officers - The Black Vault

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• "Whe11 he fell to his knees, I and I would see Officer Powell
believe it was Officer Powell that doing the same motion again, excame
up on the right hand side of cept at one point I believe I saw·
. him and struck him with his ba- him with two hands -on the baton
on the right side of his face, ton," he said. ·
she said. "It caused the skin to "Every time he would come-in
split. ... That's one of the areas he would take about three swings
we are. not supposed to strike." and then back off," Beauregard
Singer said King put both said. He testified that he saw
.hands over his face, and Powell Powell hit King. about nine times
hit him in the face arid hands while King was still standing. , · .
· about five more times. '~I was getting a little nervous
.. "He just screamed and put his myself (about King)," Beaure­
:.hands up" while Powell adminis- gard said. "I never saw a person
· tered "continuous blows," Singer being Tasered twice and struck at
said. Then, Koon yelled, "That's least nine- times without having
enough. That's enough." some more effect on that. .
.· Singer said a second officer, "Every time I did look over, he
later identified as Briseno, would be like in a different spot
reached over and stopped -he was walking around, tum­
Powell.
ing around. He just wouldn't go
' "I thought-it was over," Singer down on the ground." .
. testified, saying she went to assist Beauregard testified that he
·in the arrest of two passengers in never saw King hit an officer. He
King's car. · · said he saw King handcuffed and
i The beating of King resumed "hobbled," or wearing a nylon.
: behind her back, Singer testified. .rope attaching his legs to the
Another witness who testified handcuffs so he could not kick.
· about the beating was Paul-James Powell later resumed his· com­
. Beauregard, a school police offi- munication with Smith via comcer
from the Los Angeles Unified puter terminal, starting the -con­
School District.
versation QY typing the word
. Beauregard said he and his "Ooops," the transcript says .
. . partner, Mark Diamond, were on He told her about the incident,
'J)atrol when they saw a CHP car saying: "I haven't beaten anywith
flashing lights chasing a body this bad in a long time."
Hyundai near Glenoaks and Van She responded: "Oh, not again.
Nuys boulevards.· ... I thought you agreed tQ chpt
He said an officer asked for out for a while."
· •
their assistance so they joined the Smith told the grand jury that
chase. He testified the driver she was referring to "a prior incipulled
over and got out but ig- dent that I was involved in perso-
. nored orders to lie down. He said nally wit}l Officer Powell."
. .he overheard Koon say, "This She testified that in October
isn't working." 1990, she used a single baton ·
~-. "I believe he directed another stroke on the kneecaps to subdue ·
. officer to step in - I believe it a handcuffed suspect who was
was Officer Powell- to come in kickiQg. · .
. with a baton," Beauregard said. "That was the only incident I
"All I heard (Koon say was) 'We was referring to. That's the only
are going to have to do some- incident I have been on with him.
thing else. This isn't working.'" I can't testifY to anything-else,"
He testified that after Koon Smith said. : .
fired the taser, King seemed to "There are other incidents that
.. be in pain, but was not showing a have happened - other uses of
"normal reaction.''
force that .he's been.involved in
· "I saw Officer Powell come in. ......;. but I crui't testizy·to it; because
- J saw him strike the suspect mid- -·I was not there," she said. :
•. ·Way about two times and back · . "I have been there at the sta-
1,-.off," Beauregard said. . .tion when they have had other
He said he did not see Powell incidents that they have ended
·.hit King in the. head, and in fact up using force or been in fights
:did not witness most of what was -but I wasn't 'th.ere so J don't
captured on videotape because know what it's ab'out. That's
t · h~ was assisting in the arrest . of what I mean," Smith said.
,; King's two passengers. King was taken to Pacifica
"I looked over once in a while Hospital in Sun V~ey for treat-
ment. Two .nurses said that uni:.
dentified LAPD officers taunted
'King while he was being treated.
· · Nurse Carol Diane Edwards
testified that two officers brought
King in wearing handcuffs and
leather restraints on 'both ankles
and his right wrist.
.She said King asked whether
he would be released during the
~ day because he had a base]?all
game to attend. He said he
worked as an usher ~t Dodger ·
Stadium. · . ;
Edwards then related a conver­
.. sation-between.King and the offi­
·~rs:.. , .
;. • "You are·not going to be out of
;'he!e for a l~mg tim~/' m~e officer
-said. ... . ' .
· · ·'"We played a little baseball to­
''night, didn't we?" he asked
·King.
"What do you m~n?"· King re­
·plied.
.. "We played a little hardball to­
,night and you lost," the officer
said. . . ·
t· Edwards testified that 'She was
: f~sked by pdlice whether she
!smelled alcoholgn King's breath,
·. and ~he nmli~d that she did not.
-~":She testified that King was not a
'problem while i.n her care.
~·· ~Lawrence Davis, another nurse
·.at Pacifica Hospital, gave this.account
of a conyersation between
King and the officers:
•·.
King: ·"Yeah, yeah. You guys
had a pretty good game. You
· played pretty good hardball tonight."
·. . Officer: "We hit quite a few
:home runs, didn't we?"
King: "I think so, yeah .."
Officer: "Do you know who we
. were playing tonight, Rodney?"
King: "I don't re.member.''
ll,. Qfficet: ·~oh, come on, don't
you remember who we were play-
.~g against?". .
~ = ·King: "Yeah; me." s
Offlcer: "Yeah, and you lost
lithe ballgame,:didn't ·you?"
•·.
King: "Yes."
Davis testified that he also
1heard officers make racial slurs
r-during a conversation among
•themselves.
'' "~jus.t heard a couple words­
;it was something like, 'TJlis n­
i; • .' something or other."
Davis testified that the officers
:..tQld him King was dangerous -
:a former felon-out on-parole for
~ .armed robbery - and possibly
~ under:the influence of PCP when
1 they brought J:iim in. .;·