King's 'missing hours'

Los Angeles (AP) - Two government witnesses gave testimony yesterday showing that two hours passed between the time Rodney King left an emergency room and arrived at another hospital for more treatment on the night of his beating. The journey would usually take half an hour.

Four police officers are charged with violating Mr King's federal civil rights in the 3 March, 1991 beating, which was videotaped by an amateur cameraman. When the four officers were acquitted in a state trial, riots broke out in Los Angeles. The officers are white, and Mr King is black.

The government elicited the testimony to lay the groundwork for proving that during those two hours officers brought a battered Mr King to the police station to show him off. A registrar at Pacifica Hospital identified emergency-room logs which showed police officers left there with Mr King at 3:31 am on March 3, 1991. The booking deputy at Los Angeles County USC-Medical Center then testified that Mr King arrived at 5:35 am at the public hospital.