Houston police responding to the late-night incident outside the airport's Terminal C said King smelled of alcohol.
Raley said the cadet had consumed a few alcoholic drinks on his flight to Houston but was not impaired.
Raley said his client, who had come to Houston for spring break, was talking to his brother on a cell phone when he wandered toward LaBelle's limousine in the passenger pickup area.
"Apparently, defendant LaBelle believed King was standing too close to her (no doubt expensive) luggage, even though he was oblivious to her presence and the danger he was in," the lawsuit asserts. "LaBelle lowered the window of her limousine and gave a command to her bodyguards. They sprang into action."
The lawsuit contends King never struck members of LaBelle's group.
In the video, King is seen wandering near the auto while talking on his cellphone. Then he is pushed and punched before falling against a concrete pillar. Apparently stunned, King attempts to rise three times, but falls. He finally stumbles away from the scene.
For some seconds before the blows, King is not visible on the screen. The video has no audio. The security tape also shows two Houston police officers posing for photographs with LaBelle after the confrontation, King's blood on the ground a few feet away.King was taken to a hospital by ambulance. The lawsuit says he suffered a concussion.
"There can never be any justification for the savage battery of King..." the lawsuit states. "Defendant LaBelle is hot-tempered herself ... She was a full participant in the cruel attack on King. She ordered it, and never tried to stop it."
Calls to LaBelle's management company were not returned Thursday.
A police incident report confirms that an altercation occurred involving King and LaBelle's limousine driver, Zuri Edwards, 37. Edwards told police that a verbally abusive King hit him after he was asked to move as staffers approached with luggage carts.
Police said Edwards suffered a bruise on his face but did not want to press charges against King, who told officers he could not remember what happened before or during the attack.
West Point spokesman Francis DeMaro declined to discuss specifics of King's case, but said cadets can be placed under mentorship for violations of the academy's code of honor. Inappropriate use of alcohol, he said, may result in such action.
Houston police responding to the late-night incident outside the airport's Terminal C said King smelled of alcohol.
Raley said the cadet had consumed a few alcoholic drinks on his flight to Houston but was not impaired.
Overview of Patti LaBelle
Not long after signing, the group was credited for the hit single, "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman", though the song was recorded by another girl group, the Chicago-based The Starlets. This led to a lawsuit by a manager of the group and its record label boss, later resulting in the group winning $5,000 in damages. "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" eventually reached the Billboard top 20. Despite this credited success, the group couldn't follow up with any other hit. The Blue Belles supported themselves by constantly touring including an appearance at the Apollo Theater.
