Patti LaBelle's bodyguards beat up a West Point cadet at IAH, HPD poses for pictures

Wow, AB, that was really not necessary, I would hope that anyone that got beaten down by body guards whether white or black would elicit the same response.

Especially if Police basically did nothing then took a picture with the celebrity....

You know the same police that are paid by our OWN FRICKEN TAX MONEY to protect and serve, not cow tie to the rich and famous.

Ridiculous....and people wonder why folks don't trust cops......THIN BLUE line...

DD

 

My response above was to THIS from AB:

"Originally Posted by Another Brother
If this kid would have been non-white and Reba McEntire's security would have behaved the same way would this thread be 8 pages long?#hypotheticallyspeaking"

DD

 

You guys act like that was the only place that he could have stood. And yes, everyone has a right to reasonably protect their property especially when there exists options that span an entire airport waiting area.

 

How about just saying "hey man, BACK OFF." then pushing him away WITHOUT beating him to a pulp?

That whole incident should have been over when the kid starting backing away regardless of whether or not he had his arm extended. Do you really think that kid extending his arm (as he was backing away) warranted that 3-on-1 beatdown? They jumped all over him as he was backing away.

If her bags were so important, why were they sitting outside the car for so long? They didn't want to protect LaBelle's precious luggage, they just wanted to beat someone up. But they didn't count on the security camera being there.

And yes, I would feel the exact same way even if it was Larry the Cable Guy and his redneck bodyguards jumping on a non-white kid. Probably even more so, if you want the truth.

 

I hope those police officers are fired and end up as Paul Blart Mall cops, they don't deserve my tax dollars.

DD

 

But they weren't reasonably protecting her property. In the video, he's not even touching or paying attention to her bags. He's just talking and pointing.

The guards are guilty of the following:

1. Assaulting someone that was zero threat to the woman they were protecting.
2. Improper fight training and escalating the situation. They were completely out of control when they ran him into the pillar. A good body guard should have more control of his body to not cause harm to people that aren't a threat.
3. Giving a false police report.

 

Well he is a comedian now.

 

Which is exactly why I wrote what I did...



DD

 

You didn't answer my question. Can you point out where the kid was threatening Patti LaBelle's property?

 

That comment was based more on my day than my general thought process. That's why I erased it. Everyone here is bashing Patti LaBelle for what her people did, why? I am very serious when I say that if confronted with the same situation I would have been physical with the perpetrator, but I say AGAIN the beat down was not necessary. We were not there. Other than taking pictures with Ms LaBelle, what leads anyone to believe that the cops didn't exercise due diligence in their investigation. I'm sure there were witnesses? Did the cops ignore them for free concert tickets? They took a statement from the kid and saw no reason to make an arrest, did they do this so that they could get a "Lady Marmalade" autograph on their asses? Sure it was bad judgement on the cops part, but it in no way implies that because she is a celebrity they ignored the elements of the incident. Why was West Point's punishment so harsh? It must be because Patti LaBelle tweeted "I heart WP".

My point is...her celebrity has nothing to do with the way this case is going to be handled, and I maintain that even though his punishment was cruel and unusual I think that the body guards were well within their right to proceed with some sort of physical action, but they went overboard.

 

If there is an entire airport waiting area all around you, why would you stand right in front of someone else's bags? Maybe he wasn't a thief, and I'm not a terrorist, but I'm still subjected to the scrutiny of airport security.

 

Okay, this is getting ridiculous. First, when I travel in airports I find myself standing in front of, next to, and behind people's bags all the time, including out in the waiting area. And people are usually standing around my bags as well. I've yet to feel it necessary to administer a beat down or even give someone a verbal warning in these situations.

Second, have you watched the fricken video? I just had to go and look at the first part of it again to make sure I wasn't crazy. The kid is standing in that spot FIRST. They come and put her bags next to him. If they were so concerned about her **** getting ripped off, they could have easily put them somewhere else.

 

With your logic, if I wanted to beat down people and get away with it, I just need to walk around with a whole bunch of cash and jewelry. That way I have a built in excuse to knock someone out. I could just say, I was protecting my property.

 

Crazy I know the guy. We went to the same high school.

 

If your logic holds true then why weren't the bodyguards arrested? Random beat downs are frowned upon in this country, how is this situation any different? Remember...there were witnesses.

 

Why weren't the body guards arrested?

Because the police were incompetent boobs !

DD

 

i know that dude...freakin screw patti...

 

They weren't arrested because they lied to the police and filed a false report, and the cops were busy getting their pictures taken instead of interview witnesses and examine the evidence, like, say, I don't know ... the kid's blood running down the street.

 

That is a large part of why everyone is ragging on the HPD in this case. How do you find a guy beaten like that, know the 3 guys that did it, none of which have a scratch, and not make an arrest.

 

Ummmm, I'm gonna go with rich/powerful/famous people and those that do their bidding are often held to a different standard than normal schlubs.

In other words, if Patti Labelle wasn't involved and those dude's beat that kid's ass for standing next to THEIR luggage, they would have been arrested in the blink of an eye.