Koon Released After Serving 27 Months for King Beating

Former Los Angeles Police Sgt. Stacey Koon, the sergeant in charge of the scene at the videotaped beating of Rodney G. King, was set free Thursday after 27 months in custody.

Koon, convicted of violating King’s civil rights, served a total of 27 months in home confinement, a halfway house and prison.

Former Police Officer Laurence Powell, also convicted of violating King’s civil rights, left federal confinement Wednesday. On Thursday, Powell’s father, Ed Powell, said his son is bitter at the way the legal system treated him.

The elder Powell said his son is relieved to have his first dose of freedom in more than two years but that he has no immediate plans because he may still have to go back to prison if the U.S. Supreme Court orders him resentenced. The Supreme Court will hold a hearing Jan. 9 to consider whether the trial judge erred in straying from federal sentencing guidelines.

“This is the first time he’ll be able to make a decision for himself,” the elder Powell, a retired sheriff’s deputy, told a news conference. “Let me tell you, it’s a relief for him. But the relief is short-lived.”

Powell’s release generated controversy when supporters from a conservative group called the Legal Affairs Council planned to hold a welcome-home dinner for him Thursday evening at a private club on the grounds of the Los Angeles Police Academy. The dinner was also to serve as a fund-raiser for Powell’s legal defense. The club canceled the event after some public officials reacted with outrage.

The event was rescheduled for January. A date and location will be announced later..