Georgia Congresswoman in Scuffle With Capitol Police
By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, March 29, 2006 20:35 PST
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Cynthia McKinney and a police officer
scuffled Wednesday after the Georgia Democrat entered a House office
building unrecognized and refused to stop when asked, according to
U.S. Capitol Police.
McKinney, a sixth-term congresswoman who represents suburban
Atlanta, struck the officer according to one account, a police
official
said, adding there were conflicting accounts. The officer, who was
not
authorized to speak publicly about the incident, spoke only on
condition
of anonymity. No charges were filed, police said.
McKinney issued a statement Wednesday night saying she regretted the
confrontation.
"I know that Capitol Hill Police are securing our safety, and I
appreciate
the work that they do. I have demonstrated my support for them in
the
past and I continue to support them now," she said.
Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said only that
senior officials have been made aware of the incident and are
investigating.
Members of Congress do not have to walk through metal detectors as
they enter buildings on the Capitol complex. They wear lapel pins
identifying them as members.
McKinney routinely doesn't wear her pin and is recognized by many
officers, the police official said, adding that she wasn't wearing
it when
she entered a House office building early Wednesday.
By one police account, she walked around a metal detector and an
officer asked her several times to stop. When she did not, the
officer
tried to stop her, and she then struck the officer, according to
that
account.
In her statement, McKinney said most members of Congress expect
Capitol police to recognize them. "I was urgently trying to get to
an
important meeting on time to fulfill my obligations to my
constituents.
Unfortunately, the police officer did not recognize me as a member
of
Congress and a confrontation ensued," she said. "I did not have on
my
congressional pin but showed the police officer my congressional
ID."
McKinney was defeated in 2002 after she implied on a talk radio
program that the Bush administration might have had advance notice
of
the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. She won back the seat two
years
later with 64 percent of the vote.
Republicans circulated an e-mail noting that McKinney's party the
same
day announced an election-year "affirmation" of their commitment to
shoring up the nation's security.
"On a day when the Democrats unveil their national security agenda,
it's
probably not a good idea to allegedly strike a police officer,"
said Ron
Bonjean, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution
McKinney faces arrest over security incident
By BOB KEMPER
Published on: 03/31/06
WASHINGTON -- Capitol Hill police are expected to seek an arrest
warrant next week for Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia, who was
involved in a physical confrontation with a Capitol police officer
Wednesday, police and legal authorities said Thursday.
Officially, the investigation of the incident, in which the DeKalb
County
Democrat allegedly struck a police officer who tried to stop her
from
going around a security checkpoint, is ongoing, said Sgt. Kimberly
Schneider, spokeswoman for Capitol Hill police.
However, police have notified the federal prosecutor's office in
Washington that they will be seeking an arrest warrant after the
investigation is complete next week, said police and legal
authorities,
who spoke on the condition that they not be named because the
investigation was not yet complete.
McKinney ignored a reporter's questions Thursday as she walked into
the Capitol, before word of the planned arrest warrant. She could
not be
reached for comment later Thursday.
In a statement released Wednesday, McKinney said, "I deeply regret
that the incident occurred."
McKinney's office said she may hold a news conference today in
Washington.
The U.S. attorney's office must approve any warrant before police
can
take it to a judge for final approval. The prosecutor's office also
would
have to notify the Justice Department because the warrant would
involve a sitting member of Congress.
Charges could range from assault on a police officer, a felony
carrying
a possible five-year prison term, to simple assault, which is a
misdemeanor, police and legal officials said.
Capitol Hill police have viewed a security camera videotape of the
incident, which occurred in a House office building around 9 a.m.
Wednesday. However, one official familiar with the tape said it
doesn't
clearly show what happened.
The tape, the official said, only shows McKinney walking around the
security checkpoint, which members of Congress are allowed to do. It
does not show her confrontation with the officer who, not
recognizing
McKinney as a member of Congress, tried to stop her and have her go
through the metal detector. McKinney acknowledged that she was not
wearing the special lapel pin given to the 435 House members to make
them easier to identify.
Andy Maybo, head of the Capitol Hill chapter of the Fraternal Order
of
Police, praised the officer involved in the incident, who has not
been
identified.
The police union, he said, was "extremely proud of our officer. He
has
upheld his duties and responsibilities in a professional manner,"
Maybo
said. "He was correct in his actions and we support him 100
percent."
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), talking to
reporters
Thursday, called the incident "a mistake," and said she hoped the
police
and McKinney could settle the dispute.
Pelosi said it was understandable that an officer who didn't
recognize
a member of Congress would try to stop her from going around a
checkpoint. But she added, "I can also understand that members who
have been here a long time think they're recognizable. I wouldn't
make
a big deal of this."
Back home in McKinney's district, DeKalb County Commissioner Hank
Johnson, who plans to challenge her in this year's election, said
the
incident was just further evidence that she was undeserving of her
office.
"For years, it's the people of the 4th District who have suffered
and been shortchanged because of our representative's behavior in
Congress," Johnson said in a statement. "It's why she is
ineffective in
Congress."
But a number of people at South DeKalb Mall in the heart of
McKinney's district Thursday remained largely supportive.
"She is a good woman," said Andrew Hicks of DeKalb County. "I will
always support her, 100 percent."
Fred Maxwell, also of DeKalb, agreed.
"Had she been one of the white persons, they would not have asked
for
her ID," he said. "I still think the Republicans are trying to get
her out of
office."
Steven McGhee of Atlanta said McKinney "damaged herself" in the
incident, but he's not counting her out.
"She lost her composure," he said. "But she will probably bounce
back.
I would vote for her, because she is a fighter."
Wednesday's incident was not the first time a Capitol Hill police
officer
failed to recognize McKinney as a member of Congress. Her office on
Thursday posted on her Web site a clip from a documentary, "American
Blackout," that features one such encounter.
The clip first shows a black police officer recognizing McKinney and
welcoming her back to Congress in 2005, when she returned after a
two-year hiatus because of a 2002 re-election defeat. It then shows
a
white officer approaching her and the filmmakers as they enter the
Capitol grounds, asking McKinney and the crew to identify
themselves.
Told that McKinney is a member of Congress, the officer backs off
and
starts apologizing.
"That's just the typical kind of treatment that I receive,"
McKinney says
on camera. "So I'm not surprised and I'm not offended."
In what she says is a quote from the late hip-hop artist Tupac
Shakur,
she adds, "Some things never change."
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