*Rodney King, perhaps the most famous victim of a police beating, is newly-engaged to one of the jurors who awarded him a $3.8 million settlement 16 years ago, RadarOnline reported today.
King and Cynthia Kelley said they felt sparks after meeting each other in a Newport Beach pizzeria the day after the controversial 1994 jury award, but both were married at the time.
King and his wife separated around the time he joined the cast of VH1′s “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” following multiple arrests for using PCP.
Rodney King and fiancee Cynthia Kelley
Four months ago, the 44-year-old called Kelley on a whim and found out she was single as well.
“We hadn’t spoken to each other for many years, and it just so happened that we reconnected….It was like we were never apart from one another,” Kelley told Radar.
“She is a godsend, a blessing in my life,” King told the website. “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 symbol of police brutality when a video camera caught a group of white cops repeatedly striking the black cab driver while he was on the ground following a high-speed chase. Four officers were tried for using excessive force but later acquitted, sparking race riots that left 55 dead, more than 2,000 injured, and King’s infamous quote, “Can’t we all just get along?”
Eurweb.com
