WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — Rodney King, the police beating victim who became an indelible chapter in Los Angeles history, is engaged to one of the jurors who awarded him a $3.8 million settlement in a civil suit against the Los Angeles Police Department, RadarOnline reported this week.
King and Cynthia Kelley said they first felt a spark when they met in a pizzeria the day after the controversial 1994 jury award.
There were obstacles to the relationship from the beginning: King and Kelly were both married. After each had divorced, they started dating, only to break up when King joined the cast of VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew” in 2008, after multiple arrests for being under the influence of PCP.
Four months ago, King, 44, called Kelley on a whim to see if she was still single. “It just so happened that we reconnected. … It was like we were never apart from one another,” Kelley said.
“She is a godsend, a blessing in my life,” King said. “I don’t know what I would have done without her in my life. … I can’t wait to make her my wife.”
King became a national figure when a video camera caught a group of white cops repeatedly striking the black cabdriver while he was on the ground following a high-speed chase.
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