European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 28, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday March 28, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 5many . Officers Balking at Fri probe by the los Angeles times los Angeles the Fri frustrated in trying to question More than 200 los Angeles police officers in the civil rights investigation sparked by the Rodney King beating decided tuesday to interview Only those who do not demand immunity from prosecution. The decision came after dozens of officers from the los Angeles police departments foothill division walked at talking with Fri agents unless they were assured they would not face criminal charges and would be allowed to tape record the interviews. Teams of Fri agents continued late tuesday however to work their Way through a list of 246 officers assigned to the division. They Are conducting a Federal probe into alleged police misconduct by what some critics have characterized As an a a outlaw unit in the North san Fernando Valley. Only a handful of officers have agreed to cooperate so far. Many were approached at Home before they had a Chance to seek Legal advice according to the los Angeles police protective league the police Union. Only three officers to Date have been interviewed at their Homes by the Fri according to the league. None was questioned at the foothill station tuesday. The reluctance of officers to speak with Fri agents caught the attention of mayor Tom Bradley a i have asked for cooperation the police chief has asked for their cooperation and frankly in a disappointed there would be reluctance a Bradley told a City Hall news conference. I think the next step will be up to the Fri and to the chief a police chief Daryl Gates has criticized the department of Justice for sending Fri agents to officers Homes. However the chief has instructed his officers to cooperate with the Federal investigation. A the chiefs position is that officers have an affirmative duty to cooperate in official investigations of this  said a police department spokesman it. Fred Nixon. A a but our officers have constitutional rights and we would not in any Way seek to deprive them of those  a lawyer retained by the police league in the stars and stripes sheriff s deputies escort police officers Stacey c. Koon left and Timothy e. Wind into a los Angeles courtroom tuesday. Said foothill officers Are torn Between obeying Gates orders and protecting themselves. A a they re caught in this dilemma of not violating the chiefs orders but at the same time looking out for their own interests a attorney Diane Marchant said. She said that Fri agents told her they did not plan to pursue unwilling officers at least for now and were concentrating instead on those making a voluntary  As the Fri probe continued four officers indicted for King s beating answered the charges tuesday in los Angeles county Superior court. The officers whose images were Cap tured on a Home videotape of the March. 3 beating pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and excessive Force. Standing with their lawyers sgt. Stacey c. Koon and officers Laurence m. Powell Timothy e. Wind and Theodore j. Briseno individually denied guilt. The five count indictment returned by the los Angeles county grand jury charges each officer with one count of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of unnecessarily beating a suspect under color of authority. The indictment further alleges that Koon Powell and wind inflicted great bodily injury on King that Koon and Powell filed a false police report and that Koonts cover up efforts a a Render him an accessory after the fact. On tuesday supervising Superior court judge Gary. Klausner denied defense motions to delay the trial or to reject the indictment As insufficient. He also ruled that under the newly enacted proposition 115, the defendants do not have a right to a preliminary hearing. He assigned the ease to Superior court. Judge John Reid 43, a re actively new judge who in a non Ury Tria earlier this month convicted a los Angeles county sheriff s Deputy of killing his girl Friend. The officers were ordered Back to court thursday when pretrial motions and a tentative trial Date in late april were to be set. Defense attorneys citing their clients inability to get a fair trial in the Glare of intense publicity said they Are weighing whether to ask the judge to move the trial out of los Angeles county. Only twice in the past decade have such motions been granted in los Angeles county. But noting that even president Bush has expressed an opinion on the incident the lawyers said they May also seek a Eon in dance a until the Case Dies Down and there is less interest a a Bush has said that what lie saw on the videotape made him a sick Quot lawyers for Briseno who faces lesser charges also indicated they will seek to have him tried separately from the others. The grand jury that indicted the four was to return thursday to examine the actions of other officers who were present at the beating scene but failed to intervene. The King incident began with a traffic Stop and ended with the 25-year-old King of Altadena calif., hospitalized with severe injuries caused by. More than 50 Baton blows and kicks by the arresting officers. The beating triggered nationwide outrage and prompted the department of Justice to conduct a sweeping review of police brutality in cities across the country. It has also prompted Calls for Gates  has steadfastly refused to step Down. On tuesday a police department spokesman said Gates would disclose a plan for a restoring the Lusters of the  Angeles police department both in the eyes of the Public and police officers appalled by the blow to the department s image. 10 year Sago March 28,1981 a millions of polish workers staged a four hour warning strike As talks aimed at averting a general strike next week failed to reach agreement. 20 years ago March 28,1971 a Scotland Yard marshalled police forces around the world to help track Down the men who pulled off Britain a biggest Cash Holdup since the 1963 Quot great train  the gang ambushed an armoured Security car and made off with about $1.09 million. 30 years ago March 28,1961 a the defense department called for a draft of doctors a the first such action in four years a to provide 250 physicians to serve with the. Air Force. 40 years ago March 28,1951 a Brooklyn judge a Samuel s. Leibowitz told the Senate crime investigating committee that $25 million in graft has been paid to new York policemen. 2,000-year-old Mummy hitches ride Boston a More than 2,000 years after his death a mummified Stone Cutter named Padi Hershey hitched a ride in a Hearse tuesday on his Way to a temporary Home at a museum. The Mummy is being loaned to the George Walter Vincent Smith Art museum in Springfield by its permanent owner Massachusetts general Hospital the Hospital received the Mummy in 1823 from a dutch merchant a he also possesses one of the two coffins used to preserve the body. The outer coffin or sarcophagus was sent to Springfield in the 1930s. It is on loan to a museum in Baltimore so Massachusetts general agreed to loan the Mummy and inner coffin to the Smith museum until labor Day. The Mummy with an exposed head after cloth was removed More than a Century ago appeared to smile at workers with its shiny White Teeth As they prepared it for the 90-mile ride. The face is Black because the Mummy was preserved with a tar like substance. The two halves of the coffin were closed around the Mummy and it was wheeled through the Hospital corridors on a Gurney. An elevator took it Down to the waiting Hearse. A they done to answer me no matter what Load i have a said Bob Cremonti the Hearse Driver As he watched workers place the Mummy affectionately known As a up Adit into his vehicle. A it just seemed to be a perfect vehicle a said Karen papi Neau museum registrar. Workers prepare the Mummy for its move to a temporary Home in Springfield