Jury Is Seated to Determine King Suit : Trial: Panel must decide how much the city will pay in compensation for injuries in 1991 beating.

A multiracial jury was seated Wednesday for a trial to determine how much money Rodney G. King is due for the 1991 beating he received from police officers.

The seven women and three men were impaneled on the second day of jury selection.

King, 28, is seeking compensation for injuries he sustained in the March 3, 1991, beating. During the first phase of the trial, expected to last about a week, jurors will determine how much King should receive from the city for his injuries. A second phase will determine the responsibility of individual defendants, including the four white police officers accused of beating the black motorist after a traffic stop.

The officers, charged with assault and excessive use of force, were acquitted on state charges, triggering three days of rioting in which 55 died.

Two of them--Stacey C. Koon and Laurence M. Powell--were subsequently found guilty of violating King’s federal civil rights and are serving 30-month prison sentences.

The city and King’s attorneys had been trying to reach a settlement for the amount the city would pay to compensate King for his physical injuries. A trial would be held to determine punitive damages.

King’s attorney, Milton Grimes, said Tuesday he had reduced his demand for $9.5 million but declined to provide figures. The city had offered $1.25 million.