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The burden of being Rodney King

Rodney King became a symbol of police brutality when his beating sparked the 1991 Los Angeles riots. Offensive language has been bleeped since this was originally broadcast.

Offensive language has been bleeped since this audio was originally broadcast. This programme first aired on 28 May, 2012.

Matthew Bannister is in conversation with Rodney King, the black motorist whose brutal beating by police sparked the Los Angeles riots in 1991.

When an all-white jury acquitted the police officers involved, violence erupted in which more than fifty people died, thousands were injured and the damage ran into hundreds of millions of dollars.

Rodney King became a symbol of police brutality towards black people, and the incident has taken its place in the history of the American civil rights movement.

Rodney recalls those momentous events, and talks about his own battles with alcohol and crime.

(Image: Rodney King. Credit: Reuters)

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Tue 29 May 2012 01:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Mon 28 May 2012 12:32GMT
  • Mon 28 May 2012 19:32GMT
  • Mon 28 May 2012 23:32GMT
  • Tue 29 May 2012 01:32GMT

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