy. "Some people feel like I'm some kind of hero,". "Others hate me. They say I deserved it. Other people, I can hear them mocking me for when I called for an end to the destruction, like I'm a fool for believing in peace."