No Charges Filed in King Marital Dispute

Prosecutors on Monday declined to file criminal spouse abuse charges against Rodney G. King, saying that King’s highly publicized confrontation last week with his wife appears to have been little more than a verbal dispute.

“It is our opinion that no prosecutable criminal offense occurred,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Don Eastman said of last Friday’s confrontation involving King, whose beating last year by Los Angeles police touched off a furor over alleged police brutality.

The principal investigator on the case said the dispute was initially considered more serious because King’s wife, Crystal Lynette Waters, told the first officers to arrive at the couple’s Studio City apartment that she feared for her life.

After more extensive questioning, Waters said the dispute had been minor and that she did not want to press charges against King, 27, said Detective Mike Coffey.

Waters told investigators that she and King have been having marital problems for at least two months because of “all the pressure,” Coffey said.

King’s wife did not elaborate, but her husband has been at the center of a maelstrom since March of 1991, when he was beaten by Los Angeles police in an incident that was videotaped and aired on television around the world.

Last Friday, Waters said she had argued with King and that he ordered her out of the house. But instead of leaving, she attempted to use a small tape recorder to tape King’s statements and the couple wrestled over the recorder--leaving small scratches on Waters’ hands and wrists, Coffey said.

Coffey said he does not know why Waters wanted to tape King’s comments.

“Later, at the station, she clarified her initial statements and it turned out not to be that big a deal,” Coffey said.

Waters said she had only called police to see if her husband had the right to kick her out of the house and that she was surprised when police appeared at the door of the couple’s Laurel Canyon Boulevard apartment.

“There just does not appear to be anything there,” said Eastman, head of the district attorney’s Van Nuys office. “To the extent there was a dispute, it was almost entirely verbal.”

King’s attorney could not be reached for comment.