Joe Klamar / AFP - Getty Images file
Rodney King is seen on April 30 speaking with fans in Los Angeles before an event promoting his autobiographical book "The Riot Within...My Journey from Rebellion to Redemption."
By NBC News and news services
Rodney King, a symbol of racial tension in Los Angeles and catalyst for sweeping law-enforcement reforms after his 1991 beating by police officers, was mourned by hundreds Saturday at a public memorial in Hollywood Hills.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who delivered the eulogy at Forest Lawn Hall, said?King never showed bitterness to the officers who beat him, The Associated Press reported. Sharpton called king "a symbol of forgiveness," the AP reported.
King was found by his fianc?e Cynthia Kelly drowned on June 17 at the bottom of his backyard swimming pool in Rialto, California, a suburb about 50 miles east of Los Angeles. He was 47.?
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King's death is being treated as an accidental drowning, but authorities are awaiting autopsy results to determine the official cause of death.
Results of toxicology and tissue studies were still pending, authorities said, and there were questions about how King, who by all accounts was an avid swimmer, ended up drowning in his own pool.
Among the mourners gathered for the 2 p.m. (2100 GMT) service were King's three daughters - Dene, Candice and Tristan.
Rodney Glen King, the man who was at the center of a national debate on civil rights after he was brutally beaten by LAPD in 1991 is dead at the age of 47.
The service was held in the auditorium that was also used for the private 2009 funeral of Michael Jackson before the pop star's public memorial service at the Staples Center.
The beating of King, who was black, was caught on videotape and widely replayed. His death came two months after the 20th anniversary of Los Angeles riots triggered by the acquittal of four white police officers prosecuted for the beating.
During the racially charged unrest, which killed more than 50 people and caused more than $1 billion in property damage, King famously appealed for calm in a televised appearance in which he asked rhetorically, "Can we all get along?"
The case helped bring attention to the issue of racial profiling by law enforcement and led to far-reaching reforms in the Los Angeles Police Department.
King, who long struggled with drug and alcohol abuse, financial difficulties and legal problems, had this year published a memoir entitled "The Riot Within: My Journey from Rebellion to Redemption."
King's daughter Dene, 28, said her father would be remembered for his smile, his heart and his unconditional love. Following the funeral, a reception was to be held at the Universal City Sheraton.
Two of the four white officers acquitted of state charges by a jury in 1992 were later convicted of federal charges and sentenced to 30-month prison terms. A civil jury later awarded King $3.8 million in damages. One of the jurors was Kelly, who became his fianc?e.
Msnbc.com staff contributed to this report by Reuters and NBCLosAngeles.com.
Grant Hindsley / AP
The Rev. Al Sharpton, right, speaks to reporters before the public memorial service for Rodney King at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles on Saturday.
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