Cadet Suspended from West Point after getting beaten by Singers entourage

Well nobody is going to be asking this cadet his background anyway. There are two sides of this case, civil and criminal and I only have experience on the side of good against evil. It does not appear that either side will be testifying in Harris County unless someone is pressing charges.

As far as asking the cadet how he got to WP - unless some smart attorney is reading the SAF he wouldn't understand how the whole thing works.

And 'Bills" may include any monetary damages awarded to the cadet
 
I'd be so mad... This already makes me mad. Those guards over-reacted and his wounds are terrible. That guy just pushed his chest right up to the guy for whatever reason, it's natural to push someone away like that esp if your on the phone and minding your own buisness. WP should of at least looked into this before suspending him. Though, a phone call from the police saying how he was drunk and got into a fight, i understand. But, at least trust in your cadets from time to time?
 
Usually the cadets who the police are calling about don't have much of the "trust me" platform to stand on at that point.
 
LineInTheSand said:
Usually the cadets who the police are calling about don't have much of the "trust me" platform to stand on at that point.
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LITS : Unless you know something that no one else has heard and it's been about 2+ months. I really don't understand why you are taking this position. There are times with Cadets do stupid things, there are times when Cadets are guilty of serious indiscretions. But there really is nothing that I can glean from any of the stories out there that this kid did anything other than get jumped and beaten. Not sure what your experiences were at the USCGA, but it may simply not be applicable in this case.
 
My experience is that of the 305 people who raised their hands on R-Day with me, 33% of them didn't raise their hands to take the oath on graduation. Why? Many couldn't handle the academics. Some had no idea what they were getting into. Finally some were stupid and did something bad, like lied, or got drunk.

The police say a cadet (who are not perfect) had alcohol on his breath. A nice chunk of what happened is not in view of the video feed. And there is no audio. I'm not willing to give a cadet the benefit of the doubt because he wears a grey uniform or competed with other kids from his state for a congressional nomination. I'm not willing to say the police acted "stupidly" prior to the photos being taken. I'm willing to allow that maybe the cadet said something, pushed up against someone, or anything else.

I wish I could see more. I wish I could hear what was said. I can't. I'm not willing to throw people in uniform under the bus because of the very fact that a college student in a uniform wears a uniform, and is one of America's "best and brightest". I'm sure the 33% of his classmates who won't make it to that last day at West Point were also "the best and the brightest" and I'm sure they all received congressional nominations too.

I had a classmate who was on probation for kissing a cadet in a class he should not have kissed. He asked his company commander (who was his classmate) to go get ice cream for his company-mates after drill on a hot day. His company commander (who was his classmate) said no. He went. He was kicked out THE DAY BEFORE graduation.

Cadets do stupid things. Sorry. They're not all the best or the brightest. The hope is the best and the brightest are the ones that graduate (and even some of them aren't).

Things don't add up. People don't jump a guy in broad "streetlight" for nothing. There are holes in the video coverage....especially when it all starts. I wouldn't condone a beat down. I've had to investigate "fights" before....certainly receiving the bad side of a beat down doesn't mean the person had no part in it.

People want to believe the cadet, a uniformed college student, while distrusting the police and people around, and assuming West Point was born yesterday.

West Point can't talk about most of it...they're not able. Sure would love that inside story (which I of course don't have.)
 
First of all I have no doubt that what was done to this young man was well beyond reasonable. However, I've got a question for you all, especially JMC0759. If you watched the cadet's actions specifically from the beginning of the video how would you characterize his arm movements before he's approached? The first time I watched the video I wasn't sure who the cadet was until I saw him pushed, but I went back and have now watched it multiple times concentrating on his movements. It's difficult to see them all because he's right on the edge of the bottom of the video.

I immediately noticed that, as Ms. La Bellle's probable driver (in maroon) and the luggage cart approach, the cadet turns toward someone waiting by their car and, sticking his right arm completely out, points it in that person's direction. It appears he has someting in his hand (the phone?) which he is pointing at the person.

The cadet subsequently points his partially extended left arm, no less than four times. The first time is just as the driver is directly in front of him. During the later three times he turns away and then back and, as it looks like he's going to start heading away, the driver acosts him. It's impossible to tell, because they had dropped below the picture, if one of the other bodyguards who joins in was the same person the cadet initially pointed at.

I'm thinking he was probably just talking and gesturing with the left arm after the first use of it but that, and his first action with the right arm completely extended, may not IMHO be the random actions of someone who was in the middle of a phone conversation and totally ignoring what was going on around him.

It looks to me like he was clearly engaged with the other party prior to their pushing him away, although he may have disengaged prior to their reaction.

The other thing I'm wondering is if his BAL was taken as he was being treated.
 
Ok, let's assume that the cadet made first contact with the bodyguard. That does not give the bodyguard carte blanche to cold-cock the cadet. Under state law you can use the force necessary to stop an assault. Putting somebody in the hospital or out of commission is excessive force. I can't do it so some guard certainly can't do it.

I try to get off my law and order soapbox at 1700 hours CST on Fridays but here is my last point.

When I was still in uniform and training rookies I had three rules for them when they first got in the car:

1 - Protect your partner - me
2 - Enforce the law fairly and don't take sides
3 - Don't do anything to discredit your uniform, the department and the city or do anything that might get you on the front page of the paper. This was way before the internet.

In defense of the HPD the responding officers probably did not have access to the video and obviously did not have the luxury of playing it over and over. So let's look at #2 and #3.

#2 -I wonder if the airport officers, after calling the principal's office on the cadet called Ms. LaBelle's agent or maybe the people she sponsors to tell them what had happened. HMMM...probably not. I also wonder if we would all be talking about this incident if it were not for the combination of money, celebrity and cadet. I wonder if the entourage was a bunch of plumbers or electricians and the cadet played football at the University of Anywhere if this would be news. HMMM....

#3 - Getting your picture taken with a celebrity who was a party to an offense that you were investigating, while on duty. HMM.... I wonder if they had their picture taken with the cadet. HMM... This takes us back to #2 all over again.

In the end I feel for the cadet and his family, the officers doing a tough job and have no feeling for the entourage. Signing off!
 
LITS : The Airport Security Officer who witnessed the altercation had this to say to the Houston Chronicle "The guy was there with a cellphone to his ear. LaBelle's bunch was up there, standing at the rear of the limo," he said. "... Her window came down, and this guy comes over to elbow-shove him. His head hit that concrete, and after that he was basically a zombie."

King said he positioned himself in front of the limousine to keep it at the scene while the second airport officer tended to the injured man. When police arrived, both were sent back to traffic duties without being questioned by city officers, he said."

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7594731.html#ixzz1OGWJLWHb

While I understand you have a certain perspective from your time at the USCGA, are you suggesting that this is the same at all SA's? I think that is a bit of a reach and you need to consider if that point of view is well reasoned or wise.
 
Although I am putting words in LITS mouth- I believe that he is just commenting that we do not know as much of the story as you need to determine what really happened, and that it is likely that USMA very likely has some information not readily available from the newspaper which prompted them to take disciplinary action against the cadet involved. Like al of you commenting here- I have no way of knowing what actually transpired, but I would not proceed from the point of view that a Cadet is a plaster saint incapable of getting involved in a fracas like that described here (believe me - they are not), and neither would I presume that he is guilty of it. I would, however, believe that the Commandant would have reasonable grounds for his actions prior to taking something as drastic as suspending this Cadet And I am certain that the USMA administration are absolutely constrained from commenting publicly on this case one way or the other.
 
bruno said:
Although I am putting words in LITS mouth- I believe that he is just commenting that we do not know as much of the story as you need to determine what really happened, and that it is likely that USMA very likely has some information not readily available from the newspaper which prompted them to take disciplinary action against the cadet involved. Like al of you commenting here- I have no way of knowing what actually transpired, but I would not proceed from the point of view that a Cadet is a plaster saint incapable of getting involved in a fracas like that described here (believe me - they are not), and neither would I presume that he is guilty of it. I would, however, believe that the Commandant would have reasonable grounds for his actions prior to taking something as drastic as suspending this Cadet And I am certain that the USMA administration are absolutely constrained from commenting publicly on this case one way or the other.
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Bruno : I agree with the idea that the USMA might have more information that we are publicly unaware of. I also do not think of cadets as plaster saints. But the actions of the Houston PD really color the nature of what happened to this young man and leave open the possibility that the guilty party was not the one punished here.

This sort of incident is plenty serious enough to get any student suspended from school, so I do not agree with the idea that there necessarily needed to be more incidents in this cadets career to warrant his suspension (being accused of public intoxication, fighting and having the local police list you as the primary suspect in a criminal incident is plenty to get you suspended). There might be some other incidents in this cadet's record, but I would not be surprised if this kid had an otherwise clean record.
 
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With regards to HPD's handling of the whole affair...

1) Every cop in the world knows that all curbside locations at major airports are videotaped 24x7. Given the subsequent posing with the celeb, I would say their professional judgement was impaired more than the cadet's.

2) Given the injury (concussion) of the cadet and the corresponding inability to take a valid statement from that condition, they owed him at least a cursory investigation of the situation to get both sides of the story. It would appear that they did not from the alleged lack of non-participant statements in one of the stories.

3) A decent cop, even when alleged victims say they are not pressing charges, should always assure that potential evidence (like a blood alcohol sample) is collected and not destroyed when significant bodily injury is involved. They do this in domestic violence calls all the time.

3) I disagree with Pima with regards to this costing the Police Chief and the Mayor at election time. Now that the public has seen the video, they can suspend the officers and the supervisors at the time of the shift pending internal affairs investigation (which will take years because of the pending litigation) and claim complete ignorance of the coverup taken on sight.

With regards to the cadet's actions...

1) He is guilty of cellphone stupidity. I'm sorry, but being so oblivious (even if working off a buzz from the earlier flight) to your surroundings because you are engrossed in conversation put him in a bad situation. We see it every day in public places (and on the road as well). I don't think this by itself is enough to deserve the beatdown from the singer's thugs.

2) The repeated tumbles to the ground and subsequent staggering about after hitting his head on concrete is very consistent with a concussion. I watch a lot of hockey, and immediately after a player is stunned hitting his head into the boards, he tries to right himself, falls down repeatedly and then tries to skate off towards the bench, usually in an indirect line. Cops seeing his unsteady gait need to understand that has nothing to do with intoxication and cannot be used as a reason to suspect public intoxication.

3) While I too cannot see everything that is off camera, I can see that immediately before the first punch is thrown, one of the body guards is tending to the luggage and turning his back to the cadet right next to the cadet and not necessarily paying attention to the cadet's actions which suggests that he doesn't feel threatened by the cadet. While this doesn't mean that the cadet did nothing wrong (he could have been referring to these guys impolitely withing their earshot to his brother), I'd be hard pressed to say that he did anything physically threatening.

With regards to WP's handling of the affair...

1) It seems to me that if this is the cadet's first drunk and disorderly complaint, the punishment would exceed the crime. We cannot know his record at WP, but this kind of punishment would suggest that he has had other issues in the past (perhaps with alcohol involved) and that WP felt that this was an appropriate punishment.

2) If the cadet has had previous infractions with alcohol, he probably would have been warned to stay off the sauce, even while on leave. The fact that there was a report of alcohol being involved, regardless of the circumstance was probably enough to trigger the punishment. I guess it was his unlucky day.

With regards to the upcoming lawsuits...

1) If his suspension from WP was because he had an alcohol related incident, then he probably cannot win damages for career issues, as he already admits to having consumed alcohol presumably in violation of an order.

2) He can get damages for potential long term affects from a serious concussion (they can add up over the years), as it looks like he will come out the victim. Singer's attorney would be well advised to settle this one quickly.

3) Strangely enough, I think he will get more relief from HPD than any of the above as this almost looks as bad as Rodney King and some jury is going to want to send a message. While they didn't do the beating, they sure didn't look like they were doing their jobs and that level of incompetance is inexcusable. Plus I think HPD has deeper pockets than a has-been singer who spends it all on those clothes that needed protecting from a WP cadet.
 
bruno said:
Although I am putting words in LITS mouth- I believe that he is just commenting that we do not know as much of the story as you need to determine what really happened, and that it is likely that USMA very likely has some information not readily available from the newspaper which prompted them to take disciplinary action against the cadet involved. Like al of you commenting here- I have no way of knowing what actually transpired, but I would not proceed from the point of view that a Cadet is a plaster saint incapable of getting involved in a fracas like that described here (believe me - they are not), and neither would I presume that he is guilty of it. I would, however, believe that the Commandant would have reasonable grounds for his actions prior to taking something as drastic as suspending this Cadet And I am certain that the USMA administration are absolutely constrained from commenting publicly on this case one way or the other.
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Yes, actually, that's exactly what I was saying. Just didn't do a great job at it.

@Falconfamily "While I understand you have a certain perspective from your time at the USCGA, are you suggesting that this is the same at all SA's? I think that is a bit of a reach and you need to consider if that point of view is well reasoned or wise."

Yes, I am suggesting that it would be the case at all of the service academies. Not only because every service academy searches out similar quality candidates, but because I have friends from every service academy, either after leaving CGA or through exchange cadets. USCGA, USMA, USNA, USAFA and USMMA all have their share of cadets/midshipmen who will do something stupid and will likely not graduate. USCGA is from from unique in that.
 
falconfamily said:
But the actions of the Houston PD really color the nature of what happened to this young man and leave open the possibility that the guilty party was not the one punished here.

...

There might be some other incidents in this cadet's record, but I would not be surprised if this kid had an otherwise clean record.
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First, everyone should separate the events at the airport (where I think we all agree there was at the very least assault by Ms. LaBelle's entourage and negligence on the part of the HPD) from the disciplinary action taken by USMA.

NO ONE has yet been punished for the events at the airport.

Now, to the disciplinary action. I would be quite surprised if a cadet with "an otherwise clean record" received this particular punishment from USMA. Separation (even couched in a "serve some time on active duty and re-apply" terms) is quite drastic for a first disciplinary infraction. Obviously there are some things that would result in immediate separation even as a first offense, but (alleged, but apparently not charged) drunk & disorderly is not one of them.
 
DHinNH said:
First, everyone should separate the events at the airport (where I think we all agree there was at the very least assault by Ms. LaBelle's entourage and negligence on the part of the HPD) from the disciplinary action taken by USMA.

NO ONE has yet been punished for the events at the airport.

Now, to the disciplinary action. I would be quite surprised if a cadet with "an otherwise clean record" received this particular punishment from USMA. Separation (even couched in a "serve some time on active duty and re-apply" terms) is quite drastic for a first disciplinary infraction. Obviously there are some things that would result in immediate separation even as a first offense, but (alleged, but apparently not charged) drunk & disorderly is not one of them.
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We might be splitting hairs here - while the there may not have been any judicial punishment, getting suspended from school because someone from the Houston PD or Airport Security contacted the school seems like a form of punishment to me.

As for disciplinary action from West Point, I too would tend to think that there must be something about the former cadet's record that would warrant such a severe punishment. But keep in mind that the Houston PD report on the incident named King as being at fault for the incident - this assessment was based upon the testimony of LaBelle's entourage, not a review of the camera tapes, or apparently witness testimony that was supportive of Mr. King's version of events.

We shall all see in the coming months what the truth of the matter really is, my point is that, while there may be exacerbating incidents in Mr. Kings history at West Point, it would not be surprising to me if the basis of the suspension was primarily the incident at the airport as reported to the SA by the Houston PD.
 
falconfamily said:
We might be splitting hairs here - while the there may not have been any judicial punishment, getting suspended from school because someone from the Houston PD or Airport Security contacted the school seems like a form of punishment to me.
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Is that why the disciplinary action was taken? We do not know.
 
Is that why the disciplinary action was taken? We do not know.
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There is absolutely zero-doubt in my mind that is why administrative action was taken. The Houston PD stated to West Point that a cadet had assaulted someone and "smelled" of alcohol. West Point, took a knee-jerk reaction (I am not saying this is necessarily wrong decision) and assumed that he committed the offense. Otherwise, if they were not sure, they would not have acted. Since administrative action is not punitive, it is in no way imposing judicial type of punishment.

The WP PA rep. inferences that the sole reason for action was based on "the inappropriate use of alcohol." I'm presuming (which sometimes can be bad) that if a cadet has had two alcohol incidents (especially one as a 1/C and as grave as the Houston PD reported), then they would be booted (not kept); I could be wrong, though.

I think it is fair to say that the Houston PD did not act with the professionalism that is required of their job, that they did not thoroughly investigate the incident (including neutral witnesses), that Cadet King has a slam dunk case in civil court and that, presuming the limo driver's version of the events are correct, the force was excessive and beyond self-defense. Right now, the only facts of assault that are documented on video/photos, is that of Cadet King being beat-up and not of Cadet King assaulting the limo driver -- and there is a neutral witness who said King didn't do anything wrong.

Who knows if King had more to his conduct record than this alleged incident, but I sure hope that if this is his sole incident (barring minor conduct offenses), that WP corrects the situation pending a change in the police report or civil suit. To not do so, would be hypocritical of the school's "code of honor" that is cited in the report to the Houston Chronicle.

No one also knows how many a "few" drinks are and when they were consumed. No Breathalyzer or BAC was conducted, so based on the neutral witness and the limo driver (the same one who said he fell into the concrete slab), there is no factual basis that can claim if he truly was publicly intoxicated.
 
I think that we are all missing the point here. The mayor,the police chief, and the HPD officers are not going to lose theirs jobs over this incident. At best the airport police may have violated some written policy and they might see a day off. Probably not.

Cadet King's consumption of alcohol, and surmised level of intoxication are not an issue. If he was under the influence he would have been carted off so that point is mute. The allegation that he had been drinking really doesn't matter either.

Let's not speculate on the cadet's history at the Academy. It shouldn't even be discussed. It's pure speculation and he does not deserve to be tried on the web.

DHinNH and Jadler03 are right on the mark and I repectfully disagree with LITS and Goaliedad. It all comes down to the assault. No assault, no nothing.

There is nothing that Cadet King could have said which would have justified his being abused and sent to the hospital nor is he guilty of cellphone stupidity. What is that by the way? Hey, this is a free country. You can say and do whatever you want. Well, within reason.

Let's think of it this way. _____ _____ (insert Cadet, Midshipman or Alumnus along with your kids last name.) is at the gas station, Walmart, the beach or anywhere. They aren't bothering anybody and somebody walks up, and gives them a shove. Because they're a man or training to be a warrior they push back and in that one instant, that one moment their life is changed forever. They're hurt physicaly and emotionally, their career is at risk, their college life is no longer certain and they can no longer play a sport they have excelled in all their life. Peers look at them differently and the family is devastated. So what did he do wrong? He was standing in the wrong place at the wrong time and he PO'd the wrong folks and THAT is what this is all about. He screwed with the wrong people and it can happen to anyone of us at any time and anywhere. The poor kid didn't even get a chance to defend himself because those guys were ready for a confrontation and he wasn't. Maybe they were in a bad mood because the passengers in front of then had their seats reclined on their flight. One thing is for sure - they were ready for whatever and they found some poor kid who was just tryng to get home from school for the summer. In all the assault cases I have investigated the aggressor usually keeps both hands empty and aren't talking on the phone.

But, let's give kudos to the only guys who did anything right at Bush Intercontinental that day back in March. The real heros. Those two civilian airport security guards who blocked the LaBelle limo from leaving. Without their involvement this may have just been another unknown suspect(s) assault and we all would not have anything to comment on. Good job guys!
 
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FWIW, the limo driver's name was released. He happens to be Ms. Labelle's DS.
 
jadler03 said:
There is absolutely zero-doubt in my mind that is why administrative action was taken.
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Really? "Because someone from the Houston PD or Airport Security contacted the school"?

I submit that the phone contact initiated at least a tiny bit of investigation (and I suspect more than a tiny bit).

As for no BAC taken, we don't know that, and I doubt that it was not done. I'd be quite surprised if someone taken to the hospital after such an incident would not have their blood checked for all manner of chemicals. Especially if the person smelled of alcohol.
 
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