Rodney King

Prior to driving on the Foothill Freeway, the three men had spent the night watching a basketball game and drinking at a friend's house in Los Angeles. Five hours after the incident, King's blood-alcohol level was found to be slightly under the legal limit, indicating his blood alcohol level was at .19 while he was driving, which is more than twice the legal driving limit in California. At 12:30 am, Officers Tim and Melanie Singer, who were husband-and-wife members of the California Highway Patrol, noticed King's car speeding on the freeway. The officers pursued King, and the pursuit attained high speeds, while King refused to pull over. King would later admit he attempted to outrun the police at dangerously high speeds because a charge of driving under the influence would violate his parole for a previous robbery conviction.

King exited the freeway and the pursuit continued through residential surface streets, at speeds ranging from 55 to 80 miles per hour. By this point, several police cars and a police helicopter had joined the pursuit. After approximately eight miles, officers cornered King in his car. The first five LAPD officers to arrive at the scene were Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseno, and Rolando Solano. Read Less

He failed to yield to police officers and slammed his vehicle into a house, breaking his pelvis. Read Less