George Holliday, who filmed four white police officers beating Rodney King back in 1991, has passed away at 61 due to complications of COVID-19, TMZ reports. Robert Wollenweber, a close friend and former coworker, according to the Associated Press, said Holliday was hospitalized after suffering from pneumonia, causing him to be immobilized since mid-August. After weeks of enduring the infection, he lost his battle on Sunday.
Wollenweber continued, explaining that when Holliday was first admitted to the hospital, he was hooked up to an oxygen tube. As his health declined, the hospital put him on a ventilator. Wollenweber said Holliday was not vaccinated at the time of his death.
In his last outgoing message, he confirmed his battle with pneumonia and COVID-19, directing anyone who wanted to reach out to speak to a friend of his from church.
In March 1991, King led four California High Patrol officers on a high-speed chase as they attempted to pull him over for speeding. King eventually was caught by the officers, resulting in a beating in a residential neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley, where Holliday resided.
Woken up by the commotion, Holliday decided to take his newly purchased camcorder to capture about nine minutes of the officers punching and beating King with their batons, as well as using a stun gun after King was already on the ground.
After the footage was rejected by the LAPD, Holliday decided to send the tape to KTLA, forcing the issue of police brutality and violence into a huge national conversation still relevant today.
The officers were acquitted of the charges, sparking violence in the city, with hundreds of businesses looted and destroyed for several days. The city's reaction prompted King to appear on television, pleading, "Can we all get along?"
King sued the city of Los Angeles and was awarded a $3.8 million settlement in 1994, losing most of the money due to bad investments, according to the Associated Press.
King passed away on June 17, 2012, after drowning in his backyard swimming pool. He was 47.
Before his passing, Holliday was in the process of working on a documentary to talk about his role in the King case; however, it's unclear where the documentary currently stands.
