cnn presents "race and rage: the beating of rodney king." beating of rodney king." it begins in just a few moments. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> what do you think when you see it? >> stay alive. i knew that i had to survive this. i went up like that with my hands up. showed no threat. >> this was a lynching on video. >> with the jury in the above-entitled action find the defendants -- >> i think the verdicts lit a match. but the tinder was already in place and very dry. >> are you able to forgive those cops? have you let those demons go? did you hang on to that money or did you throw it away. >> can we -- can we all get along? can we -- can we get along? >> march 3rd, 1991. 25-year-old rodney king is thrust from obscurity to a national symbol of police brutality. the brutal beating that took place here along foothill boulevard in los angeles, california, would reverberate across the country. >> reporter: a city in flames. entire neighborhoods burned to the ground. now, two decades later, what's it like to be the man whose beating seen round the world ig

they didn't see rodney king on the ground.hey didn't see him get up and run at powell. >> reporter: why do you think the jurors came to a not guilty verdict? >> in a use of force case, if the officers do what they're trained to do, how can you find them guilty of a crime? and the jury understood that. that rodney king was always the aggressor. rodney king had the ability at any time to say, that's it. i don't want anymore. and he never did. >> reporter: but your initial reaction when you heard not guilty, not guilty, not guilty, not guilty? >> the public was not going to accept it. >> reporter: and king was right. this is the reaction just outside the courthouse. >> back up now. >> reporter: sheriff's deputies having to protect sergeant stacey koon as he makes his way to his car. movie director john singleton is in the crowd and makes a chilling prediction. >> by having this verdict, what these people have done, they've lit the fuse to a bomb. >> reporter: within just two hours after the verdict, downtown los angeles is a war

the riot within by rodney king. word. >> thanks for having >> romney now says the rich like him should be congratulated, let

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a who done it baffling police. 20 years later, rodney king on the beating, the acquittal and the riots that set l.a. ablaze. and to the dogs. a new breed looking to collar a and to the dogs. a new breed looking to collar a whole new audience. captions paid for by nbc-universal television . >>> good eveningeveryone. from high above the stunning campus of pepperdine university where i delivered the commencement address earlier today for the class of 2012. we'll share moments of that later in the broadcast. but we want to start with an intriguing story of one brave's man who cold, bold move could complicate relations between two world powers. it's playing out in china where in the middle of the night a leading human rights activist outsmarted china's elaborate security apparatus. escaped from house arrest and may now be at the u.s. embassy in beijing. what makes it all the more remarkable is that chen is blind. this comes just days before secretary of state hillary clinton travels to china and could complicate relations between the countries at an especially sensitive time. we get the sto

>> joining me now, rodney king, his book, the riot within.m rebellion to redemption. thank you for your time tonight, rodney. >> thanks for having me. >> it's been 20 years, and you have, from day one, said you did not want to see any violence. you only wanted justice, and 20 years later, the country has grown, changed, yet we still have a lot of challenges. in your book, the riot within, that people can get now at bookstor bookstores, you said i don't want to the be remembered as the person who started the riots. i'd like to be remembered for the person who threw water on the whole thing. you çknow? i want to be remembered as the person who tried to keep peace in this country, that di my part. dpl what do you mean by that? >> i would prefer to be remembered as a person who was part of a resolution. you know, not a part of the problem. we have a younger generation that's growing every year, you know, there is a new adult people coming into this country, and kids being born in this country, and we have to leave a legacy for them, something fo

rodney change is one of the most famous names on that list. join me later to share his feelings about trayvon martin and what happened to him when he was nearly beaten to death by los angeles police officers. >>> and i have said here recently is the most important reason to vote is because of the supreme court. that is the reason to vote for united states senators because they confirm supreme court justices. if the democrats lose the senate in november, then the supreme court could be lost for a generation. former senator bob kerry has decided to run for his old senate seat in nebraska to help the democrats keep control of the senate. he joins me for his first national interview since declaring his candidacy. great shot. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. is this where we'

cnn presents "race and rage: the beating of rodney king." beating of rodney king."ts. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>> just kind an interesting twist in rodney king's life. i sat down and talked with him about his reaction and how he came out and issued those famous words "can we all get along." coming up. >> thanks so much. >>> right now, though, we want to check in with bill karins who's going to tell us about our forecast. >> not quite as interesting. >> not quite as interesting. in fact, i'm downright disappointed by the weather today. >> it's april still. people are forgetting. people want it to be summer because it's been so warm out there. we've had a lot of cool spots. unfortunately people's saturdays are going to get rained out. especially people in southern minnesota. minneapolis, st. paul is not going to be the best. we'll have a chance of a few strong thunderstorms. watch out in missouri, possibly kentucky and tennessee. much of the west coast is nice. showers up in the northeast. the heat's already on. people are cranking their acs after the 100 degrees in texas. you've cooled off in 290s. that still feels like summer. south florida, heavy r

>> rodney king's five simple words have guided the last 20 years as l.a.as invested millions of dollars in south central, applying the lessons of 1992. >> you can't grow and be a great city if you're leaving entire communities behind. >> the l.a.p.d. has repaired much of its image, too, creating partnerships with the community. >> the policeman is radically changed. >> 20 years later, he still struggles with alcohol and occasional run-ins with the law. but remains a symbol with police brutality. >> this is the healing part for me and i accept the role fully. >> in a later trial, he was awarded almost $4 million in a civil suit against the city of los angeles. he has recently written a book called "the riot within." we're back in a moment with more about what went on in malibu today. pretty good excuse for anchoring in paradise. slip-on's the way to go. more people do that, security would be like -- there's no charge for the bag. thanks. i know a quiet little place where we can get some work done. there's a three-prong plug. i have club passes. [ male annou

rodney king. [ chanting ] [ sirens ] >> reporter: a city in flames.hborhoods burned to the ground. now, two decades later, what's it like to be the man whose beating, seen round the world, ignited one of the worst race riots in u.s. history? do you still have nightmares? >> yeah. yeah, i do. >> what's a nightmare? do you wake up like tossing and turning? >> sometimes even hearing the voices, you know, that was going on that night. get down, get down, get down, you f'ing [ expletive ]. those words. i'll have to wake up and -- all right, man, it's all right. look outside. it's all green and blue. >> reporter: king's nightmare begins just after midnight. he and two friends out celebrating head west on the 210 freeway. >> i had just gotten word that my old construction company had called me to come back to work that following monday. >> reporter: but the celebration is cut short. state police caught king's car going 110 miles per hour. and immediately start a nearly eight-mile high-speed chase through l.a. neighborhoods. [ sirens ] >> i was doing 100. i d

police officers of beating rodney king and excessive force.with king and talked about the riots and the impact that upheaval had on los angeles. >> now i'm going to make an awkward turn. finding a bra na fits. you know how difficult that can be. find out why all bras are not created equal when it comes to size. how to get the best fit. >> i fully support you in that story. but first, let's get more of the morning's headlines. tomium mass at the news desk. take it away. >> good morning, everyone. the secret service is operating under a new code of conduct in the wake of the scandal in colombia. the rules prohibit agents with while traveling overseas from drinking excessively, going to racy bars or bringing foreign nationals to hotel rooms. >>> prosecutors are asking a judge to raise the bond for george zimmerman charged with second degree murder in the death of trayvon martin in florida in february. the request came during a hearing on friday after his attorney disclosed his client had raised $200,000 on a website created for his defense. zimme

also at rebel headquarters, rodney king, josh singleton. good night. go time. ♪ >> i don't know if you know this, but the obama administration kind of got osama bin laden. and they're not shy about telling people. this is the vice president. >> osama bin laden is dead, and general motors is alive. >> well, that's a pretty good slogan, and of course the republicans feel hurt. oh, no, don't tell us the truth. here is ed gillispie. >> this is one of the reasons why president obama has become one of the most divisive presidents in history. it was an unifying event for all americans. something that governor romney congratulated him for completing the mission in terms of killing osama bin laden, and he has turned it into a divisive, partisan, political attack. >> what a joker, ed gillispie is. he makes jokes for a living. are you kidding me? you worked in the bush administration. you invented divisive, and on this issue, oh my god if john kerry gets elected we're going to die. now you're telling me it's not right to run on national security? the only differe

someone who doesn't is rodney king.let's listen who what rodney king said. >> i had never seen someone lose that much blood and live. [hip-hop music] >> rodney king took 56 baton blows that night. he had nine skull fractures a shattered high, a broken leg concussion and nerve damage that left his face partially paralyzed. >> your work is about hip-hop. this is about hip-hop and the l.a. riots. what did hip-hop have to play in it or what happen coming out of it. >> we explored what was the connection between music and social change during that time. no one had exploreed music in this time period and how it impacted history. a lot of footage that we unearthed, amateur footage that no one has seen before, it confirms our suspicions that music was not a rallying cry for the riots. it was not driving people out of their homes to do what they did, but it was an unifying factor in the community at that time. >> nwa had a song for what we'll call ," if the police." let's listen to them talk about that a little bit. >> hip-hop b

riots that followed rodney king's beating. well, here is what it would look like.ok at this. it is the l.a. riots in realtime on twitter and it has been going strong all evening. we'll tell you about it next. ♪ hey, dad, you think i could drive? i'll tell you what -- when we stop to fill it up. ♪ ♪ [ son ] you realize, it's gotta run out sometime. [ male announcer ] jetta tdi clean diesel. the turbo that gets 42 miles per gallon. that's the power of german engineering. ♪ cuban that's the power of german engineering. cajun raw seafood pizza parlor french fondue tex-mex fro-yo tapas puck chinese takeout taco truck free range chicken pancake stack baked alaska 5% cash back. right now, get 5% cash back at restaurants. it pays to discover. you know, typical alarm clock. i am so glad to get rid of it. just to be able to wake up in the morning on your own. that's a big accomplishment to me. i don't know how much money i need. but i know that whatever i have that's what i'm going to live within. ♪ ♪ >>> thanks to the proliferation of smartphones we have grown used to seein

those are most often referred to as the rodney king riots.lk to the man whose beating set it off. >> i really thought i was about to die in there. >> theodore puseeno not guilty of the crime of officer unnecessarily beating or assaulting any person. >> today, the system failed us. >> not guilty. >> a damn shame. >> coon, not guilty. >> police force is not here to protect you but it's there to protect them. >> lawrence m. powell, not guilty. >> i can't believe it. what is this city coming to? >> much of the city of angels came to resemble hell with structure fires, rampant looting, mob violence, heavily arms korean merchants and thesomeble of the african-american community's rage at police headquarters. >> that's one of the proudest moments of my life. i was standing in front of a burning kiosk at the police department. the kiosk turned over and i decided to jump on top of it. there, history was made. >> what was going through my mind at the time was pain and hurt and basically the willingness to die that night for the cause. >> more than 50 p

. >>> who doesn't recognize a rodney king beating?o decades ago, i have a chance to ride with him on a journey back in time. >> death wasn't far away. >> my conversation with rodney king, next. y. actually, it's cruze e-co, not ec-o. just like e-ither. or ei-ther. or e-conomical. [ chuckling ] or ec-onomical. pa-tato, po-tato, huh? actually, it's to-mato, ta-mato. oh, that's right. [ laughs ] [ car door shuts ] [ male announcer ] visit your local chevy dealer today. now very well qualified lessees can get a 2012 chevy cruze ls for around $159 per month. e.p.a. estimated 36 miles per gallon highway. [ slap! ] [ slap! slap! slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums the key is to have a good strategy. the same goes for my retirement. with the plan my financial advisor and i put together, a quick check and i know my retirement is on course. [ male announcer ] with wells fargo advisor's envision plan, you al

. >>> and rodney king and the police beating and nearly los angeles being burnt down. 20 years after the riots, what does king think about trayvon and race and what it takes to keep america great? my exclusive interview. >>> and julia louis-dreyfus having a ball as a vice president, but is she mocking sarah palin? i'll ask her. >>> then only in america, a very pushy mother and the ghastly prom queen billboard for her daughter. this is "piers morgan tonight." >>> good evening. a big story tonight, george zimmerman granted bail and perhaps hours away from freedom. the man charged with murdering trayvon martin will be released on $150,000 bond. zimmerman apologized publicly to trayvon martin's parents today and the prosecutor grilled him about it. listen to this. >> why did you wait so long to tell mr. martin them? >> i was told not to communicate with them. >> dramatic moments in court. new details in a moment. also rodney king has a lot to say about trayvon's case. in 1991 he was beating by police officers. the officers were acquitted by a mostly white jury. that set off days of riots

. >>> it has now been 20 years since the brutal beating of rodney king by four lapd officers, all of it captured on videotape. when those officers were acquitted by a jury, it triggered some of the worst and most destructive riots this country has ever seen. this week, lester holt sat down with rodney king, asked him about the six simple words he spoke after that verdict that became part of the american lexicon. >> someone had prepared remarks for you. but you decided not to use those. >> i said, no, i'll come from the heart and speak what's in my heart. >> can't we all just get along? >> can't we all just get along? i meant that from my heart, you know. i still mean it to this day. >> more of lester's interview with rodney king tomorrow morning on "today" and then tomorrow evening on "nbc nightly news." >>> there's a threat of severe weather in the midwest this evening and through the weekend once again. our friends at the weather channel are going to be watching it very closely. tonight, we have new video from oklahoma as a tornado passed through the city of norman earlier this mon

let's come back and talk more about this. >>> back now rodney king has written a new book. "the riot within." time for keeping america great. it's a regular segment we run. one of the key things america has to deal with is the issue of race. and how it has moved forward from the days of '60s and '50s. still there's a sense of there's a lot of racism in this country. and that black people don't generally get a fair equality yet in this country. what do you think of that? >> you know, it's probably a whole stigma also because you got to look at the way our country was built. it was built, you know, from slavery days and the process of getting to where we are to this day, to modern day. there's always going to be some type of racism. that's up to us as individuals in this country to look back and see all the accomplishments that we have gotten up to this far. >> when you wrote the book, what are your feelings when you finished it towards the officers who did what they did to you that day 21 years ago? >> first of all, thank goodness that i stayed alive. i mean -- >> could you

rodney says if she did this to me over a silly parking lot incident? >> it probably might happen again. they might feel she's invincible now. >> maybe she thought he wasn't going with the flow of traffic, and that set her off. i know. you don't fire a gun at people because they don't know how to park. >> going the wrong way down the parking lane, but, still -- yeah. >>> surveillance footage from an australian prison is causing quite a stir online. the guy being led into the cell is a 45-year-old inmate being held on domestic violence charges. three guards putting him in the cell. watch what happens as the guards leave. did you see that? yes. he did. he spat on the guard. now, one piece of information about this inmate is that reports say that he has hepatitis c. >> ooh. >> the guard is not happy with what just happened. so watch this guard's reaction. >> oh. >> he just starts punching this inmate. to his upper body, to his face, and then another guard comes in and actually holds the inmate down while this other guard keeps punching him. >> well, you kn

on tuesday, rodney king spoke at the research for black culture in harlem. "book tv" will bring you this event live online. at 630 eastern time, go to "book tv".org and click the watch button on featured programs. you can also check our tv schedule for air times of this event. >> here is a look at some new books being released this week. former secretary of state madeleine albright recounts her childhood in prague winter. nationally syndicated talk radio show host, dennis prager, talks about his new book. investigative journalist roger charles talks about the bombing of the oklahoma city federal building in 1995. he argued that the investigation was mishandled in oklahoma city. what the investigation mess, and also why it still matters. >> in permanent emergency, the truth about the tsa and the fight for the future of american security, a former tsa administrator contends that the united states approach to national security is flawed. robert draper provides an in-depth look at the current house of representatives in do not ask what good we do. inside the u.s

now even rodney king so the l.a.p.d. has learned from this that you won't see something like this happen again but what about other cities it's not just petang as police use sometimes it's guns sometimes tasers that in many cases a result resulted in the suspects dying after repeated shocks to galvanise a managing editor for reason dot com and has been covering this issue extensively i spoke to him earlier about what he thinks are some of the underlying issues and implications of what's going on here. i think we need better data certainly we've we've had this amnesty international report recently citing five hundred deaths at the hands of tasers taser international more or less maintains that nobody has died from tasers any time something happens with you know a non-lethal it's always chalked up to some other thing previous heart condition or the person's drunkenness or he fell down the stairs or he banged his head sixteen times so we need better way of looking at these things there is no doubt that a taser is less deadl

race riots erupted after four white police officers acquitted in the beating of rodney king. 55 people killed and 2300 injured. the rise it's lasted six days causing a billion dollars in property damage. when the rise began when ready was stationed stopped the music and open the phone lines. >>> that day everything changed her >>> and ron askew was on the arm and on the street frustration turned into a rage. >>> there are sure that we as blacks are nothing >>> we became the people who listen to the voice of an angry public >>> nobody else was listening to? >>> note.

also rodney king has a lot to say about trayvon's case. in 1991 he was beating by police officers. the officers were acquitted by a mostly white jury. that set off days of riots. he is with me tonight for an interview on keeping america great, trayvon martin and what he thinks of the police today. and everyone's favorite sitcom star. on politics to her love life. >>> we begin with our big story. george zimmerman granted bail after saying sorry to trayvon martin's parents. with me now is natalie jackson, the co-counsel for the martin family. obviously pretty dramatic day today in many ways. what was the family's reaction to george zimmerman being granted bail and also to his public apology? >> the family was prepared for george zimmerman getting a bail. we talked to them about that. so they were prepared for that. what they weren't prepared for was for george zimmerman to get on the stand and pretty much grand stand. we had talked about this yesterday. his attorney had reached out and also his attorney made media statements that george wanted to meet the family. we said this is not

the case of rodney king.ed and that sparked violent riots that swept l.a. 20 years ago this sunday that left dozens of people dead. more than 1,000 people injured. today 20 years later, rodney king has written his first book reflecting on those events which he writes this. there is no longer a riot raging within me. i'll be the poster child for police brutality but i can try to use that as a positive force for healing and restraint. the book is called "the riot within." let's talk about your path. you write about a rough childhood, which leads you up to this point where you are beaten by police officers. and then it continues to be rough through the trial and really through the end. talk to me a little bit about why you felt like you had to write a book 20 years later. >> so my kids could read about it themselves. they wouldn't have to hear it from someone else. it's a lot of kids in high school, colleges and they send me letters and want to know a bit about the beating 20 years ago. now i have it in book for

rodney king became the face of racial tensions. up until now king has been reluctant to talk publicly about that night. but after 20 years he feels the need to document what happened in his new book "the riot within." >> bam, kicked me in the temple. and broke my jaw and facial area on the right side. and he asked me, how you feel in and then here comes koons. didn't know him by the name then. sergeant koons comes in with the taser, lights me up. and i'm like, whoa, numb, feels like getting whipped with an tension cord. just the current going through my body. and then all i heard was we're going to kill you [ bleep ]. >> reporter: police believed at the time that king was on pcp and that gave him superhuman strength to withstand the blows. rodney king tells a different story. >> it was malt beer. but no pcp. had never done any pcp. i couldn't put had i hands behind my back because you're shocking me. the taser's going through me. and this guy wouldn't stop tasing me. but then they started beating me. honestly, i just wanted them to

dozens killed in the riots that began after the rodney king verdict. a billion dollars in damage to property. in south los angeles there are still signs of destruction >>> jean thompson gathered with their neighbors to rally for the redevelopment of south at l a >>> we all had stores that we would go to the and not come back yet >>> there is still anger over the destruction and and paint left by the l a rights 20 years ago. the violence lasted six days. >>> thousands took to the streets and greek after four white los angeles police officers were acquitted in a videotaped beating of rodney king. a black driver pulled over for speeding. 55 people were killed, more than 2300 injured, including reginald denny who was pulled from his truck and beaten unconscious. francisco rosellas watch the chaos from his bakery. looters burn down the neighborhood grocery. >>> smoke everywhere everywhere burning >>> sun businesses did not rebuild there are plenty of reminders of those that did not >>> a lot of places empty after 20 years >>> in south l.a. incomes are low a

happened to rodney king should have never happened. and what we responded to should have never happened. violence is not an option in fighting violence. >> rodney king, a black motorist was beaten by four lapd officers in march of 1991. king refused to stop when police tried to pull him over when heg. when he finally did, king who was not armed was taken to the ground by the officers with their bough tons. the -- bough tons. the four officers were acquitted on april 29th, 1992 setting off the l.a. riots. >> to protest a beating with killing 55 55 people is to continue the violence rather than answer the violence. >> reverend al on the called on the community to recognize the state of racial tensions in this city has k078 a long way -- has come a long way, but to never forget that there is more progress to be made. >> one year later the four officers were tried in federal court on civil rights charges. two were found guilty and the other two acquitted. king was awarded $3 million in his lawsuit against the city. >>> occupy protesters ho