Questions surround investigation involving Patti LaBelle

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- We're learning new information about a shocking confrontation between a West Point cadet and famed singer Patti LaBelle's entourage at a Houston airport, as questions linger over how police handled the situation.

A man was punched and pushed to the ground, then taken to the hospital bleeding. In the end, no charges were filed, and at least one officer got a picture with LaBelle. We've learned police are now reviewing how officers handled themselves that night.

Sources close to the investigation say that right now there is not an official internal affairs investigation. Rather, supervisors over the airport division of Houston police are looking carefully at everything that went on that night. They're looking at the video, which, apparently a lot of other people may not have done until recently.

The surveillance video showing West Point Cadet Richard King, wearing a yellow shirt, being beaten up by Patti LaBelle's bodyguards has sparked a lot of questions as to why no criminal charges were ever filed in the case.

KTRK Legal Analyst Joel Androphy said, "He didn't have any type of weapons, he's waiting at the luggage area -- it's shocking to see what happened there. What's even more shocking that police didn't do anything about it."

Now that the video has been made public, HPD says it is conducting an internal review. Police sources tell us they are evaluating why the initial report listed King as the suspect, and why, after he was carted off in an ambulance with blood everywhere, that Houston police officers were seen taking photos with LaBelle.

"If they're taking a picture with Patti LaBelle, who is a witness to this case, along with her three bodyguards, that is improper behavior," Androphy said.

What happened outside the airport terminal will have a lifetime of implications for this young man. On Friday West Point told Eyewitness News that King will be leaving the academy without graduating. His only option is to go through a mentorship program where he will have to spend at least a year serving as an enlisted member of the military, before he can reapply for admission

"It was vicious. It was brutal," said King's attorney John Raley. "It was one of the worst things I've ever seen."

LaBelle's representatives are aware of the lawsuit, but so far they have issued no comments. Houston police won't say whether their officers even looked at the video before making the report -- a report that may have derailed a young military career.

Androphy said, "It's hard to believe the officers picked up the phone to call West Point. There's no reason to do that at the time."

It's uncertain who actually notified West Point. The lawyers say it was someone within the Houston Police Department. HPD says they don't believe that is the case.

It does, however, appear that the initial officer who made the report ever looked at the video, and that is something that is being scrutinized.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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Patti LaBelle sued over alleged attack

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Singing legend Patti LaBelle -- the so-called godmother of soul -- is now the target of a lawsuit after a violent confrontation involving her security guards was caught on camera at a Houston airport.

The man who filed the lawsuit says he was the victim of an unprovoked attack and he accuses Patti LaBelle of sending her guards after him. Much of it was caught on surveillance video.

The case was filed in a civil lawsuit because the Houston Police Department didn't file any criminal charges in this case. The lawsuit alleges it was Patti LaBelle who told her bodyguards to remove someone who was standing too close to her luggage.

The entire incident was recorded by a security camera at Bush Intercontinental Airport. Richard King, seen wearing a yellow shirt in the video, was involved in the physical confrontation. King was the victim of an unprovoked attack, says his lawyer.

"He was completely taken by surprise," said John Raley, King's attorney. "No one would have seen this coming. Even watching the videotape now for the, I don't know how many times we've watched it, it still is surprising the violence and the suddenness and the brutality of this attack."

The incident happened on March 11. King, who is 23 years old and a senior at West Point Military Academy, told us by phone on Wednesday that on March 11, he was on spring break and came to Houston to visit his family. King says he was on the phone with his brother, unaware he was standing next to LaBelle's luggage. King says at the time, he'd never heard of Patti LaBelle.

"I pretty much got jumped," King said. "I really don't even know why, and on top of that, it's causing a lot of trouble up here because of the false police report that they had reported."

According to Houston police, King is described as a suspect who was harassing the occupants of the limo. HPD also reports it was King who appeared to be intoxicated and punched the limo driver. King denies being drunk.

Robert Bowick, an attorney for King, said, "It doesn't matter if Cadet King was impaired from a drink or two. He was minding his own business. He was not harming anybody. He was not a harm to himself."

Equally disturbing, says King's lawyer, are the actions of LaBelle after the incident. The superstar emerges from her limo and takes pictures with fans, including a Houston police officer. Raley says LaBelle was standing over King's spilled blood on the ground.

Repeated attempts to contact LaBelle or her representatives were unsuccessful.

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