Koon Depicts Blows as Least Harmful Tactic

In his second day on the witness stand, Sgt. Stacey C. Koon took responsibility Wednesday for every kick and baton strike used on Rodney G. King and said that although the blows were intended to injure King, they also were meant to protect him from more serious harm.

“My intent was to cripple Rodney King,” said Koon, the senior officer at the scene of the 1991 arrest and beating. “That is a better option than having to use deadly force, having to choke or having to shoot Rodney King.”

Koon spent almost three hours on the witness stand Wednesday, and his testimony, which closely paralleled the account he gave during last year’s state trial, was delivered in calm, measured tones. He firmly defended his actions and said that every time force was used against King, it was either at Koon’s specific instruction or with his tacit approval.

Koon said his orders were disobeyed only once. He testified that he ordered Officer Laurence M. Powell to transport King from Pacifica Hospital to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center directly, but that Powell instead detoured to the Foothill police station.

Although Koon said he was upset to find that Powell had disobeyed his order, he added that he was satisfied by Powell’s explanation. Powell, according to Koon, said that he stopped at the station to book King into the county jail ward from there.

Asked whether that decision was within Police Department policy, Koon said: “Within the policy, the best decision for the officers, the best decision for Rodney King.”

Prosecutors will get their turn to interrogate Koon today. Among other things, they are expected to question him about his past statements on the beating and passages from a book he has written about the incident.

As Koon testified, his co-defendants--Powell, Timothy E. Wind and Theodore J. Briseno--watched with rapt attention. At the end of the day’s proceedings, Briseno and Powell said they were proud of their colleague’s testimony and admired his willingness to take responsibility for the incident.

“I just think that the fact that he’s taking responsibility like that, that’s real important to me,” Powell said. “It shows what kind of integrity he has.”

Koon’s appearance on the witness stand comes after a string of police witnesses who have testified that the force used against King was appropriate. Together, those witnesses form the core of the defendants’ case. Defense lawyers said they believe that the testimony over the past several days has effectively rebutted the prosecution’s case.

“I think the final bow has been tied,” said Ira Salzman, the lawyer who represents Koon. “We have shown conclusively that there was no evil intent.”

Powell, Wind and Briseno are charged with intentionally using unreasonable force against King by kicking, stomping and striking him with batons. Koon, who was their supervisor, is accused of willfully allowing an unreasonable beating to take place. All four men face up to 10 years in prison and fines of as much as $250,000 each if convicted.

Much attention in the federal case has focused on how the prosecution hopes to show that the officers not only used unreasonable force but that they also did so intentionally. One way that prosecutors have said they will establish the intent necessary to win a conviction is by introducing evidence that the officers falsified reports about the incident to downplay its seriousness.

Under questioning from Salzman, however, Koon said the reports were an accurate summary of what he knew about the incident at the time. Although his log did not detail King’s injuries, for instance, Koon said that the only information he had when he wrote the report is that King was suffering from facial lacerations and that he was being held in the jail hospital ward for observation, not further treatment.

In his testimony Wednesday, Koon reiterated a position that he and other defense witnesses have stressed repeatedly--that King could have stopped the beating at any time if he had given up.

“Rodney King has control of the situation,” Koon said. “I have control of the officers.”

Koon methodically reviewed the videotape of the beating for jurors, noting each occasion where he said that he and his officers believed that King was trying to stand up. If King had been allowed to rise, Koon said, the situation quickly could have deteriorated into one where deadly force would have been required to end it.

Only after Wind and Powell had struck King dozens of times with their batons did King finally indicate that he was giving up, Koon said.

“The first words that were uttered that were understandable were: ‘Please stop,’ ” Koon said. “I interpreted that as submission.”

After that point, the sergeant added, King was never struck again.

In presenting their case, federal prosecutors produced two witnesses who testified that King’s injuries suggested he had been struck several times in the face with a baton. Intentional baton blows to the head of a suspect generally violate police policy, and repeated blows to King’s head could suggest that those strikes were intentional.

Koon, however, testified that he saw no baton blows that hit King in the head or face. He said he specifically ordered the officers not to hit King there.

Because of the position of King’s head and arms, “There was a very real potential that Rodney King would get hit in the head,” Koon said. “I screamed out several times: ‘Don’t hit him in the head, don’t hit him in the head.’ ”

Koon’s testimony also highlighted the defense’s contention that Los Angeles Police Department policy was partly responsible for King’s injuries. Several defense witnesses have testified that a 1982 decision to bar the use of a so-called chokehold except in deadly force situations deprived Koon and the other officers of the ability to use that tool in arresting King.

Koon said he would have been especially reluctant to use the chokehold on King because King is black, and much of the furor surrounding the chokehold was based on the “perception that the chokehold was killing blacks.”

“That inhibited me from using the chokehold,” Koon said.

Even more important, he said, the decision to bar the chokehold meant that he could not do so without violating police policy, and Koon said he was unwilling to do that. “I have to abide by the rules,” he said.