LOS ANGELES : Witness Hedges Criticism of Officers Who Beat King

A Los Angeles Police Department training officer testified Monday that although much of the force officers used on Rodney G. King was unreasonable, it violated “administrative policy only.”

Sgt. Mark Conta told the jury hearing King’s damage lawsuit that there was nothing malicious or criminal in the behavior and that he could not judge the behavior of officers who failed to intervene and stop the beating.

“It would be unfair for me to judge them because of their different perceptions,” Conta said. “It depends on where you’re standing.”

Conta was a key government witness in last year’s federal prosecution of four officers accused of violating King’s civil rights. He had resisted testifying in King’s federal court lawsuit, citing psychological stress.