Man who filmed Rodney King beating dies of COVID: report
The man who filmed the brutal Rodney King beating that sparked the 1992 Los Angeles riots has reportedly died after being hospitalized with COVID-19.
George Holliday, 61, had been hospitalized in Simi Valley, Calif., with worsening symptoms since mid-August, according to TMZ.
In March 1991, Holliday, then a plumber, grabbed his video camera and filmed from his balcony as Los Angeles Police Department officers brutalized King, an unarmed Black man arrested for driving while intoxicated.
King suffered a broken right leg, cuts and bruises to his face and body after being hit with a billy club and a burn to his chest from a stun gun.
Four LAPD officers were charged. All four were acquitted of assault, and three were acquitted of using excessive force. A jury deadlocked on the excessive force charge against a fourth officer.
Within hours of the verdicts, riots broke out in the streets of L.A. over six days as protesters rallied against the police and judicial systems.
In late 1992, three of the officers were indicted on federal charges for “willfully and intentionally using unreasonable force” and one for “willfully permitting and failing to take action to stop the unlawful assault.”
Officer Laurence Powell and Sergeant Stacey Koon were found guilty and sentenced to 30 months in prison. Timothy Wind and Theodore Briseno were acquitted of all charges but fired by the LAPD anyway.
King also sued the city of Los Angeles and won a $3.8 million settlement.
Last summer, Holliday auctioned off the video camera.
