This Day in History: <br />Rodney King Beating <br />Is Videotaped March 3, 1991 Rodney King, a 25-year-old African American construction worker, is beaten by four white LAPD officers, as George Holliday videotapes <br />from his nearby apartment. King had been involved in a <br />high speed chase with police <br />after he attempted to outrun <br />California Highway Patrol. Unarmed, King was tased twice, <br />struck by officer's batons <br />33 times and kicked six times. Two days after the beating, <br />Holliday took the video <br />to KTLA television. It became an instant media sensation, <br />leading to charges against the officers, <br />of which they were acquitted on April 29, 1992. Within hours of the acquittal, <br />riots broke out in Los Angeles <br />that would last for six days. The riots resulted in 63 deaths, <br />thousands of injuries, fires and <br />over $1 billion in financial losses.
