LOS ANGELES _ A former Los Angeles police sergeant who served a prison sentence for his role in the beating of Rodney King was sentenced to three years of probation Wednesday after he pleaded no contest to driving under the influence of alcohol.
Stacey Koon, 67, entered a no contest plea to a misdemeanor count of driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent or higher during a pretrial hearing in the Santa Clarita Courthouse. A misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of alcohol that had been filed against him was dropped, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.
A judge also ordered Koon to complete a three-month DUI class, pay a $390 fine and install an ignition interlock device on his vehicle, according to court records and City News Service.
Koon was arrested May 1 after he crashed his vehicle into a parked car in Castaic, authorities said.
Koon and three other LAPD officers were charged with excessive force in the 1991 beating of King, which was captured on videotape. Riots broke out across Los Angeles after the officers were acquitted in 1992.
Though acquitted in state court, Koon was one of two officers convicted of federal civil rights violations in connection with the beating. He served 30 months in prison and was released in 1995.
