Posted on 06/23/2011 12:12:00 PM PDT by RabidBartender
The former West Point cadet who's suing singer Patti LaBelle's entourage for allegedly assaulting him at Bush Intercontinental Airport last March has added an airport operations worker to the list of defendants.
In an amended complaint filed earlier this week, Richard King accuses Houston Airport System employee Cahl Rasmussen of relaying false and defamatory information to King's West Point supervisors -- namely, that King instigated the confrontation that left him bloody and landed him in the hospital.
"[Rasmussen] was not a witness, but without compunction, passed on the aforesaid false report as if it was true," the complaint states. "In an act far outside the scope of any job description, Rasmussen initially e-mailed, then spoke on the telephone, to King's supervisors at West Point."
The complaint does not state if Rasmussen saw the video of the incident before allegedly contacting West Point.
King's lawyers told Hair Balls earlier this month that, based on this information, West Point suspended King. The Houston Chronicle reported earlier that West Point officials said they conducted a "thorough investigation" of the incident and took "appropriate action" by suspending King. West Point officials have not responded to our request to confirm that Rasmussen spoke with King's supervisors, and Rasmussen has not responded to requests for comment.
Rasmussen has been an airport operations coordinator since 2004, according to his Facebook page. (Under his "employers" section, he wrote "Work as little as possible. Remember I work for the government!!" -- classic, Rasmussen).
He lists his previous occupation as a police officer for the city of Aurora, Colorado, from 1985-2000.
LaBelle and her entourage have not filed a response.
I also asked ODH to provide the bonafides of his claim. The limited google search didn’t turn up such a report of the cadet’s BAC being tested. And note that ODH added a incidental detail about the testing.
It isn’t my speculation that West Point said they expelled him for an honor code violation.
Often it isn’t the thing itself that gets you into trouble - it is the lying about it. That part is my speculation.
Right, what ODH did is a really dishonorable kind of slander. Even if he did actually read such a report it’s dishonorable to bring it up UNLESS he provides the citation.
If your gut is telling you not to trust him, I agree with you gut.
You were willing to slander the cadet. No way to contest your claim WITHOUT contesting your honor. Do you have any?
A serviceman may not have absolute confidentiality when the chain-of-command inquires into medical records. I’m guessing, but I think it’s pretty much a given.
Another thing that could get him in trouble is his commander treating other people's lies as truth and believing that the victim's true statement is a lie.
Often it is reasonable to believe a witness who has no dog in the fight, and doubly so when that witness was there because of his job duties. But in this particular case the witness appears to have an agenda. The lawsuit allows the victim's lawyer to get to the bottom of it.
If you search on his name you will see he makes 45K per year at the airport. I thought of that and then looked at the guy in the Tux at the "People's Choice" awards.
It may be him, but I have some doubts.
If the cadet was over the limit, it sounds like to me that he was probably standing too close her luggage, one of the body guards probably yelled at him to move over and then the kid got mouthy and Labelle told the guards to shut up the kid.
I just can’t see it being the kid was standing around minding his own business and the guards attacking him without provocation.
Did he really say that or did you pull that quote from the Onion?
Have you even watched the video?
The only video I have had a chance to see is the kid bobbing and weaving, trying to avoid the attack as he was surrounded, just prior to him getting pushed into the pillar.
The video doesn’t have audio, so whatever is being said, if anything, wouldn’t show up.
Even if the kid got a bit mouthy in some way, it would still be considered unprovoked, because he wasn’t posing as a threat to them.
Thanks T-Bird, for beating me to it on informing Hodar what is obvious from the tape which was posted on FR shortly after the incident.
It is pretty clear the individual was talking on a cell phone, not insulting anyone in the star’s entourage. And the tape also shows Airport Police posing for pics with the “star.” The same ones who are supposed to write up an incident report.
Hodar must have been fishing when this hit FR.
That’s OK. We’re here to help.
Can the Attorney General or his office get sued for making inflammatory statements like this?
Can the Attorney General personally insert him self into a lawsuit between two private parties?
Welcome to our planet, visitor from the stars.
LaBelle and her thugs enter the picture a few minutes later.....
They entered HIS space with the luggage, etc.
I can believe that and there isn’t any excuse for this.
It just seems that there is more to the story than her thugs attacking him, without any preceding events. There must have been some precedent event, whether it be that the cadet was mouthy when ordered to move or that, while on the cell phone, he did some body movement that indicated disdain to their order to move over or something.
No, he never said this...but I am certain this is what he was thinking knowing his past record of black on white crime occuring all over the country.
Thank you for the update ping! Very interested in this case. Good luck Cadet!
I don’t disagree - as I mentioned it’s a conduct offense, not an honor offense. There are a looottt of people who get conduct offenses. I wasn’t a big drinker, but that just allowed me to drive everyone elses cars while I was there.
Now if he lied about something that is one thing, but it sounds to me more along the lines that he wasn’t “politically in” and had no one to support him so WP immediately assumed the worst. And yes such a thing starts early at the academies - it’s akin to being in the jock/popular group in high school. Those that aren’t are Sh*t Screens the first year in hopes of driving them out - I was a screen myself the first year and laid low the rest of the time. Ended up in the middle of my class, but I knew if I messed up one time that would be it for me...while I watched others that had protection get away with all sorts of infractions. It’s a major reason I got out later as well.
Again if he lied about the incident during the investigation that’s one thing, but if it was just for conduct then I agree it was a railroad job.
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