REPORT: OFFICERS JOKED ABOUT KING BEATING

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, January 25, 1993                   TAG: 9301250123
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Medium
REPORT: OFFICERS JOKED ABOUT KING BEATING
The police dispatcher who called an ambulance for an injured Rodney King thought officers beat King because he angered them during a high-speed chase, a newspaper reported Sunday.
The four white Los Angeles police officers accused of beating the black motorist have said they did so because King became combative after pulling his car over and they feared for their safety.
The acquittal of the four on most assault charges after a trial in state court set off last spring's deadly Los Angeles riots. The four face a federal court trial next month on charges of violating King's civil rights.
The Los Angeles Times said Sunday that it had obtained a previously undisclosed transcript of a conversation between the police dispatcher and a fire dispatcher. Both were unidentified.
The conversation occurred March 3, 1991, shortly after officers tried to stop King for speeding. They chased him for seven miles before he pulled his car over in suburban Lake View Terrace.
The officers said the pursuit reached speeds of 115 mph, although the maker of the car King was driving, a 1988 Hyundai Excel, said the vehicle wasn't capable of going more than 100 mph.
King's beating was videotaped by a nearby resident.
One of the four officers facing trial, Laurence Powell, radioed the police dispatcher to call an ambulance for King. The dispatcher called the Fire Department.
"He p----- us off, so I guess he needs an ambulance," the police dispatcher told the fire dispatcher.
"Little attitude adjustment?" the fire dispatcher responded.
"Yeah, we had to chase him . . . CHP and us," the police dispatcher said. "I think he kind of irritated us a little."
"Why would you want to do that for?" the fire dispatcher asked.
"They should know better than to run," the police dispatcher answered, laughing. "They are going to pay a price when they do that."
Prosecutor Barry Kowalski acknowledged that he has a copy of the radio transmission. He declined to say whether it would be used against the officers at next month's trial.
The Los Angeles Police Department has never released the transcript and it was not used as evidence in the state trial. Prosecutors refused to comment on why it wasn't used, citing the upcoming federal trial.
Police officials also refused to discuss the transcript, saying there was an internal police probe into the dispatcher's conduct.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB