officers - The Black Vault

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0·350 (Rev. 5·8·81)
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(Indicate page, name of
newsP.aper, city and state.)
p. 1
Star-News
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8 -~-.-~~·~-~-.~---~---~---_T]~~de~!f~~;~ifornia
pl~as in . ~ing
b t • ·; The
ea
March 3 beating of the
I n g .,,
Altadena constr:I~Ction worker·
, . . . . \ ha~ i?~ensed_civi:\;r~g~ts lead~rs, :
' pohticians and activ-Ists nation-
I
. wide. In the wake of the beating,
.. j numerous groups, including the i
I
-· American Civil Liberties Union, 1
,By Kathy Braldhill : repeatedly hav.e demanded that ·
Staff Writer
Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl I
=::..::=-----------:-- . Gates resign.
Character:
ot
Classification:
Submitting Offlca:
Indexing:
Los Angeles
SEARCHED
INOEXEO, ___ I
SERIP.LI~EO.~~~ flLE0'----1
MAR 2 :3 1991
\ LOS ANGELES - Four Los An~eles ' A Lake View Terrace man
police officers indicted after a VIdeo- ' testing his new camera video- ile bone surrounding the eye
taped assault on Altaden~ re~ident Ro~- , taped the early morning assault. socket, a broken leg, swelling of
ney G. King made their first public His footage showed three Los his right brain, facial ·nerve
court appearance Friday in Los An_geles , Angeles police officers kickit1g damage and multiple electrical
Superior Court, but delayed entermg a the prone King, striking him burns from the Taser . gun, acplea
until March 22. . : with night sticks and prodding cording to his physician, Dr. Ed-
Officers Laurence M. ,Powell, 28, Tm~- with a Taser, which delivers . mund Chein. ·
1
othy E, Wind, 30, and TheodoKre J. Br I· jolts of electricity to subdue sus- Th D'strlct Attorney's Office
seno 38, and Sgt. Stacey C. oon, 40 , pects. e .I
wer~ indicted late Wednesday by a 23· · During the attack, a dozen offi- .has. decide_d not to file ~h~~es
member county grand jury on charges cers stood nearby and watched ~g:=t~nst Kn~g, who aut or:I Ies
I of assault by force likely to prod~ce 11 without taking action. mihally said led CHt: officers
b d 'ly injury and unnecessarily and Los Angeles pollee on a
I grea.
0 a I erson. , ~e distric~ at~orney's investi- high-speed chase on the Footl}ill
include the special aile- , gabon of the InCident was expec- (210) Freeway. King has demed
1 f e s that the officers used deadly ted to re.sume next week, appar- that report.
1
, ga wn · b d b ts and ently With an eye toward the ..
t weapons, pollee .atons an . 00 • · ossible criminal responsibility The officers charged m t~e
that the assaul.t was committed under 1 ~f the other officers involved in case surrendered to the District
color of authority. -.--. ~ ~- ' the case, including LAPD, Cali- Attor~ey's Office on Thursday
Powell and Koon also were mdwted; ·fornia Highway Patrol and Los mormng to be photographed,
on charges of submitting a false police 1 Angeles Unified School District booked and fingerprinted. T~e
, repor:t. Koon faces an additional charge i police. . grim, suit-clad officer:s and therr
i of bemg an accessory after the fact. ' ·'As a crush of news reporters attorneys w!ilked u~to court
~ndictme~ts vyere announced ea~- I ·and photographers tur:qed the through a side corndor as a
tlier Friday by DistriCt Attorney Ira Rei- 13th floor of the Superior Court team of bailiffs held back·
1
~ ner. I building into a media zoo Fri- swarms of reporters and photog-
! "It i~ a terrible m?ment and time for day, ~g, ·25, was in stable COl}· raphers. .
reflectwn when .off~cers sworn to up- dition in the intensive-9are unit During the brief proceedmg
' hold the law are mdicted for these most I of an undisclosed hospital after before Superior Court Judge
·serious felonies," he sa~d. , I undergoing· surgery_ for his inju- Gary Klausner, non~ of the offi·
Only one of the officers attorneys · ries, said Seth Snyder, a legal cers looked behind thel!l at t~e
responded to requests to comment on administrator for Steven A. Ler- crush of spectators cranmg therr f
the case. man, King's attorney. necks for a glimpse of the defenf
"The evidence will show he's i:nno- · King's right eye was swollep dants. :
cent," attorney John G. Barnett said of shut and a clamp was attached. Klausner ordered the officers
: Briseno. "He didn't kick Mr. King, and to his head to keep his cheek held in the court lock-up for sev-
, he didn't commit a crime. He didn't do and jaw immobile after an opera- eral hours while a bail bondsanything
criminal, an~ he di~n't ~o tion to set his right cheekbone, man arranged for three .. of
1
the
anything wrong, and we re confident m which was broken on both ends, officers to be released on $30,000
i the jury system." Snyder said. bail each. Briseno was released
- King has nine skull fractures, on $5,000 bail. . }~~
permanent fractures of the frag- . · If\ uqqstJ-D ... IJw
lflt A---t"' -
FBI/DOJ
FBI -
LOS ANGELES