Rodney King Charged With Drunk Driving : Crime: He is cited after allegedly smashing a vehicle into a wall. It is his fourth arrest since the infamous 1991 beating.

Rodney G. King, whose videotaped beating by Los Angeles police generated a national furor and triggered last year’s riots, was arrested early Saturday on suspicion of drunk driving after allegedly crashing a car into a block wall.

Los Angeles police said King’s blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when the accident occurred about 1:40 a.m. just west of downtown Los Angeles.

He was taken into custody without incident--his fourth arrest since the 1991 videotaped beating--and apologized to officers for his “crazy driving,” according to Cmdr. David Gascon, an LAPD spokesman.

King was taken to Los Angeles police headquarters at Parker Center, cited for misdemeanor drunk driving and released about three hours later on his own recognizance. Two unnamed male passengers with King at the time of the accident were not booked.

No one was injured in the crash.

Although police said King’s arrest did not receive any special handling, they acknowledged that LAPD field supervisors quickly responded to the scene after officers realized whom they were dealing with. In addition, Chief Willie L. Williams and other LAPD brass were telephoned in the middle of the night and alerted to the situation.

After receiving witness reports of an accident involving a possible drunk driver, Central Traffic Division officers found King sitting behind the wheel of a blue, 1986 Chevrolet Blazer near 4th and Boylston streets, Gascon said. The vehicle had crashed into a seven-foot wall, sustaining moderate damage and a flat tire.

No alcohol was found in the vehicle, and Gascon declined to discuss what King had been drinking or where. The accident occurred about a block from Glamslam, a popular nightspot.

Officers subjected King to a field sobriety test, which he failed, Gascon said. King was taken to Parker Center where he submitted to a breath test that registered a 0.19% blood-alcohol reading, police said. California’s legal limit is 0.08%.

King was booked on misdemeanor rather than felony drunk driving, Gascon said, because there were no injuries and no other vehicles were involved in the incident. Instead of jail time, a conviction on misdemeanor drunk driving usually carries a fine or suspension of one’s driver’s license.

King allegedly was in a similar state of intoxication in March, 1991, when he was beaten with police batons and kicked by officers after a high speed chase through the San Fernando Valley. He was on probation for robbery at the time.

After four officers charged in the case were acquitted of assault in April, 1992, in state court, Los Angeles was wracked by the worst U.S. riots in this century. Two officers, Stacey C. Koon and Laurence M. Powell, were convicted in federal court this year of violating King’s civil rights and each was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.

King was arrested in Hollywood in May, 1991, after police alleged that he tried to run down an undercover vice officer who surprised him with a transvestite prostitute. No charges were filed.

In June, 1992, King was taken into custody after his wife accused him of beating her, but she declined to press charges.

King also was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving last year after police said he was driving erratically in a restaurant parking lot, but prosecutors dropped the case for lack of evidence.

Friends and family members have accused authorities of harassing King to hurt his chances of winning a large settlement stemming from his 1991 beating. His pending lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles seeks $56 million--$1 million for each baton blow he reportedly received.

King and his attorney, Milton C. Grimes, are said to be negotiating a settlement that would pay King an estimated $5 million to $8 million. Neither King nor Grimes could be reached for comment.