King’s Lawyers, City in Last-Ditch Bid to Settle Lawsuit

Attorneys for Rodney G. King and the city of Los Angeles are engaged in a last-ditch effort to reach an out-of-court settlement in a lawsuit to determine how much King should be compensated for the injuries he received from his 1991 beating by police.

Negotiations for a settlement took place Tuesday while both sides were in the midst of selecting a 10-member jury for the trial against the city and officers involved in the beating.

The city has admitted liability, so the jury will be called upon to decide how much money King should receive for injuries. Thus far, the two sides have been far apart. King was reported to be asking for $9.5 million; the city has offered $1.2 million. On Tuesday, Milton Grimes, King’s attorney, said he had lowered his demands in an effort to reach an agreement.

“We are negotiating, we have moved,” Grimes said.

City officials say that negotiations have been ongoing, but they were reluctant to release details. If the trial goes forward, it will be conducted in two stages. The first phase will determine the amount King should be compensated for his injuries. In a second phase, the panel will have to decide if the individual officers should pay him punitive damages.

A total of 15 defendants are named in the suit, including former Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, nine officers who watched the beating, four officers who took part in it and the city of Los Angeles.