Who is Lora King? Rodney King's daughter finds Tyre Nichols' arrest video 'very sickening'
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: Five Memphis police officers were fired and detained on January 26 after the alleged murder of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old man. The incident allegedly happened on January 7 after Nichols was pulled over for allegedly driving recklessly; the stop quickly turned into a terrifying nightmare. Since this tragedy emerged, there has been outrage by the public. Recently, Rodney King's daughter spoke up for Tyre Nichols, as her father faced similar police brutality in the 90s.
Rodney King's daughter, Lora King, compared Tyre Nichols' tragic beating to her own father's abuse at the hands of police officers more than 30 years ago with ABC News' Phil Lipof. She said, “I think it’s very sickening. The benefit of the doubt is like, why are we still here? This doesn’t make any sense to me.”
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She added, “It’s very sickening. My stomach has been in a knot since I first heard about this. That man doesn’t deserve that, he didn’t, and I am scared to watch that video, but I know what’s to come. He probably begged for his life ... guess we are still here [in 2023]. And when they say, 'I hope justice is served,' I don’t believe in that because this man is dead.”
“There is no justice, and I just got word that officers are out on bail. That’s a slap in the face, and that’s highly disrespectful, I don’t even know how to feel. That’s sick to me; that’s very sickening.” She further added, "You know I have hope in the sense that they didn’t release that video to everyone all at once, unlike my dad. That police video was released to everyone [and] we had to watch it with everybody; that’s indescribable..."
Who is Lora King?
Lora King founded the Rodney King Foundation for Social Justice and Human Rights three years ago in honor of her father. Additionally, she has spoken at Black History Month gatherings, and in 2018 she was a special guest at the Network of Korean-American Leaders gala, as per Los Angeles Times.
On March 3, 1991, following his arrest for DUI, King was assaulted by the police. George Holliday, a bystander, recorded the incident from his balcony and sent the video to a news outlet. King was unarmed, on the ground, and brutally beaten by police in the video. Police claimed that King had resisted arrest. The incident quickly gained notoriety, was covered by news outlets worldwide, and incited rage among the populace. King claimed that after the beating, he sustained 11 skull fractures, permanent brain damage, broken bones and teeth, and kidney failure. He was taken to the hospital, as reported by MEAWW. Lora was only seven years old when her father was beaten up.
On June 17, 2012, King drowned and died. He was discovered dead at the bottom of his pool by his wife, Cynthia Kelley. King accidentally drowned, according to the autopsy results that were released to the public on August 23, 2012. He tested positive for alcohol, cocaine, and PCP, and these drugs, along with cardiomegaly and focal myocardial fibrosis — all these factors contributed to his death.
In the Nichol's case, all five cops implicated in his killing were fired immediately, and on Thursday, January 26, they were arrested and charged with second-degree murder. They are also charged with official misconduct, official oppression, and aggravated kidnapping.