LAPD Detective, Who Testified at Rodney King Trial, Kills Self at Sheriff's Station

The Los Angeles Police Department detective who killed herself in the Santa Clarita sheriff's station has been identified as Susan Clemmer, one of the first officers to testify during the Rodney King trial. She was last assigned to LAPD's gang and narcotics division. She started at the LAPD in 1989. Two years later, she was called to testify during the Rodney King trial.

Rodney King after police beating

According to media reports, Clemmer, 41, walked into the sheriff's station, about 35 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, at 9 p.m. on July 6 and was "acting in a strange way." She placed a box of personal items on the counter before killing herself with a single shot.

Clemmer rode in the ambulance with King after his beating on March 3, 1991. In the subsequent trial, Clemmer, who didn't witness the beating but was directing traffic about 150 feet away when it occurred, testified that Officer Laurence M. Powell, one of the officers who was accused of beating King, was agitated and out of breath after the attack.

On the way to the hospital, Clemmer testified, King was laughing and spitting blood. Once at the hospital, King allegedly looked at one of the officers and said, "I love you," and he started laughing and smiled.