Cadet Suspended from West Point after getting beaten by Singers entourage

As I stated in a previous post this no longer has anything to do with the academy. The cadet has stood proudly and stated that he will go where the army sends him. He was featured on ABC news last night and he did well during the interview. Good for him!

I agree with MOMOF3BOYS that we should not speculate on his academy history yet she still believes that he has a troubled past at school and continues to post. You can't have it both ways. Let's give it a rest already.

This is what it all comes down to. If that celebrity's son didn't confront the cadet he would be at the mall today or out at the lake with his buddies instead of getting ready to deploy. He's got himself a Texas Superlawyer and a physician who will testify about his current and future medical problems. With the video there is an obvious criminal case and the preponderence of evidence in a civil trial IS lower than in a criminal trial. The more bad things that happen just help the cadet. And I agree. The other side would be out of their minds to go to trial and get in front of a jury full of moms and dads.

My gosh, are DHinNH and Jadler03 and I the only ones getting anything from the video? This was a violent assault.

My daughter just finished 10th grade geometry and learned about if,then statements. If a rectangle has four equal sides then it is a square. If there was no interaction between Cadet A and Celebrity B then nothing would have happened. Everything else is just a distraction.

And I just got to say this one more time because it make me nuts. The HPD had no business calling WP for something that happened 1500 miles away from campus and had NOTHING to do with the academy. They must call the schools of all the college kids they come in contact with during the course of their duties. Yeah right.
 
I wonder why the cadet, after supposedly/allegedly being assaulted and beaten, without provocation, did not file criminal charges that very night?

Isn't assault and battery a crime in Texas anymore?

Why wait 3 months and file a civil suit?
 
I do agree this was a violent assault. Anyone who has seen the video does not need audio to see Cadet King being overwhelmed by the strength of Ms. LaBelle's guards. Not only in size, but in numbers..3 against 1. It also appears in the beginning that he was nowhere near her, so wouldn't that be an unprovoked attack against him, or at least retaliating with excessive force?

There are a lot of details left out to us outsiders, and it appears that the story is going to continue to have traction, at least on media outlets.

My one question is he is also suing a taxi dispatcher. I can't figure that one out. There is a report that he tried to enter her limo, could it be he thought it was his limo, thus it is not a taxi company per se, but a car service.

What bothers me is nobody has picked up on that Zuri Edwards, the person who is on record for stating he smelled like alcohol is her DS. I just find that strange, how every article says he was the driver, except one. Philadelphia Inquirer. Ms. LaBelle's home town. Google Zuri Edwards, go IMDB, it states his name as her son. Don't know about the rest of you, but I highly doubt it is coincidental, afterall wouldn't it be strange her limo driver has the exact same name as her son? How many Zuri Edward's are floating out in the U.S., in Houston and are limo drivers that are not related to her? I am thinking you have a better chance of winning the mega millions statistically!
 
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Luigi, I think he was waiting for WP to make a decision and did not want to rock the boat by suing immediately. He may have felt that a lawsuit was not worth the price regarding his military career.
 
JMC0759 said:
The HPD had no business calling WP for something that happened 1500 miles away from campus and had NOTHING to do with the academy. They must call the schools of all the college kids they come in contact with during the course of their duties. Yeah right.
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USMA Cadet <> college kid

a better comparison would be "would they call a soldier's commander?" -- since he wasn't being charged with a crime, probably not
 
Luigi59 said:
I wonder why the cadet, after supposedly/allegedly being assaulted and beaten, without provocation, did not file criminal charges that very night?

Isn't assault and battery a crime in Texas anymore?

Why wait 3 months and file a civil suit?
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Well, the cadet was carted away in an ambulance on the day of the offense. The officers should have gone to the hospital to take his statement. An offense report was obviously taken but probably reversed who the victim and suspect were. Interesting that the original "victim" refused to prosecute. A little nervous maybe?

Aaahh - civil suits. Just when you think you are in the clear. They have that nasty tendency to sneak up and bite you on the butt. A civil suit can be filed up to three years after an incident. I imagine that the cadet's attorney of record was sitting back and seeing what was going to happen between HPD and WP. Remember, this lawyer is probably not taking on the cadet's case for free.
 
Why is Labelle's entourage not talking?

There is an Maxim that you are either in front of the story or you are at the mercy of your accuser. Given that this story has been playing for nearly a week now, I find it odd that LaBelle has not seen it fit to get her side of the story restated publicly. The video is damning and does not seem to support the story told to the HPD or the HPD report where Mr. King is identified as the culprit and not the victim. HPD is already backtracking and saying they are not only reviewing the events of that evening, HPD is also launching an investigation into the conduct of the officers on the scene. So why would LaBelle's team continue to be silent when their accuser is capturing public sentiment and LaBelle is getting excoriated?

Others have already stated this, but I agree that making assumptions about Mr. King's record at the USMA is a moot point. We simply do not know. But this becomes something of a red herring, the point is, did Mr. King do anything the night of the attack to warrant such an assault? From what I saw of the video - no. Could words have been exchanged? Does it matter? When do we excuse a gang beat down just because words were exchanged? Quite simply this incident at the Airport, if it is all that it appears to be on the video, should not have been used as the basis to start an administrative action against Mr. King.

Finally I have stated this before but I want to make it crystal clear. I do not really fault the USMA, when law enforcement contacts you and tells you on no uncertain terms that one of your cadets had behaved in a way as to bring shame to the institution, you must act. But I also believe that the USMA was possibly acting on incomplete or erroneous information from HPD, it has also been my experience to know that justice may be self healing, but it can take a very long time.

I do not know what kind of cadet Mr. King was, I have no idea if he would have been a good officer. I do know that at the night he arrived to Houston, he did not appear to have done anything that would warrant getting beaten as he was. If LaBelle's team felt like Mr. King was doing something that warranted their intervention, it would appear that simply confronting him 3 to 1 and demanding that he leave the area would have been more than effective and sufficient. If that were not enough, simply calling out for help from HPD or Airport security who arrived within a minute of the assault would have been the next reasonable action. Instead we have what we saw, a savage beating of a person who appears to have no intent to be a threat (Mr. King would have put his phone away if it was his intent to fight or threaten others. Man School 101).
 
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falconfamily said:
I want to make it crystal clear. do not really fault the USMA, when law enforcement contacts you and tells you on no uncertain terms that one of your cadets had behaved in a way to bring shame to the institution, you must act.
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Ahhhh...but act how? Do you conduct a "thorough investigation" to determine what actually occurred or do you kick one of your own to the curb in a knee jerk reaction to a "supposed" offense that did not result in charges against the cadet?
 
aglages said:
Ahhhh...but act how? Do you conduct a "thorough investigation" to determine what actually occurred or do you kick one of your own to the curb in a knee jerk reaction to a "supposed" offense that did not result in charges against the cadet?
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In truth - that does not wash well with me.
 
I am giving the benefit of the doubt to WP regarding the suspension.

I have stated before and will state again. The video may have never been seen by WP, and it was a THEY said, HE said situation.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see in the video that he was by himself and got pummeled.

However, we can't take the leap that this video was there for WP to view. Cadet King was never charged, and that may mean the airport video was never introduced into evidence. Again it goes back to They/He scenario.

They said he smelled like alcohol, he acknowledges he imbibed.

To me the key lies with why a taxi dispatcher is named in the lawsuit. Dispatchers are not drivers.

They said he tried to enter the car or leaned against it. He has never stated that his family was picking him up at the airport, just he spoke to them. Could it be he thought the car was his car service and that is how it all started?

Do not confuse this with I think he should have been suspended or not. I am trying to illustrate, that had he not known he could get video of the altercation to prove he was attacked by them, he may not be in this scenario now.

Nobody knows when he hired the 2 attorneys. Nobody knows if he had the footage prior to the lawsuit. Nobody knows if he has had other physical altercations in his file.

There are a lot of nobody knows right now. That includes, nobody knows if WP saw this video prior to their decision.
 
As I mentioned previously, there is obviously more to this story than we have access to.

1. As of yesterday, the academy stands by their decision with King.
2. Numerous reports say that there is a lot that the video surveillance doesn't capture. One thing of significance, is their claim that King instigated the situation by supposedly throwing the first punch.
3. "What concerns me most": King has calmly said that he accepts and respects West Point's decision. I have a major problem with that. 3 months prior to graduating and being commissioned.......... I sure in hell wouldn't be that calm or respectful of a decision I thought was wrong and bogus.

Something just isn't right with this story. I have experience with concussions and such; but King saying he doesn't remember ANYTHING of the incident doesn't help his position. No; there's definitely more to this story than we know. Some people can watch a little bit of a video tape and believe that they are prepared to be able to give an educated interpretation of everything that happened, but I most definitely disagree. This happened 3 months ago. There's a reason we're only hearing about it now; that we're just finding out about King being dismissed from West Point; and that he's only now filing a lawsuit against LaBelle and her people. Sorry, but whether or not the physical abuse to King was justified or not, there's a lot more to this that we don't know. And anyone thinking differently is speaking from emotion and not from facts. We don't know everything about this. We all have reasons for our opinions, but my reason lies with the fact that this incident is 3 months old, and King is TOO ACCEPTING of West Point's decision.
 
Well, the cadet really doesn't have too much choice in what he wants to do does he? The army will point him in a direction and off he goes. His attitude and demeanor may be being dictated by his attorney - taking the upper road. And his current behavior may well decide if he returns to school. I also believe that if the other parties were truly victims they would have been talking to the media. They are getting slammed all over the web.

As far as the video. We have all seen it and for the most part, we are all seeing the same thing. And that's what really matters because that civil jury is going to see the same thing as us and that could be years from now. "A picture is worth a thousand words." My experience has also taught me that what you see is what you get. I believe we are all seeing the entire incident and that there is no gunman on the grassy knoll. Why the heck would a soldier engage a larger enemy force? Sounds like soldiering 101 to me.
 
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JMC0759 said:
And I just got to say this one more time because it make me nuts. The HPD had no business calling WP for something that happened 1500 miles away from campus and had NOTHING to do with the academy. They must call the schools of all the college kids they come in contact with during the course of their duties. Yeah right.
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Um....a WP cadet is technically active duty, and therefore subject, at all times to UCMJ. It doesn't have to happen on campus (base) for the U.S. military to have a vested interest....

...just ask the Marines in Japan....or the Japanese government.
 
Please correct me as I have never been in the military. I believe that under the UCMJ the offender should report his conduct to a superior officer. The Houston Police Department does not fall under the UCMJ nor are they bound by it..

My point is that if they are calling the school for Cadet King they should be doing it for everyone that they come in contact with. Do you really believe that if there is a disturbance in the terminal and a kid goes to Harris County Community College the airport police are calling the dean to tell on him?

That is not the responsibility of the municipal police. Cadet King should have been given the opportunity to call his school on his own.

I am not saying that the school should not know. I am disturbed by the method in which they were notified. The officers should have been as zealous in their investigation of the assault. I wonder if they had their pictures taken before or after they called WP.

As stated in previous posts by other authors. Having the police report you has to be worse than doing it yourself.
 
If every violation of the UCMJ was required to be reported by the offender to superiors before a charge sheet could be drafter, then there would be significantly less people in the brig. It is common practice for local authorities to contact a service member's chain of command, if that person is ever taken into custody, arrested, or hospitalized. Mostly because the police can hand it over to the military to deal with, knowing there are stiffer punishments under the UCMJ. There are these things Marines call CCIRs, Commander's Critical Information Requirements. They are used to keep Commanding Officers in the loop of important information as it happens. Such things include: Death of a Marine/Sailor, Hospitalization of a Marine/Sailor, Marine/Sailor in the custody of local authorities, Death/Severe Illness in a Marine/Sailor's immediate family, etc.

There is also this thing under the UCMJ known as Non-judicial Punishment or NJP... The burden of proof is far less than a courts-martial its a preponderance of the evidence (51%) and the simple fact someone has been NJP'd can result in processing for Administrative Separation. The service academies operate somewhere straddling the UCMJ and their own regulations, something allowed for them by law.

I'd be willing to guarantee you that Cadet King was NJP'd or the USMA equivalent, and that resulted in him going to a Separations Board because it was a major offense (one involving a Firstie that had what appeared to be significantly negative impact on the US Army and West Point). And the Separation Board (an entirely administrative body) decided to separate with the option to return after a year.
 
JMC; I still must disagree, and say that there is something WE DON'T KNOW!!! If King was ALL INNOCENT, and had no reason WHATSOEVER, to be tossed out of the academy with 3 months left...... There would be absolutely NO HIGH ROAD. There is no: "Army points and off you go". That is not the modern military is this regard. If he was really THAT SPOTLESS, his lawyer or parents or anyone else would/should be calling congressmen, senators, Sec Defense, newspapers, etc...

There is MORE to this than YOU WANT TO BELIEVE. Sorry. I've been seeing this for more than 30 years. I don't know what more to the story there is.... BUT THERE IS MORE.
 
From WP Admissions Facebook...

http://tinyurl.com/3k2p93w

As far as I'm concerned, 'nuff said with respect to his separation. A jury will have to decide what they see in the video but that won't (or shouldn't) have any impact on WP's decision.
 
Several folks have pointed out the obvious- we don't know either the entire situation at IAH nor do we know - and should not know- what this cadets record is. I am fairly certain that the Superintendant and Commandant however have plenty of justification for their actions

It's pretty discouraging to me that people on this forum are so ready to believe the absolute worst of the senior leadership of the USArmy- so let me ask the parents of future military officers posting this way on this subject: HOW can you send your sons off to war in an Army in which you truly have so little faith? What are you going to be like wh en your son or daughter comes home wounded or even worse when you can't believe that a LTG and BG of the USArmyhave considered the circumstances before imposing punishment on this cadet?
Folks- IMHO you either believe that the officers of the Army basically are fair and possess sound judgement- or you really should consider whether you are prepared to see your kids as part of the Army. Based on my experience- those decisions were made with a great deal of background information and a great deal of consideration for the entire picture. They are not however obliged to share this with the internet.
 
bruno said:
Several folks have pointed out the obvious- we don't know either the entire situation at IAH nor do we know - and should not know- what this cadets record is. I am fairly certain that the Superintendant and Commandant however have plenty of justification for their actions

It's pretty discouraging to me that people on this forum are so ready to believe the absolute worst of the senior leadership of the USArmy- so let me ask the parents of future military officers posting this way on this subject: HOW can you send your sons off to war in an Army in which you truly have so little faith? What are you going to be like wh en your son or daughter comes home wounded or even worse when you can't believe that a LTG and BG of the USArmyhave considered the circumstances before imposing punishment on this cadet?
Folks- IMHO you either believe that the officers of the Army basically are fair and possess sound judgement- or you really should consider whether you are prepared to see your kids as part of the Army. Based on my experience- those decisions were made with a great deal of background information and a great deal of consideration for the entire picture. They are not however obliged to share this with the internet.
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VERY WELL SAID!! :thumb:

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
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