Charges In Michael Jackson’s Death To Be Filed Monday

KESQ.com News Services

LOS ANGELES -Plans to charge Michael Jackson’s physician today with involuntary manslaughter, as had been expected, were mired in uncertainty because of a reported dispute between prosecutors and the Los Angeles Police Department over how to handle the issue.

Now, prosecutors say they plan to file the charges on Monday.

Spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons released the statement Friday before what was planned to be an appearance by Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, at an airport-area courthouse.

The statement does not say what type of case will be filed or who will be charged.

Murray’s lawyers expect the cardiologist to be charged with involuntary manslaughter.

According to the Los Angeles Times and the celebrity news Web site TMZ.com, the D.A.’s office and the LAPD were locked in a bitter dispute over Murray.

The police department reportedly wants Murray arrested and handcuffed before he appears in court, arguing that otherwise he might seem to be getting special treatment.

Prosecutors reportedly feel that handcuffing the doctor would represent special treatment since he has no criminal record and is not deemed to pose a public threat.

A Chernoff associate said Murray would show up at the Airport Branch Courthouse at 1:30 this afternoon, irrespective of whether he is charged.

Chernoff told The Times that Murray was prepared to surrender to a police station and post the standard $25,000 bail for an involuntary manslaughter charge, which carries a maximum four-year term. The bond would allow Murray to remain free pending a formal arraignment.

But authorities wanted Murray to agree not to post bail at the police station so he could be taken into custody, transported to a courthouse by police and brought before a judge, the lawyer said in remarks reported on The Times’ Web site.

“I told them there is no way that I’m going to let my client sit in jail so you can have your show and parade him into court in handcuffs,” Chernoff said. “That’s when they pulled the plug.”

He said his negotiations with authorities broke down Thursday night because they insisted on “a photo op” of the physician in handcuffs.

Police Chief Charlie Beck, meanwhile, denied his department had a conflict with the D.A.’s office about the terms of the doctor’s surrender or that the department was insisting on a “photo op” showing Murray in handcuffs.

“We’re not looking for that kind of photo op; that’s not what we do,” Beck said in an interview on KTLA.

” … What I’m looking for is a smooth transition into the next phase of this investigation,” he told Channel 5. “So, we’re cooperating with the D.A. and with Dr. Murray’s attorney, and we just want it to go well and to … make sure that we don’t damage any of the great work that’s been done.”

Murray has been the object of a seven-month investigation launched after Jackson’s death. At the time, he was serving as Jackson’s personal physician while the singer prepared in Los Angeles for a series of London concerts.

Jackson, 50, was staying at a rented estate in the Holmby Hills while he was rehearsing for his 50-concert series at London’s O2 arena. On June 25, the singer was found unresponsive in his bedroom and rushed to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead around 2 p.m.

The Los Angeles County’s coroner’s office blamed Jackson’s death on “acute propofol intoxication.” The powerful sedative is supposed to be administered by an anesthesiologist in a hospital setting, according to medical experts.

According to search warrant affidavits filed in Houston and Los Angeles, Murray told Los Angeles police detectives he had been giving Jackson 50 milligrams of the drug every night using an intravenous line for about six weeks, Murray claimed, however, that he feared Jackson was becoming addicted to the medication and was trying to wean him off. He said he lowered the dosage to 25 milligrams and administered it along with two other sedatives, lorazepam and midazolam, according to the court documents.

According to the court papers, Murray told investigators that on the morning of Jackson’s death, he tried to induce sleep without using propofol, administering a variety of drugs at various times throughout the morning instead.

When those medications failed, Jackson repeatedly demanded the propofol and Murray administered 25 milligrams of the drug, causing Jackson to fall asleep, according to the court documents.

Murray told investigators he left Jackson for about two minutes to go to the bathroom, and when he returned, he found Jackson not breathing.

The success of a criminal case against Murray could hinge on the timeline of events that occurred inside Jackson’s rented home.

Murray contends he left Jackson alone for only a few minutes after administering the propofol, only to return and find Jackson not breathing. But investigators said in court papers that cell phone records indicate Murray may have been on the phone for about 45 minutes between the time he says he administered the drugs and when paramedics were called.

Murray has denied wrongdoing and insisted he didn’t give Jackson anything that should have caused his death.