Powell Joked of ‘Playing Ball’ With King, Nurse Testifies : Trial: Officer has denied making comments at hospital. Judge rules prosecution cannot present evidence that passenger in car was hit while in custody.

Officer Laurence M. Powell, one of four defendants charged with violating Rodney G. King’s civil rights, joked about King’s injuries after the beating, telling King that “we played a little ball” and that “you lost and we won,” an emergency room nurse testified Monday.

Carol Denise Edwards, who gave substantially the same testimony during last year’s state trial of the officers, conceded that she did not see Powell make those comments and stressed that she did not believe Powell was taunting King.

But Edwards said she was sure Powell made the remarks because he was standing behind her while she was tending to King at Pacifica Hospital shortly after the beating

According to Edwards, King told Powell and Officer Timothy E. Wind that he worked at Dodger Stadium. Powell replied: “We played a little ball tonight, didn’t we, Rodney?” Edwards said.

“We played a little hardball. We hit a few home runs,” Powell then allegedly told King. “We played a little ball. You lost, and we won.”

Powell, who has denied making any of the comments, showed no expression as Edwards testified. He stood when she identified him and Wind.

Edwards’ testimony came as tension surrounding the case mounted in anticipation of King’s expected appearance in court today. In the more than two years since the infamous events of March 3, 1991, King has never testified in open court, and news media from around the world are expected to descend on the courthouse to hear what he has to say.

Although estimates varied as to when he will take the witness stand, prosecutors informed U.S. District Judge John G. Davies that King could be called as early as this afternoon. They expect to take only 20 to 30 minutes questioning him, but defense lawyers predicted that they will cross-examine King for a day and a half.

Meanwhile, Davies opened the day Monday by dealing a setback to the prosecution’s case. As defense lawyers had predicted, Davies ruled that prosecutors cannot introduce evidence that one of King’s passengers, Freddie Helms, was struck while in police custody. Last week, prosecutors surprised lawyers for the officers when they asked to present evidence about injuries to Helms in order to rebut the suggestion that King was beaten only because he resisted arrest.

Davies, however, ruled that allowing evidence about injuries to King’s passenger would be unfair because the defendants are not charged with that beating and because prosecutors conceded that they cannot prove any responsibility on the part of the officers.

“I’ve given the matter a lot of thought,” Davies said. “That is beyond the scope of the indictment.”

Barry F. Kowalski, a Justice Department attorney and one of two lead prosecutors, urged Davies to reconsider. Kowalski said that Powell had misrepresented the treatment of Helms in a police report and that Powell’s lawyer, Michael P. Stone, had compounded the issue by telling jurors in his opening statement that Helms and another passenger, Bryant (Pooh) Allen, complied with police orders and were taken into custody “without incident.”

“The government should have the opportunity to prove that the statement is false,” Kowalski said.

But Davies would not budge, and he ordered Kowalski not to ask witnesses about alleged injuries to Helms unless the defense lawyers raise the issue themselves. If that happens, prosecutors could be allowed to bring up the topic when they present their rebuttal case, Davies said.

Although they lost that round, prosecutors pressed ahead Monday, making particularly strong points through Edwards’ testimony.

On cross-examination, Edwards acknowledged that she did not believe Powell was taunting King during their exchange. But she stood firmly by her account of the conversation.

“Do you have any doubt that it was defendant Powell who made the comments about playing baseball, hitting home runs?” Kowalski asked.

“I do not,” Edwards responded.

Prosecutors moved more quickly through their questioning of the doctor who treated King at Pacifica. That doctor, Antonio Mancia, stitched up several of King’s cuts but never noted on any official document that King might be suffering from more severe head injuries.

In fact, Mancia’s only notations on the official record of his examination indicated that King was suffering from “PCP overdose” and superficial cuts. Mancia did not order an X-ray for King and did not ask for an ambulance to transport King from Pacifica to the jail ward at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, instead allowing officers to transport him in a police car.