LOS ANGELES -- Rodney King should not get a penny in punitive damages from six police officers involved in his controversial videotaped beating, jurors said Wednesday.
The verdict came on the 11th day of deliberations by the same panel that awarded King $ 3.8 million in compensatory damages from the city in April.
The white officers were acquitted in the 1991 beating of black motorist King; the acquittals resulted in the worst rioting in U.S. history.
"Their poverty defense was successful," says John Burris, one of King's lawyers who also says an appeal is likely. "It sends the wrong message to police officers that they may not be held accountable."
Several of the defendants have said the case had ruined their lives, costing careers, homes and personal savings.
Jurors found two defendants acted with malice: Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell, who were convicted on federal charges last year and are serving 30-month sentences.
But neither were ordered to pay punitive damages.
Jurors say four - Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseno, Rolando Solano and Louis Turriaga - didn't violate King's rights or act with malice.
Briseno, who countersued, claiming King hit him, was not awarded any damages.
The unidentified jury forewoman says the panel was split from the start.
The sole black juror calls the verdict "very, very unjust."
