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Rodney King had used drugs, alcohol when he died

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Rodney King had been drinking and was on drugs when he plunged into a swimming pool and accidentally drowned, a coroner’s report released today concluded.

The report confirmed a police conclusion that King died by accident and the case will be closed, Rialto police Capt. Randy DeAnda said.

“The investigation is now completed and basically the autopsy and toxicology reinforces our conclusions,” DeAnda said.

King, whose videotaped beating by Los Angeles police in 1991 led to deadly rioting, had long struggled with addiction.

A call from King’s fiancee brought police to his Rialto home at 5:30 a.m. on June 17. Officers pulled him from the bottom of the pool and he was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The San Bernardino County coroner’s report listed the cause of death as drowning “and the contributing cause was combined with ethanol (alcohol) and multiple drug toxicity,” DeAnda said.

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