King held for drunk driving

SANTA ANA (Reuter) - Rodney King, the black motorist whose videotaped beating by four white policemen led to the Los Angeles riots earlier this year, was arrested for alleged drunken driving, and released after spending five hours in jail. He refused to take a chemical test to determine his blood alcohol level, police said.

Mr King's lawyer, Steven Lerman, said his client's behaviour was a 'direct result' of the beating he received from police after a high-speed chase through northern Los Angeles suburbs in March 1991.