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West Point Cadet jumped twice: Once by thugs, once by the Army
- Thread starter IRfly
- Start date
Harrier Dude
Living the dream
I suspect that there is more to this story than what we see here. I find it hard to believe that the HPD and the entire leadership establishment of the USMA are conspiring to screw this kid.
There has to be more to this story.
I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist.
Then again, every once in a blue moon you aren't paranoid and the whole world is actually against you.
There has to be more to this story.
I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist.
Then again, every once in a blue moon you aren't paranoid and the whole world is actually against you.
Sapper!
Excuse the BS...
I really thought the same thing at first, like the kid had a history of being up to no good or was drawing too much attention/said something to get too much attention etc. But I don't think it matters at this point, no one should get an ass whipping like that, in public, even if they were talking crap, and get away with it and then have law enforcement condone it. I'm not offended, its just bullcrap for the guy, he is 23 give me a break. If it would have been a confrontation that made him and the academy look like asses, i got it, can him. I hate lawyers that dig for every single case they can get their grimy hands on too, but hope this guy gets back in the academy and LeBelle gets time.
You bet if you yourself had put your hands on someone like that they'd have thrown you in the slammer and there goes the aviation career....
It would be interesting to find out what really happened and the thing gets handled more appropriately if its warranted in the end.
Harrier Dude
Living the dream
You may be right. I kind of hope that you are and that all of this gets straightened out for the kid.
Having said that, I have seen FAR too many situations where I was about to jump in with both barrels (and one particularly memorable time when I actually did) only to find out that I was missing lots of key information that changed the whole story.
For instance:
They show a particular camera angle when he gets beat up that crops off the bottom of the screen. Most of the action is off camera. They then use a different camera angle to show the cop and the singer posing together. That angle SEEMS to be the missing angle from the shot before. What did that angle show during the fight and the moments that led up to it?
There were a bunch of witnesses shown in the clip. What do they have to say about the lead-up and fight before the beat down?
At some point this young man had his BAC taken. What was it?
Like I said, there is a lot that we don't know about what happened.
I'm hoping the best for the cadet.
I had some of the same thoughts as HD. The video would be much more conclusive in my mind if it wasnt cropped off... that said, IF this Cadet is getting the shaft, which I think he probably is, its hard to believe we're only talking civil suit here.
There should be criminal charges involved. That kid, assuming he was just talking on his cell phone, was assaulted.
There should be criminal charges involved. That kid, assuming he was just talking on his cell phone, was assaulted.
He said he had a drink on the airplane, which makes it an alcohol related incident.
What a garlic milkshake...
What a garlic milkshake...
We may not being seeing the whole picture, but even assuming the absolute worst case scenario (he was drunk, started getting in their face, initiated the shoving, and was in fact "too close" to her baggage) it still doesn't justify the end result.
Welcome to our new U.S. order. We only want you to risk your lives for the administrations agenda- but damn you if you cross a personal friends security entourage without the proper security password. If this video only shows 20% of the story- this situation is wrong on multiple levels. What's worse is that the "authorities" have not made their retort in a timely manner.
How does it go? "I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foriegn and domestic" That's thought provoking isn't it.
How does it go? "I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foriegn and domestic" That's thought provoking isn't it.
Reconjoe
Active Member
From what I saw, the camera angle is easy to explain...it's the same camera, only it wasn't being panned (manipulated by the operator on the other side) until after the incident was over and the operator knew to actually pay attention to that camera. Thus we only see the angle the camera was left unattended in.
With the caveat that I, of course, don't know the whole story...here's what disturbs me:
1) The police report that got forwarded to West Point apparently did not include any statement from the guy who got jumped and casts the aggressors as the victims.
2) The cadet was subject to an "administrative action" based on the report rather than a hearing/procedure based on actual wrongdoing, which was never confirmed.
3) What self-respecting Texas cop? Even money that at least one of the cops who showed up on the scene moonlights as a bodyguard. Cops hiring out as thugs and bringing the veneer of law enforcement to private interests (e.g. Ben Roethlisburger-entourage-style) belongs in Russia, not the U.s.
Hopefully this kid will get the hearing he deserves as this story gets more public. And hopefully he'll win his lawsuit.
1) The police report that got forwarded to West Point apparently did not include any statement from the guy who got jumped and casts the aggressors as the victims.
2) The cadet was subject to an "administrative action" based on the report rather than a hearing/procedure based on actual wrongdoing, which was never confirmed.
3) What self-respecting Texas cop? Even money that at least one of the cops who showed up on the scene moonlights as a bodyguard. Cops hiring out as thugs and bringing the veneer of law enforcement to private interests (e.g. Ben Roethlisburger-entourage-style) belongs in Russia, not the U.s.
Hopefully this kid will get the hearing he deserves as this story gets more public. And hopefully he'll win his lawsuit.
One more thing to note, I haven't seen anything from West Point/Army on this yet other than the fact he was disciplined and put in a 'mentorship program' for 18 months. I would be a little surprised, though it is not out of the realm of possibility, that they dismissed the cadet solely for this especially if he was not charged in the case and right before he was supposed to graduate. This might not be the only 'issue' that he has had in his time as a cadet. If West Point is dismissing cadets solely on an incident like this then I would be surprised and disappointed, but not knowing the full story quite yet I am not so sure I would condemn them quite yet.
I have seen too many instances of someone claiming they got shafted and it certainly sounding like they did when you hear their side, but when you get the full story it is a completely different matter. Like the poor Army soldier's wife that was getting deported a few years ago because she was an illegal immigrant, turned out in the end she was a convicted felon. Then again, sometimes guys really do get screwed, thank goodness we have a free press and a representative government that is accountable to the public.
The only person I have seen who said that the police report was the basis for the cadet's dismissal is his lawyer and not West Point, not that he is biased or anything....... I will wait for more info from them before being so quick to pass judgement.
What the fuck are you talking about? How does this have anything to do with the administration's agenda? And what about 'domestic' enemies? Who exactly would that be? Come on, man up and say what you really mean.
Let's forget about the administration at the USMA for a minute & zoom up to FL 300. Has anyone seen this news item on any of the network or cable news channels yet ? I haven't. In fact, I stumbled onto it on Yahoo News, of all [leftish] places. Can you imagine the play the story would have gotten if Reba McIntire's security people had mugged a minority American in this fashion? We don't know yet all the facts in this case (including Cadet King's prior record at West Point), but the poor guy was occupying his space first & talking on a cell-phone when Labell's(sp?) entourage drove up and changed his life forever. It will be interesting to watch & hear the rest of this story as it plays out in the media & courts.
I kept waiting for the bystanders to react. Even after beat down and trying to get up on his own, no one came to him. I am not sure if anyone saw much of the beating and it might be too much to ask most folks to get physically involved when two pros are at work beating a guy. You can't know what was being said, or yelled, since there is no audio. But even after the fact, you have a young man obviously in distress, bleeding, unable to get up and everyone keeps their distance, except for the mature gentleman in the cowboy hat. Am I putting too fine a point on the stereotype?
The thought provoking part of this particular incident is two fold. I've experienced the TSA "I am God and you Will do everything that I tell you to do" attitude permeating on down to the local police officers working their beat on airport property, and I assure you it's often poorly managed or completely unmanaged.
First: At what point do we draw the line and designate "individuals" as domestic enemies? Same question for the TSA or any agency as a whole? I can't answer those questions myself, but if the local police and local DA doesn't file battery charges against the lady that supposedly ordered her security team to commence the beat down, I submit that there's a higher authority influencing law enforcement actions this case. A fact finding period taken into account of course.
Second: I'm not a strict constitutionalist- but over the past 20 years I've observed that more and more members of society are ignoring governmental heavy handedness that appears to defy certain constitutional rights. The members on this forum by and large do not fall into the category of "sheep". I'm asking, what crosses the threshold of "against all enemies ...domestic"? When we raised our right and hand and swore the oath- they didn't give us an SOP regarding "domestic enemy" criteria, although the current administration is now trying to form a provocative definition. We lived the foreign enemy part every day, so that's better defined and not too much of an issue.
Thus the thought provoking comment. Carry on.
First: At what point do we draw the line and designate "individuals" as domestic enemies? Same question for the TSA or any agency as a whole? I can't answer those questions myself, but if the local police and local DA doesn't file battery charges against the lady that supposedly ordered her security team to commence the beat down, I submit that there's a higher authority influencing law enforcement actions this case. A fact finding period taken into account of course.
Second: I'm not a strict constitutionalist- but over the past 20 years I've observed that more and more members of society are ignoring governmental heavy handedness that appears to defy certain constitutional rights. The members on this forum by and large do not fall into the category of "sheep". I'm asking, what crosses the threshold of "against all enemies ...domestic"? When we raised our right and hand and swore the oath- they didn't give us an SOP regarding "domestic enemy" criteria, although the current administration is now trying to form a provocative definition. We lived the foreign enemy part every day, so that's better defined and not too much of an issue.
Thus the thought provoking comment. Carry on.
Latest, from Houston press. HPD is taking another look. Limo driver does report the Cadet was intoxicated.
http://www.khou.com/news/Attorney-w...inst-Patti-LaBelles-bodyguards-123274128.html
http://www.khou.com/news/Attorney-w...inst-Patti-LaBelles-bodyguards-123274128.html