Rodney King faces new arrest

Los Angeles:  Rodney King, whose videotaped beating by police ultimately led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence on Tuesday, police said.

King was behind the wheel of a 1994 Mitsubishi when he was pulled over in Moreno Valley, in Southern California’s Riverside County, the city’s police department reported. Officers saw King — who has acknowledged a longstanding drinking problem — commit “several traffic violations,” a police statement said.

“A preliminary evaluation of the driver indicated he was possibly driving while impaired. The subject was transported to the Moreno Valley Police Department for a further evaluation,” police said. He was booked after that further evaluation, they said.

King’s 1991 beating by Los Angeles police officers after a traffic stop left him with skull fractures and brain and kidney damage. It was captured on video by a nearby resident, and four officers were indicted as a result.

But their trial the following year led to three acquittals and a mistrial in the predominantly white suburb of Simi Valley, verdicts that set off three days of riots in African-American neighborhoods. By the time it was over, 55 people were dead, more than 2,000 were hurt, and property damage exceeded $1 billion.

Two of the officers were later convicted of federal civil rights charges, and King won $3.8 million in damages from the city in a civil suit.

King was on parole for robbery at the time of the beating and has had several run-ins with the law in the ensuing years. He served a 90-day jail term in 1996 for a hit-and-run involving his wife at the time, and pleaded guilty in 2004 to reckless driving and driving under the influence of a controlled substance.

In March, he was cited for driving without a license after being pulled over in Arcadia, California.