George Holliday, who filmed Rodney King video, dies of COVID

By The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — George Holliday, the Los Angeles plumber who shot grainy video of four white police officers beating black motorist Rodney King in 1991, has died of complications of COVID-19, a friend said Monday.

Holliday, 61, died Sunday at a Los Angeles hospital, where he had been for more than a month, according to Robert Wollenweber, a longtime friend and former coworker. Holliday was not vaccinated and was on a ventilator in recent days, Wollenweber said.

Holliday was awakened by a traffic stop outside his San Fernando Valley home on March 3, 1991. He went outside to film it with his new video camera, catching the Los Angeles officers punching, kicking and using a stun gun on King, even after he was on the ground.

A year later, the city erupted in widespread violence after the four officers were acquitted in the beating. Hundreds of businesses were looted and destroyed. Entire blocks of homes and stores went up in flames. More than 60 people died by shootings or other violence.

King’s daughter, Lora Dene King, expressed condolences to Holliday’s family in a statement obtained by the Daily News.

“The King family will be forever grateful to George Holliday, who had the courage and conviction to hold the LAPD accountable in their brutal beating of my father Rodney,” the statement said.

Holliday’s death was first reported by TMZ.com.

The Associated Press



Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today