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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 92273.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This has been in the news for a few days now and no one (to my knowledge) has posted it. Patti La Bells guards beat up a West Point Cadet and put him in the hospital for standing too close to Patti LaBells luggage while he waited to be picked up at the airport here in Houston last March.

Here is the video

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?secti ... id=8169508" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It gets worse, poor kid is semi coherent at the scene after police are called, and they believe Patti La Bell's security that he started hitting them and was drunk. The police officer's also decide to pose for pictures with Patti La Bell. The guards decide not to press charges, but someone at Houston Police decides to call West Point and alert them to the incident involving one of their cadets (a Senior).

He is essentially kicked out of West Point, but to repay the military for his education, he is now serving in the regular forces as a private. He may apply to re-enter West Point at some time, but I suspect his military career is over.

If you watch the video you see most of it except, when it started. How we have all the details of Patti LaBell rolling down her window and getting her goons to attack the young boy who was just minding his own business on his cell phone, unaware he is in a dangerous spot next to her precious luggage, is that there were witnesses. Witnesses that the police failed to talk to and who summonded the police in the first place, the traffic security at the airport. They have since been laid off, either because they decided to be witnesses against the city or because of the economy. ( I betting its the former. Isn't the world a great place ) BTW the City just announce a billion dollar remodeling of the airport.

So this one little story has a lot of issues:

Rich vs ordinary citizen

Black vs White

Police procedures when injured party is bleeding and incoherent

Celebrity power

Who is Patti LaBell and why does she need security?

What if the kid had been carrying, would he have been justified in drawing and shooting? Then what would have happened?

But my favorite, if your in the military do you get more favorable press and are people more likely to believe you are innocent?

We have had this incident, the killing of the former Marine in Arizona, and the killing of West Point graduate Erik Scott in Las Vegas. The press has generally promoted the military status of the victim.

It hasn't helped them so far, as they are still dead or not in West Point, but will their status improve their or their families chances in civil court.

Patti LaBell is a goofball. I remember seeing her on an episode of Dog Whisperer. She had bought this HUGE mastiff-like dog (I don't remember the exact breed, but we're talking a 200 lb dog here) that she was terrified of, and so she kept him locked in a cage, alone and apart from the rest of his species and without a pack leader, causing him to become unbalanced and dangerous.

Why the hell did she buy the dog in the first place? And once she bought it, why did she keep it the way she did instead of adopting it out to a rescue organization that could have placed in a good home owned by people who have a clue? Instead, and meaning no disrespect to Caesar Milan or what he does, she used her self-induced predicament to engage in a little self-promotion at the dog's expense.

I saw the airport video. Drunk or not (there is some honest disagreement about whether or not he was drunk), there is nothing that Cadet Richard King did to in any way disturb her things or threaten her person. She hired thugs for her personal security — people who apparently enjoy handing out beatdowns (and who, btw, are getting away with this one) — and she exercised the same judgement when she sicced them on King that she did when she bought a dog without any consideration for either her ability to handle it, or for the dog's welfare.

I am not impressed by Patti LaBell one iota.

Unfortunately people of questionable moral/ethical character are not excluded from the ranks of the rich/famous any more than they are from our ranks. I just find them rank.

Standing too close to her luggage? Why wasn't one of her hired goons standing over her luggage?

After watching the vidio I would have to say there is excessive force. Why the shoving. The body guards are escilating the situation.

philip964 wrote:...So this one little story has a lot of issues:

Rich vs ordinary citizen

Black vs White

Police procedures when injured party is bleeding and incoherent

Celebrity power....

Don't forget:

Lower IQ vs higher IQ

Old vs young

Entertainer vs future leader

Police who appear to value a photo op more than our military future.

The whole incident is a travesty, but a perfect example of how our nation is weakened. Perhaps I should go watch the movie "Idiocracy." It may be closer to the truth than I have dared imagine.

The story isn't very clear, but did West Point kick him out for being drunk in public, being injured so he couldn't perform his duties or for getting beaten up?

WildBill wrote:The story isn't very clear, but did West Point kick him out for being drunk in public, being injured so he couldn't perform his duties or for getting beaten up?

Drunk in Public.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

WildBill wrote:The story isn't very clear, but did West Point kick him out for being drunk in public, being injured so he couldn't perform his duties or for getting beaten up?

Drunk in Public.

I hope that at the ER they did a blood test.

Too bad there were no Marines around to assist the young man..THAT would be justice! I think this will NOT be over soon!!

I felt compelled to do SOMETHING so I found the contact for the Commandant of West Point and wrote him an email regarding this incident on behalf of the young man. In an era when so many are not willing to serve and want others to do the dirty work for them, it was the least I could do for him. Not that it will make a lot of difference, but all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing, right?

Things are looking up for our young West Point friend.

http://www.khou.com/news/Attorney-wants ... 74128.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So what if he had carefully checked his weapon, gone into the bathroom after picking up his luggage and was now carrying as Ms. LaBell's security attacked him. He had had two drinks on the plane. So that would be bad. I suspect if he had even drawn his weapon he would be in a mess of trouble, let alone defended himself with it.

Justice finally being rearranged, Goons have warrants issued on them and charged with assault.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?secti ... id=8239612" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Best quote "These assault charges will likely hurt her position, says the attorney we spoke to on Friday"

Victim still not back at West Point, and they still have no comment.

And I still don't remember who Patti LaBell is or why she needs security.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/ ... 8-12-11-07" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

West Point has reinstated cadet beaten up by Patti LaBelle's guards.

'Bout time.

philip964 wrote:http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/ ... 8-12-11-07

West Point has reinstated cadet beaten up by Patti LaBelle's guards.

'Bout time.

From the link......

In a lawsuit against the Grammy Award-winning LaBelle, he said three of her bodyguards attacked him for no reason. The singer has countersued, saying King was drunk and hurling racial slurs.

Why do some people always go there......