Rodney King Engaged to Juror Who Awarded Him Millions

Rodney King, whose senseless beating by the Los Angeles police became fodder for news outlets worldwide, became engaged to one of the jurors who awarded him a $3.8 million settlement in a civil suit against the LAPD reported RadarOnline.

King met former juror Cynthia Kelley a day after he was awarded the money at a pizza shop.

Reportedly, Kelley was King's strongest supporter during the trial.

When they met, they were both married at the time. After they each got divorced, though, they began a relationship that ended when King agreed to take part in the VH-1 reality TV show "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" in 2008. King had admittedly become addicted to PCP and wanted to kick the habit.

On a whim last May, the 44-year-old King decided to call Kelley to see if she was still available, and as luck would have it, she was:

"It just so happened that we reconnected. "... It was like we were never apart from one another," Kelley told Radar. "She is a Godsend, a blessing in my life," King told the website. "I don't know what I would have done without her in my life. "... I can't wait to make her my wife."

King rose to national prominence back in March of 1992. He was a cab driver chauffeuring two passengers and speeding. Police spotted him and gave chase. King was afraid that since he had been drinking, he would be arrested for drunk driving, so instead of stopping, he decided to try and lose the policemen who were on his trail.

Several other police cruisers and a helicopter were summoned called to the scene. When police finally caught up to King, the situation only intensified: He refused to exit his car at first, then complied. Officers testified that King reached toward his back pockets and they thought he was going for a gun. More police approached King and eventually tasered him.

King was thrown to the ground and what occurred thereafter became pages in a history book: A posse of white policemen began pummeling King, even while he was lying helpless. The 25-year-old cab driver was beaten to a pulp with fists, batons and swift hard kicks by four officers while 10 other policemen just stood around and watched. Unbeknown to law enforcement, though, a man had been videotaping the entire incident.

After the merciless beating, King was taken to a hospital where he was diagnosed with 11 skull fractures, permanent brain damage, broken [bones and teeth], kidney damage and emotional and physical trauma. One of the nurses overheard some of the officers who had accompanied King to the hospital joking and bragging about the number of times he had been struck.

Even though the videotaped footage was aired by news agencies around the world, sparking anger and unrest particularly in the Los Angeles area, the four policemen involved in King's attack were acquitted.

The acquittals sparked the 1992 L.A. riots, which left more than 50 people dead and resulted in $1 billion in damages. A subsequent federal trial for civil rights violations ended with two of the officers being found guilty and sent to prison while the other two were acquitted.

 

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