Judge Rejects Separate Trials for 4 in King Beating

The judge in the Rodney G. King beating case refused Tuesday to grant separate trials for four Los Angeles police officers charged with assault and excessive force, but said he may decide to select a second jury to hear the case against the sergeant who was in charge during the March 3 incident.

“Right now, I’m denying severance,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bernard Kamins said after hearing lengthy, closed-door arguments.

Kamins said he might consider a separate jury for Sgt. Stacey C. Koon, who was the supervisor at the scene of the beating. Kamins said Koon is in a “tough situation” because statements he made to LAPD Internal Affairs investigators cannot be used against him at the trial, but might be used by his three co-defendants.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to Koon’s getting a separate jury if the others are going to kick him around in the courtroom with statements he made that he thought would never be used against him,” Kamins said, adding that he will decide before the trial begins.

The trial is not expected to start for at least two weeks. In addition to Koon, the officers facing trial are Laurence M. Powell, Timothy E. Wind and Theodore J. Briseno, all of whom worked in the Foothill Division station in the San Fernando Valley.

Kamins said the officers plan to use different defenses and have begun “pointing a finger at each other” by not taking full responsibility for their actions.

“If the effect is a shark biting a shark . . . that cannot be prevented,” he said.

Rather, the judge said, he will consider having simultaneous trials before two juries. Most witnesses would have to testify only once, and each jury would hear only evidence that is admissible and relevant to its case, he said.

Kamins said he will finish ruling on pretrial motions today, including a defense plea to move the trial out of Los Angeles County.

Defense attorneys have argued that the Los Angeles area is saturated daily with publicity about the beating--accompanied by repeated playings of a videotape of the incident, and submitted a poll showing that a majority of prospective jurors think the officers are guilty.

Kamins said he believes 12 people can be found who can set aside their initial impressions and listen impartially to evidence. If exhaustive questioning of candidates reveals widespread bias, he said, he will declare a mistrial and allow a change of venue to another county.

Legal historians can recall only two occasions when trials have been moved out of Los Angeles County. Even the 1968 assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy did not result in a change of venue for Sirhan Sirhan, although the killing was recorded by television cameras and broadcast repeatedly.

In another development Tuesday, California Highway Patrol Commissioner M.J. (Maury) Hannigan announced disciplinary actions against five CHP officers, including two command-rank managers, for their roles in the beating of King.

Hannigan, as The Times reported April 23, filed the actions with the State Personnel Board, setting the stage for a potentially protracted dispute that could take a year or more to settle.

While none of the CHP officers participated in the assault, Hannigan said Capt. Truman Dennis, commander of the Verdugo Hills office, his second in command, Lt. John Kielbasa, and supervisor Sgt. Roman Vondriska each failed to propose or undertake an investigation of “sufficient magnitude or intensity” to learn the nature of the beating even though they knew it had been witnessed by two of their officers.

Dennis was suspended for 15 working days without pay, effective May 21. Kielbasa was demoted from lieutenant to sergeant, starting May 31. Vondriska was suspended for five days, effective May 31. Each has appealed to the State Personnel Board.

The two CHP officers who initiated the pursuit of King, husband-and-wife team Timothy and Melanie Singer, received written reprimands for failure in their first reports to “fully communicate or document the full magnitude” of the King incident.

The Singers pursued King on the Foothill Freeway in the northern San Fernando Valley and called for support from Los Angeles police when the chase moved to city streets and the King vehicle was stopped. Koon, the ranking officer at the scene, took control of the incident and told the Singers to “stand back and let him and his officers handle the arrest,” Hannigan said.

He said the conduct of the Singers from when they made contact with the King vehicle until the Los Angeles officers took command was “in accordance with established CHP procedures.”

Hannigan said CHP officers are taught that “command at the scene of an emergency incident is not an issue to be debated or argued.” Consequently, he said, the internal CHP investigation did not fault the Singers for obeying Koon’s order.

Hannigan said the Singers could not see the entire incident because they were involved with two passengers in the King car, who were handcuffed but not arrested.

Timnick reported from Los Angeles and Ingram from Sacramento.