(Houston) -- Two Houston Police officers have been disciplined for posing in pictures with a celebrity's bodyguards after an airport scuffle that made national headlines.
A new criminal investigation has also been launched into the encounter.
West Point cadet Richard King, 23, is suing legendary R & B singer Patti Labelle after her bodyguards pounced on him in a videotaped scuffle on March 11th. King said his career at the United States Military Academy at West Point ended because of the ordeal.
Video that was aired on news outlets worldwide showed three of Labelle's bodyguards confronting King in an intense physical struggle in which King claims in his lawsuit that he was beaten, shoved, and assaulted.
Shortly after medics took him away, the surveillance video of the encounter shows at least one Houston Police officer embracing Labelle and posing for photographs near a pool of blood that King had left on the ground in the spot where he was confronted.
Sgt. David Johnson has been given formal notice that he is being transferred away from the HPD Airport Division as a result of his posing for pictures in this ordeal. One HPD source involved in the case says Sgt. Johnson had gotten into trouble for the same thing in the past. That source said Sgt. Johnson had been seeking autographs and photographs with other celebrities he encountered while patrolling the airport and escorting dignitaries through the airport, which prompted supervisors to warn him against similar encounters in the future.
Sgt. Johnson, 57, was sworn in as a Houston Police officer in 1989, according to city personnel records.
A second HPD Airport Division officer, 53-year-old Richard LaVeque was given a disciplinary counseling known as a Supervisory Intervention, but he will not be transferred. One HPD source said he showed remorse for his actions and had never been in trouble with his supervisors in the past. LaVeque became an HPD officer in March of 1982, according to city records.
Also today, numerous HPD sources who are either involved or familiar with the case said that the HPD Homicide Squad has now assigned officers to launch a criminal investigation into the actions of the bodyguards. Detectives will determine whether assault charges should be filed against any of the bodyguards over their encounter with King.
HPD Homicide Squad investigators will present their findings to the Harris County District Attorney's Office for a final determination, according to the HPD sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
HPD sources said the department's investigation so far has shown that King was legally intoxicated, according to a blood test that was administered at the hospital after his arrival that night. The sources said that Labelle's bodyguards have indicated that King tried to force his way into her nearby limousine just before the videotaped scuffle. They also claim he punched one of the bodyguards during that attempt to enter the limousine.
His contact with the limousine was not contained in the airport security video that has been released so far in this case by King's lawyer.
His lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from Labelle.
More information: Watch video of scuffle in past Local 2 News coverage
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