Judge Will Allow Race Evidence in King Case : Hearing: He rules that controversial remarks exchanged on squad car computers may be introduced in the trial of four officers accused of beating the black motorist.

By LOIS TIMNICK

June 11, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Suggesting that the police beating of black motorist Rodney G. King may have been racially motivated, the judge overseeing the brutality case ruled Monday that prosecutors will be allowed to use as evidence controversial computer messages exchanged by officers in their squad cars.

“To say that those comments aren’t racially biased is like sticking your head in the sand,” said Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bernard J. Kamins. “ . . . This is probably the first trial in which I will allow racial questions. I feel it’s a significant or relevant thought in the case.”

At issue were several police statements, including computer messages that flashed between squad cars on the night of the King beating, in which one officer typed a message that read: “Sounds almost (as) exciting as our last call. . . . It was right out of ‘Gorillas in the Mist.’ ”

Until Monday’s ruling, public debate over the role that racial bias might have played in the beating by four white Los Angeles police officers had not spilled over into the courtroom. The judge’s order will allow prosecutors to introduce evidence of racial bias during the trial, expected to begin June 19.

“I feel that race could be part of the motive here,” Kamins said, referring to some but not all of the defendants.

His ruling came the same day that King, for the first time since the March 3 beating in Lake View Terrace, came face to face with the officers who allegedly assaulted him. Dressed in a gray sweater and black pants, King entered the courtroom without a cane. As he took a seat behind prosecutors, King did not look directly at his alleged attackers, sitting nearby at a defense table. The 26-year-old man, subpoenaed by prosecutors for formal instructions on when to appear to testify, is one of 42 witnesses the prosecution plans to call.

“It’s nice to see you today,” the judge said to King. “How are you feeling?”

King, rising and appearing confused, made a few muffled sounds but did not answer. His attorney, Steven Lerman, explained to the judge that his client was nervous.

Kamins then excused them both, ordering King to be ready to appear on 24 hours notice within a few weeks after the trial begins. The two were escorted to a freight elevator and out of the courthouse.

Lerman later told reporters that King was “very upset about what happened this morning. Confronting these officers for the first time . . . it’s a very traumatic experience.”

Kamin’s ruling allowing the use of racial comments as evidence came after prosecutors and defense attorneys clashed during a hearing over whether racial comments allegedly made by the defendants before the beating and after, at a hospital where King was taken for treatment, could be admitted as evidence.

“Any mention of racial issues in a court of law is usually anathema to me,” Kamins said. “I have never asked a racial question because I felt that kind of question breeds racial prejudice.”

But after reviewing thousands of pages of computer messages exchanged through the Los Angeles Police Department’s communications network and other evidence, Kamins said he had concluded that the comments are both racial and relevant.

One of the defendants, Los Angeles Police Officer Laurence M. Powell, had asked that the “Gorillas in the Mist” comments allegedly made over the police computer system be excluded from use as evidence because they were made before the King beating occurred.

Defense lawyers for Powell and Sgt. Stacey C. Koon argued that race was irrelevant and that admitting such evidence would be prejudicial to their clients and create new issues within the brutality proceedings.

“This is a case involving a confrontation or a beating between one person and four other men, and now we’re getting into a whole (other) range of issues,” said Patrick Thistle, who represents Powell. “These police officers are within their rights to use force. The question is whether they exercised (those rights) appropriately or excessively.”

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Terry White said the “gorillas” allusion showed “motive and also bias by Mr. Powell against Rodney King because he is black.”

White added: “Even though it occurred prior to the incident, we believe that particular comment is relevant to the issue of motive,” particularly if the officers offer the expected defense that they feared for their safety from King as he emerged from his car.

The judge, describing his decision as “a tough call” that signals the actual start of trial, paused for a moment after the legal sparring had ended.

“I’m going to allow that evidence,” Kamins said finally.

Kamins also said he does not want either jury selection or testimony to drag on indefinitely. He warned that if defense attorneys bring up King’s past in an effort to discredit him, negative factors about their clients’ backgrounds may also be presented to the jury.

“If the door is open to Rodney King’s past,” he said, “the door is also open for the people” to delve into the officers’ pasts.

Kamins also stayed a $1,500 fine against Times reporter Richard A. Serrano until July 18. Serrano was fined for his refusal to divulge the source of confidential police reports he obtained after the judge had ordered them sealed. The reporter cited his constitutional rights and the state law that bars journalists from punishment for refusing to identify sources.

The judge said that lawyers for the newspaper have until July 18 to decide whether to appeal the sanction or to suggest an alternative penalty, such as tutoring illiterate children or some other form of community service.

In other actions Monday, Kamins said he will allow representatives of the Christopher Commission investigating the Police Department to view confidential personnel files on the four officers on trial--Koon, Powell and Officers Theodore J. Briseno and Timothy E. Wind.

The commission staff can only view the documents and discuss them during its deliberations while a court clerk is present, Kamins added. Mark Epstein, a commission representative, said the presence of an outsider may not be acceptable.

As he made final preparations for the trial, the judge refused a request by lawyers for both sides to question prospective jurors. Instead, Kamins said, he will himself do the questioning.

The judge has ordered 500 prospective jurors to appear June 19 and 20. Those who do not claim hardship will be asked to fill out a detailed questionnaire of more than 30 pages, and return for oral questioning beginning June 24.

Later, the judge met with lawyers to agree on a schedule that calls for opening statements to begin July 22, followed by three weeks of prosecution testimony. He said he expects the defense to begin its presentation Aug. 19, and lawyers for the four defendants indicated that their evidence would take about a month.

Meanwhile, in the county courthouse, Superior Court Judge William Huss postponed a hearing for fired rookie officer Wind, who is seeking reinstatement to the force, until Oct. 10.