Powell’s Welcome Home Party to Be Held in Washington

The welcome home party for former LAPD Officer Laurence M. Powell has been rescheduled for next week in Washington, and Powell, convicted of violating the civil rights of Rodney G. King, is using the occasion to try to add to his legal defense fund.

Powell’s original party--scheduled for the day of his release from federal custody in December--was canceled at the last minute when the nonprofit group that had intended to host the gathering at the Los Angeles Police Academy backed out amid criticism by city officials.

Instead, Powell’s legal defense fund has rescheduled the event for Feb. 22 in Washington, allowing him to hear next week’s oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court case involving Powell and his colleague, former Los Angeles Police Sgt. Stacey C. Koon.

The only problem, Powell points out in a fund-raising letter circulated among conservative activists, is that his bank account is empty and he has no way to get to Washington.

“Unfortunately, right this moment, that lawsuit has simply drained me emotionally and financially. Today I have never been more broke in my life,” Powell says in a five-page fundraising appeal sent last week.

When Powell and Koon received their 30-month sentences, U.S. District Judge John G. Davies departed from federal sentencing guidelines. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals voted to uphold their convictions but said that Davies erred on the sentencing and ordered him to impose terms within the guidelines--a ruling that could send the two former officers back to prison for an additional 40 months or longer.

The Supreme Court has declined to consider the officers’ appeals of their convictions but agreed to hear arguments Feb. 20 on whether the appellate panel improperly reviewed Davies’ sentencing.