Kennedy car pool
Posted on 05/05/2006 4:52:17 PM PDT by Jean S
A high-ranking official at the National Fraternal Order of Police cited the mishandling of Rep. Patrick Kennedy's (D-R.I.) car accident Thursday as just one more example of problems the Capitol Police Department is experiencing since Chief Terrance Gainer retired.
Jim Pasco, executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), said the fact that no investigation was conducted after Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I) crashed his car into a security barrier at C and First Street SE was unacceptable but symptomatic of the way the Capitol Police Department is being run after Gainer's departure on April 6.
Gainer retired after charges of nepotism surfaced in early March.
"This is one of the reasons why Gainer is gone…It's no secret that 15 to 20 years ago the department was run by and for the good-old-boy and good-old-girl network," Pasco said.
He added that there are some individuals on Capitol Hill that are "not willing to continue the evolution," of the department.
Pasco also said he was concerned that encouraging officers to examine the political ramifications of an incident rather than allowing them to react to unlawful situations as they are trained to do could have dangerous results.
"This kind of political decision-making could lead to the injury of an officer," he said.
Pasco said this is the second incident in two months in which Capitol Police management has favored politics over protocol, citing Rep. Cynthia McKinney's run-in with a Capitol police officer last month.
McKinney struck the officer in the chest with her cell phone when she was stopped for bypassing a security checkpoint without identification.
The officer filed charges against McKinney; the U.S. district attorney is currently reviewing the case.
"There was ample evidence to arrest Ms. McKinney and it appears an investigation should have occurred in [the Kennedy incident]." Pasco said. "This is not a way to run a police department."
After crashing his mustang convertible into a security barrier shortly before 2:45 a.m. Kennedy stepped from the vehicle and informed the responding officer that he was late for a vote. Votes had concluded nearly three hours before the incident.
According to two knowledgeable sources, two sergeants responded to the accident, and after reviewing the incident with the watch commander, dismissed the rank-and-file officers.
The responding officers were not permitted to investigate the accident or conduct a field-sobriety test.
The sergeants then drove Kennedy home.
In a release issued after 10 p.m. Thursday night, Kennedy said a mixture of prescription drugs had caused him to become disoriented and to believe that he was late for a vote.
"Following the last series of votes on Wednesday evening, I returned to my home on Capitol Hill and took the prescribed amount of Phenergan and Ambien, which was also prescribed by the attending physician some time ago and I occasionally take to fall asleep," the release said.
Kennedy had been prescribed Phenergan for a stomach illness; Ambien is a prescription sleep aid.
"Some time around 2:45am, I drove the few blocks to the Capitol Complex believing I needed to vote," Kennedy said in the release. "Apparently, I was disoriented from the medication… At no time before the incident did I consume any alcohol."
Kennedy told reporters later that he requested no preferential treatment and indicated he would cooperate fully with any police investigation.
On Thursday, an internal memo from the local chapter of the FOP was sent to Acting Chief of Police Christopher M. McGaffin demanding an investigation into the accident according to a source close to the incident.
The United States Capitol Police released a statement last night that said they are continuing to investigate the cause of the accident and the way it was handled.
"In addition to determining the existence of any evidence that would support traffic charges, the department is also reviewing steps taken during the initial accident investigation to ensure compliance with existing policies and procedures," the release said.
Despite the Capitol Police's stPasco was unsatisfied with the initial actions taken by police management.
"An investigation was terminated and obstructed," he said.
No charges have been filed against Kennedy.
The six-term lawmaker was involved in a fender bender on April 21 in Providence Rhode Island.
Tastes great or less filling?
A union offical who gets it right!
Kennedy car pool
A Kennedy would never actually do any jail time, even if he was caught killing his secretary. Far better than jail time is the public KNOWING that another Kennedy is a pathetic drunk, and that the Dims are STILL the party of criminals who use privilege and power to escape responsibility!
But how can he be sure because in the most recent version he said he does not remember anything of last night or the crash?
Pardon me for thinking that the makers of that stupid drug whatever it is...have not recently contributed enough to the Democrat National Party money collectors.
"We were right" ping!
The cop felt so bad that he called the judges house and told the judges wife: "I'm really sorry about the ticket the other night. I remember how upset you were". "What ticket?", said the wife. Seems the eminent judge was with a "companion" and not his wife. Don'tcha love it!!
The legacy of a bootlegger.
Here in Mexico this sort of thing happens often. People who are of the priviledged class get off easy.
Some day the voters in New England will tire of the immature 'antics' of the Kennedy clan. Then and only then will they become unelectable. I hope some day comes sooner rather than later. Happily, this time, there was no Mary Jo in the car.
Capitol Police - the best that money can buy.
Same in the US.
The American Kennedy family is almost as large as the Smiths and Jones. My grandmother, a Texas Kennedy, always claimed a relationship to the MA Kennedys and had a picture of JFK in every room of her house. However, if she was related to the MA Kennedy's it was way back when the name was Carrick in Scotland (1200s?). Thankfully I've never proved a link, but then I would not admit it if I had. Oh and BTW, my grandmother was a teetotaler.
Muleteam1
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