Are you kidding me? The cops overreacted but King was hardly an innocent victim.
King was on parole for a robbery conviction. On
March 3,
1991, he led police on a high speed pursuit. In an interview, King later said that he did not pull over as he feared being returned to prison. After driving through several red lights and
stop signs, he pulled over in the
Lake View Terrace district. The incident, minus the first few minutes after King stopped, was captured on video by a private citizen, George Holliday, from his apartment. King had a record for drunk-driving, and the officers involved testified that they believed him to be under the influence of the dissociative
phencyclidine (PCP). The defendants also alleged that he resisted arrest and continued to resist even after being
tasered, tackled, and struck with
batons, although the video does not show this.
He also attempted to grab the weapon of one officer at the scene at the start of the altercation, before Holliday began recording. He also attacked the officers before Holliday turned on his video recorder. The video became an international media sensation and a touchstone for activists in Los Angeles and around the USA.