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

Trust me, having been there, it is FAR more impressive for cops to make an arrest with a celebrity implication than not. There is a good 'ol boy system in place, but if there is a good 'ol soul singer one out there I've never heard of it. If something was done illegal and they were misled in some way I can accept that and admit I was wrong. But them not wanting to make an arrest to get on Patti LaBelle's good side is laughable.

Please remember good people, in my original post all I said was that the dude is more culpable than the tone of this thread would indicate. I feel bad for the kid, let's see how it all plays out in court.

Tough crowd!

 

AB, it's not laughable. Incredibly, there's actual photographic evidence of the regard they had for LaBelle.

 

jeez, i luv Patti's music... but.... oh well. hope she goes to hell.

 

THREAT LEVEL RED

 

There's no way you can defend that.

The only thing I will say is that you can't really tell what the guy's doing right before the confrontation... he could be fiddling with the bags when you can only see his head. That's a big assumption from the video though. Even if that's the case though, you move him back and ask him to leave.

I would have the same reaction to throw my arm out though and try to push a couple of people if they were getting in my face and I didn't know who they were. Bodyguards aren't in uniform, so how is he supposed to know who they are?

 

What? Of course it will.

 

Lol, why dont you go ahead and just type, "BLACK people never get preferential treatment from the cops." It goes up there with "black people cant be racist."

I mean I guess that's what you're saying about the good ol' boys versus the good ol' soul singer network. Have some balls and say black versus white if that's what you mean. I cant see what else you're talking about here but if I'm wrong, feel free to correct me.

From what I can see of the video one of the guys pushes the kid, the kid pushes him back as if "get off me" and then another guy comes and punches him in the face while the first guy holds him. There presumably were words exchanged offcamera but nothing on video comes even close to making the kid culpable for being assaulted.

Lol dude this isn't even close to right. Some kid mouthing off at you, or even pushing you isn't justification for assault. The only way this would be justified would be self defense. And the only way it could be self defense is if you could make the case that 3 burly hired goons felt immediately and gravely endangered by 1 skinny kid in a public place. Even in the case of self defense, the moment the kid isn't a threat... ie wrapped up you're done. You can't go and slam his head on concrete.

In 2011, society operates under the understanding that human being operate with something called discourse. Even if he was being a punk, even if he had called her a ****** the first thing these goons should have been taught is to diffuse situations with their mouths not their egos and fists. Even if they had to ask him politely a few times to move, or to take care of their business understanding that it was a busy public place and they can't have the entire loading zone for their convenience.

As for cruel and unusual, it's definitely not that. It doesn't even really look like they were trying to hurt the kid. The majority of the damage is when the fattasses trip overthemselves and kind of fall onto the kid pushing his head into the concrete pillar. That's not intent, that's just incompetence from these rent-a-guards. The main problem is that they're too stupid, untrained and ignorant to do their jobs competently. All they had to do was get the kid to move but they're too primitive to use words and one guy even freaks out and punches the kid prematurely. Once the other 2 see that it's like animal instinct and they pounce on the wounded prey. Seriously doubt they meant to hurt the kid like that, they just got overexcited and now their employer is on the hook.

 

Erroneous reports
Raley took issue with what he said were erroneous media reports indicating HPD officers investigating the case have evidence showing King was legally intoxicated at the airport.

"We have never denied that he had a few drinks on the plane. However, he was of legal age, he was not driving, and was in no way a danger to himself or others," Raley said. "The videotape and witnesses confirm that Richard was not impaired."

The attorney was referring to a surveillance tape that appears to show King was defending himself from blows thrown by LaBelle's bodyguards.

The attorney was pleased with published reports that HPD is investigating the incident, which left his client bloody, dazed and unable to stand.

"The tape clearly shows that Richard is not the aggressor. He was attacked without provocation," Raley said.

"We understand the Houston Police Department is looking into the situation fully."



Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7605604.html#ixzz1QdAQr2zT

 

I started following this thread today and went back to the beginning. I have watched the video three times now. I fail to see any justification for the force that was used on this kid. Granted we have no audio so we have no idea what was said, but as others have pointed out, there was a right way to handle this and a wrong way. And Patti LaBelle and her bodyguards definitely chose the wrong way. Look, even if the bodyguards were the same size as the cadet, you still have a three on one fight - how is that even remotely fair? Factor in the sizes of the bodyguards compared to the cadet and it would be like me and 2 other 6 foot 2 inch dudes that weigh 215 going after some 12 year old kid that is normal size for his age. At some point, common sense has to come into play and the bodyguards have to know that this cadet is not a threat. But then maybe that is why they are bodyguards, they don't really think. And sorry but I also fail to see where he is trying to get into the limo.

The bodyguards should have handled this differently - there was no need for the force that they used on him and that arm thing is laughable...don't get me started on that!

And of course what is even worse is that the police are posing for pictures with LaBelle and not doing anything about the heinous act that the thug bodyguards had committed despite the fact that there is a pool of blood just to the right of them! Did they wonder where that came from & simply didn't give a **** or were they that damn oblivious??

And if this had been some white celebrity like Madonna or Celine Dion and her bodyguards had beaten some black kid to a pulp, then you better believe I would be pissed off about that as well. Race and color do not factor in this - it is about seeing the right thing being done here and that sure as HELL did not happen in this case.

 

i know, i know...all white people are racist hypocrites!

based on reading your posts over the years i think that comment is pretty much inline w/ your general thought process.

if the cops did not act improperly than why did they get sanctioned and reassigned from their cushy airport job? and furthermore, its been reported that the cop who posed for pics w/ labelle is a known celebrity chaser.

 

I hope you got the cyber high five that your were obviously shooting for from your peers.

Fair. In my posts over the years I've softened my opinions on race because obviously some people here think my experiences count for nothing, and that I make up racial conflict just for attention. I cannot build a case against that concept because there are some people who do, but all I can say is that I am not one of them.

I am not the impulse poster that I once was JM, and bear in mind that I am someone that travels throughout the country meeting thousands of people with a wide variety of cultural etiquette (Toledo, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Dallas and Mississippi in just the past 6 weeks alone). I am merely a reflection of what I am exposed to. As we all are. Having said that, my "hypothetical" post was out of line which is why I deleted it - and I apologize to the board and OP for the tone of it.

This case raises all sorts of questions, but my questions happen to be on the side of what my experience compels me to ask. And finally I maintain that based on the video nobody at this point can be 100% sure that Richard King did everything he could to avoid the initial confrontation. The end result was excessive, but how it began will ultimately decide how this all plays out.

 

all i can say is i'm sure these guys don't go around looking for drunk kids to beat up

 

how can you be so sure?

There are always guys out there who are looking to pick a fight for no reason.

 

... and i'm sure that houston airport is not owned and named by anda fter Patti Labelle.

 

I'm pretty sure if Dr Steelhammer were American ,Patti Lahoe's bodyguards would cream in their pants and think twice before laying their thuggish hands on the average citizens!

Tune in to HBO this Sat July 2nd @ 4:45 pm EST to see the good Doctor operates.

America needs a hero and a role model like Dr Wladimir Klitschko!

 

fair enough - and i apologize to you for beating the dead horse. what can i say, it was an easy shot and i took it.:grin:

i wouldnt say your experiences count for nothing, but i would also point out that most white people are not racists. some are, just like there are also racist black people and racist hispanics.

i just dont see anything in the video that warrants the beatdown. the 1st guard bodies up to the cadet as he was already backing away and the cadet pushes him off w/ 1 arm then gets the crap beat out of him.

and as for the cops, i dont see how you can defend them. i would think that anytime someone gets beat like that there would be more of an investigation. compounded w/ the fact that this dude was a celebrity chaser and it raises questions.

 

It is possible that the body guards were just being tough guys when they pushed him, and then went off on him because he pushed back. Without sound, or a better view, it hard to know what else went down.

 

3 black guys beat down 1 white guy. Without any celebrity, that would result in arrests (color shouldn't matter, but I think it affects the police's judgement more often than we want to believe.)

 

Were the body guards acting in self defense or defending Patti LaBelle?

No?

Was Richard King a threat?

It did not appear that way in the video.

Well then it seems fairly simple that this is assault and the body guards should do time. Since Patti LaBelle was employing the body guards she should also be held accountable.