Victim’s Account of the Police Beating

The following is an edited transcript of Rodney King’s account of his beating and the events that led up to it. It was delivered to the media Wednesday from jail before his release. King opened with a short statement, which was followed by questions from reporters.

I got pulled over by an officer. He said, “Pull the car over.” Shortly after that, I got off the freeway and I pulled to the slow lane and I pulled over toward the curb and stopped the car.

He said, “Put your hands where I could see them. . . .” I put my hands up towards the front windshield. . . . They said, “Take your left hand, open up the car door.” I took my left hand and I opened up the car door. And I left my left hand outside the car door (and) put my other hand outside the car door . . . where they could see it. . . .

They said, “Get out of the car, lay down.” I got out the car and I laid down. They said, “Face down on the pavement, face down. . . .”

They already had their guns out and everything and they walked over, they handcuffed me and tied me and then they shocked me . . . with some kind of device . . . and they struck me across the face.

After they shocked me the first time, they paused for a minute and then they struck me across the face real hard with a billy club. . . . I was laying face down with my hands tied and they shocked me again on the other side of my shoulder. . . .

I could hear some kind of little rumbling back in the back, something like, “Turn your head, turn your head. Turn around, turn around.” And after that, they continued to pound on me and beat on me, all over my body, all over my body.

My ankles, they beat where it hurt in my ankles. They beat my whole body where it hurt. You know how it feels when you get your ankles or your knees hit in football? It hurts. It hurts real bad, ‘cause it was hit with a stick. And the same with my face, my jaw.

I was scared. I was scared. I was scared for my life. So I laid down real calmly and took it like a man.

King was asked if he resisted the officers or struck back.

No, no, no. I wouldn’t strike back. . . . No one would strike back against four or five guns aimed at him. When I went to move the other hand out the car, immediately I was looking down a barrel of one of the officer’s guns. I could tell you how much lint was in the barrel.

He was asked about police accounts that he led them on a 115-m.p.h. chase.

There was no chase. I didn’t see any police lights until I got off the freeway and got a few blocks down. That’s when I noticed the police (were) in back of me, pulling to the side and then pulling to the curb. There was no chase.

Why, then, did he think police stopped him?

I may have been speeding just a little bit. The speed limit is 40, uh, 35. And I was going maybe 40, 45 miles an hour.

What did he hear during the incident?

I couldn’t hear. . . . I heard a little bit of yelling and . . . they beat me so bad I could not pay attention to what they were saying.

King was asked what he thought of the police.

They consider themselves different humans than we are. . . . They’re all a family. And they’re a big family and they’re one family, and we’re another family.