Rodney King’s white Hyundai came to a stop on a busy San Fernando Valley street in front of a sprawling apartment complex.
It was 12:30 a.m. Sunday, and the flashing lights of several patrol cars illuminated the scene. A police helicopter circled overhead, and its thumping sound began to draw tenants to their windows. At least one of them reached for a home video camera.
In the next few minutes, King would be surrounded by at least a dozen Los Angeles police officers, some of whom beat him fiercely. The officers apparently were unaware they were being recorded on videotape.
The officers involved would report later that the beating was justified by King’s threatening actions in the first seconds when he emerged from his car.
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