Rodney King On Trayvon Martin: 'I Survived. Unfortunately, Trayvon Martin Did Not'

In a statement to the Los Angeles Times Wednesday, Rodney King compared his 1991 beating at the hands of Los Angeles police to Florida teen Trayvon Martin's death.

The horrifying sound of a young black male screaming for his life on a 911 call reminded me of my horrifying scream on a videotape 20 years ago ... At that time, I thought I was going to die. Very, very gratefully, I survived. Unfortunately, Trayvon Martin did not.

King released his statement through a publicist shortly after Florida State Atty. Angela B. Corey announced second-degree murder charges for George Zimmerman, the self-appointed neighborhood watchman who shot and killed the unarmed 17-year-old while he was walking home from a 7-Eleven.

Read the rest of King's statement on the Los Angeles Times.

His statement comes just a few days before the 20th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots, which began almost immediately after the officers who were filmed beating King were acquitted Apr. 29, 1992.

The injustice of the verdict in King's case has been compared to Martin's shooting in recent weeks. Demonstrators across the country have decried the Sanford Police Department's "sloppy" work and Florida's "Stand Your Ground" gun law, which legal experts have said could shield Zimmerman from any liability in Martin's death.

Shortly after a Los Angeles rally for Martin Mar. 22, Rev. K.W. Tullous, a local pastor and the Los Angeles representative for Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network, told The Huffington Post that "from Rodney King to Trayvon Martin," it was clear that black voices "still need to be heard" on the issue of violence against black men.

"Today, it's Trayvon Martin," Rev. Tullous said. "Tomorrow, who?"

See The Slideshow For More Photos Of The LA Rally On Thursday, Mar. 22: