Rodney King found dead at 47

Los Angeles - Rodney King, whose beating by police sparked the Los Angeles riots of 1992, has been found dead, aged 47. King came to international attention when a video of his beating by police appeared on television.

Rodney King's body was found at the bottom of a swimming pool by his fiancée, the BBC reported. According to 8 News Now, Cynthia Kelly telephoned the police in Rialto, California, in the early hours of Sunday morning. Attempts to revive him failed and King was pronounced dead at a local hospital. There was no evidence of foul play and police are conducting an investigation into his drowning. During the riots which followed the acquittal of the four police officers filmed beating King, 53 people died and thousands were injured. Cynthia Kelly was the only black juror on the jury which awarded King $3.8 million in compensation for the beating he received by four police officers.