Cadet in LaBelle guard tussle back at West Point

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Department of the Army has reinstated a West Point cadet who was involved in an airport scuffle with bodyguards for R&B diva Patti LaBelle.

Richard King, a member of the Class of 2011, was already on suspended separation for previous conduct when the March 11 scrape happened at an airport in his hometown of Houston.

In a lawsuit against the Grammy Award-winning LaBelle, he said three of her bodyguards attacked him for no reason. The singer has countersued, saying King was drunk and hurling racial slurs.

Norma Harris, the 63-year-old hairdresser for LaBelle, and 43-year-old bodyguard Efrem Holmes, have been charged with assault in connection with the tussle.

West Point says the 23-year-old King will start classes Monday. If he meets academic standards, he will graduate in December.