Rodney King spends his time seeing doctors and thinking about his injuries he fears may become permanent . Los Angeles police have acknowledged he became a suspect in the case, in which a store clerk was shot in the shoulder, only after the March 3 beating when his photograph was widely broadcast on television. He is staying with friends and fears retribution by the police . His ex - wife says he 's depressed and frightened ; his attorney has hired guards to protect him . King suffers headaches and numbness of the face after several months of plastic surgery to repair parts of his cheek and eye bones , and has instituted an $ 8 million law suit against the city for excessive spending . In another development , he 's now a suspect in a February 21 robbery and shooting , a result of the wide publicity .
Rodney King spends his time seeing doctors and thinking about his injuries he fears may become permanent . He is staying with friends and fears retribution by the police . His ex - wife says he 's depressed and frightened ; his attorney has hired guards to protect him . King suffers headaches and numbness of the face after several months of plastic surgery to repair parts of his cheek and eye bones , and has instituted an $ 8 million law suit against the city for excessive spending . In another development , he 's now a suspect in a February 21 robbery and shooting , a result of the wide publicity .