Criminal charges dismissed against Kanye West and his manager stemming from airport scuffle

Criminal charges dismissed against Kanye West

LOS ANGELES — A court commissioner on Friday dismissed criminal charges against Kanye West and his road manager stemming from their scuffle with photographers last year.

Misdemeanor charges were filed after West and his manager were arrested on Sept. 11, 2008, after an altercation with two photographers at Los Angeles International Airport. The struggle was recorded and broadcast by celebrity Web site TMZ.

The photographers and the rapper have reached civil settlements over the case, which resulted in a still camera, flash, and a video camera being broken.

West’s attorney, Blair Berk, successfully argued the case should be dismissed because of the agreement and that California law allows for certain criminal cases to be settled out of court.

West, 32, was not required to and did not appear in court on Friday.

Deputy City Attorney Felton Newell argued the charges shouldn’t be dismissed because West and his manager, Don Crawley, intended to commit a felony and that one of the photographers was slightly injured in the scuffle.

Berk noted that county prosecutors had declined to file felony charges in the case, and that it took city attorneys more than six months to file misdemeanor battery, vandalism, and grand theft charges against West. She said the case was “wildly overcharged” and that it should be dismissed in the interests of justice, fairness and common sense.

West and Crawley have already completed 12 hours of anger management classes, Berk said.

Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Mark Zuckman dismissed the case, but wants both men to perform 50 hours of community service. He said he was taking into account the steps West and Crawley had already taken, their agreement with the photographers, and that there were no lasting injuries to the men. He also noted that neither man had a criminal history.

Berk said she was “very pleased” with the outcome.

“We objected to the motion but ultimately we have to respect the decision of the court,” city attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan said.

The altercation was another example of West’s notoriously testy temper, but also the first time his actions had turned physical rather than verbal. He verbally assailed President George W. Bush over the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, and lashed out at awards shows when he didn’t win.

Since the airport scuffle, West has been publicly derided for seizing the stage from Taylor Swift during this year’s MTV Video Music Awards after she became the first country star to win for best female music video.

He has repeatedly apologized for the incident and told talk show host Jay Leno that he was taking time off from music to reflect on his behavior.