Police: King death was accidental
Published 8:41 pm Thursday, August 23, 2012
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Rodney King had been drinking and was on drugs when he plunged into a swimming pool and accidentally drowned in June, a coroner’s report released Thursday concluded.
The report confirmed a previous police conclusion that King died by accident, and the case will be closed, Rialto police Capt. Randy DeAnda said.
“It concludes our investigation,” he said. “Basically, our investigation revealed the same conclusion and now that we have the toxicology, it basically reinforces that.”
King, whose videotaped beating by Los Angeles police in 1991 led to deadly rioting, had long struggled with addiction.
A call from King’s fiancee brought police to his Rialto home at 5:30 a.m. on June 17. Officers pulled him from the bottom of the pool, and he was pronounced dead at a hospital.