Famous Mom and I stepped of a plane after travelling all day yesterday, and she asked as I was looking at the news on my phone if anything happened while we were out of town, and apparently, Rodney King discovered his kryptonite was not police batons, but water.
Let's just get out of the way the fact that excessive and unnecessary force was used by the cops on March 3, 1991 when King was "arrested" and dispense with any shock at my making light of his death. It was unjust, as was the trial resulting in four exonerated police and the '92 riots. But while others may take the time to praise Caesar King, I have come to bury him.
No person should get the beatdown King received (unless you're talking about the likes of Evil Dick Cheney or Karl Rove, and they don't really qualify as people), but let's remember that King was an already convicted felon (robbery!) on parole leading police on a drunken high-speed chase while more than twice the legal drinking limit . Again, not justification, but this wasn't a little old lady coming back from BINGO night at her church. Had King only become the icon he was given the chance to be, uttering his famous "Can't we all just get along?", then certainly his passing - or chance at a positive legacy, would not be tainted.
Shakespeare (who you'd never expect mentioned in the same breath Rodney King) did say that some men were born great, while others had greatness thrust upon them, and although it was really a dick joke from Twelfth Night, it has come to reflect rising to the situation, and King could not become that person. Even Jesse Jackson, who has squandered much of the respect he had when he first came into the public eye, made more of himself due to his association with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but Rodney King was not made of the material to transcend himself.
So what happened to King in the years afterwards? Here's some of his greatest hits:
• August 21, 1993: King crashed his car into a block wall in downtown Los Angeles, and was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol. He received a fine, entered an alcohol rehabilitation program and was placed on probation.
• July 1995: King was arrested by Alhambra police, alleging he hit his wife with his car. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail after being convicted of hit and run
• King invested a large portion of his $3.8 million settlement in a record label, Straight Alta-Pazz Records. It quickly folded
• August 27, 2003: King was arrested again for speeding and running a red light while under the influence of alcohol. He did not yield to police officers and slammed his vehicle into a house, breaking his pelvis.
• November 29, 2007: King claims was shot in the face, arms, and back with pellets from a shotgun while riding home on a bike, though police described the wounds as looking like they came from birdshot. He offered few details about the suspects, a man and woman, who demanded his bicycle and shot him as he fled.
• May 2008: King checked into the Pasadena Recovery Center and is cast member of the second season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.
• September 9, 2010: King plans to marry Cynthia Kelley, a juror in the civil suit he brought against the city of Los Angeles.
• March 3, 2011 (the 20th anniversary of the beating): King was stopped by LAPD for driving erratically and was issued a citation for driving with an expired license. It led to a February 2012 conviction for reckless driving.
His pool drowning in the early hours at his home yesterday unexpectedly punctuates the historical footnote that Rodney King will become, a victim of circumstance, but not an innocent.
*with apologies to Faith No More
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