FONTANA, Calif. - Rodney King, whose videotaped beating by police officers sparked the Los Angeles riots of 1992, has pleaded innocent to charges stemming from an April car crash.
King pleaded innocent to one misdemeanor count each of reckless driving, driving under the influence of PCP and being under the influence of PCP.
Police said King raced through a Rialto intersection at more than 100 mph on April 13 before losing control, striking a utility pole, careening into a fence and hitting a house. King suffered a fractured pelvis and cracked ribs.
Authorities said tests revealed he had PCP in his system.
He was ordered to return to court July 9 for a pretrial hearing.
Outside court, King acknowledged he "may have been speeding a bit" but denied being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He said he lost control of the car when he hit potholes on a poorly maintained street in Rialto, where he now lives.
King had been pulled over in 1991 when he was beaten by police officers who said he acted menacingly and refused to follow their orders. A bystander videotaped four white officers pummeling King, who is black.
After a jury acquitted the officers in 1992, riots broke out across Los Angeles and lasted four days, leaving 55 people dead and more than 2,000 injured. The mayhem caused $1 billion in property damage.
King received a $3.8 million settlement from Los Angeles in 1994.
He had several run-ins with the law in the years that followed and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and four years probation in 1999 for spousal abuse. In 2001 he pleaded no contest to indecent exposure and being under the influence of PCP and was sentenced to a year in a drug treatment center.
King pleaded innocent to one misdemeanor count each of reckless driving, driving under the influence of PCP and being under the influence of PCP.
Police said King raced through a Rialto intersection at more than 100 mph on April 13 before losing control, striking a utility pole, careening into a fence and hitting a house. King suffered a fractured pelvis and cracked ribs.
Authorities said tests revealed he had PCP in his system.
He was ordered to return to court July 9 for a pretrial hearing.
Outside court, King acknowledged he "may have been speeding a bit" but denied being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He said he lost control of the car when he hit potholes on a poorly maintained street in Rialto, where he now lives.
King had been pulled over in 1991 when he was beaten by police officers who said he acted menacingly and refused to follow their orders. A bystander videotaped four white officers pummeling King, who is black.
After a jury acquitted the officers in 1992, riots broke out across Los Angeles and lasted four days, leaving 55 people dead and more than 2,000 injured. The mayhem caused $1 billion in property damage.
King received a $3.8 million settlement from Los Angeles in 1994.
He had several run-ins with the law in the years that followed and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and four years probation in 1999 for spousal abuse. In 2001 he pleaded no contest to indecent exposure and being under the influence of PCP and was sentenced to a year in a drug treatment center.
