KEY FIGURE IN L.A. RIOTS FACES DRUG CHARGE

Claremont

Rodney King, whose videotaped police beating sparked the 1992 Los Angeles
riots, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of being under the influence of
PCP, police said.

Two officers responded to a Howard Johnson's motel after a clerk called
police about 7:30 a.m. to report that a guest appeared to be under the
influence of drugs or alcohol, Lt. Gary Jenkins said.

King, 36, of Altadena, was examined at a hospital and then booked for
investigation of being under the influence of PCP, a misdemeanor. He was
released on his own recognizance pending an Oct. 2 hearing in Superior
Court in Pomona.

King, who is black, was beaten by Los Angeles police officers on March 3,
1991. When four white officers charged in the beating were acquitted of
state charges a year later, the city erupted in riots. Two of the officers
were later found guilty in federal court of violating King's civil rights.