Posted on 04/01/2006 3:35:21 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
WASHINGTON — Rep. Cynthia McKinney on Friday declared herself the victim of a racist Capitol Hill police officer who her supporters said used excessive force when he stopped her from skirting a security checkpoint earlier this week.
"The whole incident was instigated by the inappropriate touching and stopping of me — a female, black congresswoman," McKinney said at a news conference, abandoning the apologetic tone she struck earlier in the week.
Capitol police are considering filing assault charges against the DeKalb County Democrat next week. But her lawyers said she was acting in self-defense when she struck the officer who tried to stop her.
"Cynthia McKinney, like thousands of average Americans across this country, is ... a victim of the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials because of how she looks and the color of her skin," said one of McKinney's lawyers, James Myart Jr.
McKinney spoke on the campus of predominantly black Howard University, surrounded by more than a dozen African-American children from South Georgia's Coffee County who held signs reading "Is Cynthia a Target?" and "Recognize Our Congresswoman." The children had been in town to tour Washington and visit McKinney, said their escort, Hal Pressley, president of the Coffee County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Singer and activist Harry Belafonte and actor Danny Glover also appeared with McKinney. They said they had come not in judgment of the facts of the case, but, as Glover put it, "to support our sister."
McKinney's lawyers said the white officer involved in Monday's scuffle should be investigated.
Police declined to address the racial accusations.
"We're currently investigating the matter. That's as far as it goes with us right now," said Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, the police spokeswoman.
But police union officials from across the country denounced McKinney's tactics and said the officer involved — not McKinney — was the true victim.
"There was no excessive force here," said Lou Cannon, president of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents Capitol officers. "If she's trying to turn this into a racial issue, people should ask, 'Why is she doing this?' This is an insult to all police officers."
The FOP's national board, meeting Friday in Nashville, unanimously approved a motion commending the Capitol Hill officer, who has not been identified, and condemning McKinney, who was stopped because the officer didn't recognize her. Bill Peacock, a former DeKalb County police officer and a delegate to the national FOP organization, introduced the motion.
"There were two avenues she could take, one being the high road — admitting her error — and the other is to use the race card simply because the officer was trying to do his job," said Peacock.
McKinney's press conference marked the first time she has spoken publicly about the incident, in which the officer, not recognizing McKinney as a member of Congress, tried to stop her from walking around a security checkpoint, which members are routinely allowed to do.
Several Capitol police officials have said the officer involved asked McKinney three times to stop. When she did not, he placed a hand on her and she hit him, they said.
McKinney, who previously had released a statement saying she "deeply regretted" the incident, avoided details Friday. She said lawyers had advised her not to because of the possibility of charges against her.
As she had previously, she acknowledged that when she was stopped, she wasn't wearing the special lapel pin given to the 435 House members to help police and staff recognize them. But she said the officer still should have recognized her because he was trained to do so.
"I do wear the pin when I remember to wear the pin," McKinney said. "But the pin is not the issue. The issue is facial recognition."
"She's a victim," said Pressley. "For Ms. McKinney not to be immediately recognized by the Capitol police was, in itself, an insult. She's recognizable from around the world, so in D.C., our capital, you would expect that almost any police officer would recognize her, with all the controversy attached to her name."
Pressley said a Capitol Hill police officer — "like someone who just came off a plantation" — once treated some black children he brought to Washington "like animals."
Michael Raffauf, one of McKinney's attorneys, suggested that powerful Republican lawmakers who run Congress may be behind the accusations and possible criminal charges against McKinney.
"I find it highly unusual that this thing has gotten so blown out of proportion," he said.
Police have said it was extraordinarily rare, and possibly unprecedented, for a member of Congress to strike a Capitol Hill police officer.
McKinney said members of the Congressional Black Caucus are backing her, though members of Congress who were supposed to attend Friday's press conference didn't show up.
However, an influential African-American lawmaker, Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Calif.), came to McKinney's aid Wednesday night. Millender-McDonald, the ranking Democrat on the House Administration Committee, which oversees the Capitol police, called the House sergeant at arms, Wilson Livingood, amid rumors that McKinney would be arrested, her spokeswoman, Denise Mixon, said Friday.
Mixon denied Millender-McDonald tried to prevent an arrest.
"The congresswoman did not intervene. All she did was ask a question: 'Where are we now?' " Mixon said.
She said the conference call also included McKinney and Tad Vandermeid, legal counsel to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).
Mixon said Livingood did not specifically address whether there were plans to arrest McKinney, saying, "An investigation is going on." Millender-McDonald asked to be kept abreast of any developments, and Livingood agreed to do so, Mixon said.
Staff writer Scott Shepard contributed information about Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald and The Associated Press contributed an account of what officers said occurred in the incident with McKinney.
Maybe posted upstream, but saw this
SNIP SNIP my **
"U.S. Capitol Police said there is surveillance video of the confrontation between the officer and McKinney, but they say the video will **not** be released."
From:
"Georgia Congresswoman Faces Arrest for Scuffle"
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/georgia/news-article.aspx?storyid=54925
but there would be innocent people (e.g., school children on a tour) who might also get killed.
there are many potential targets that still have pretty bad security set ups.
"Holy cow, that new hairdo isn't an improvement."
No it isn't. But there was a pic I saw of her on MLK day where you can see a pretty face buried beneath all that blubber, both physical and mental blubber. She could be quite hot with some work.
Who are you calling "WE" Kemo Sabay?
I had nothing to do with electing this dipstick.
her eyes look a little strange in some of her pics.
do you know if she has some sort of disorder (mental or physical) that would cause this?
Well, if nothing else we have helped put fox where it is... and it's pretty obvious the left media is losing ground! so we have the numbers... and besides we are getting smart not spending our money where it benefits the lefties. I used to go to cnn.com at least 10 times a day, now probably 3 times a week, because I know they count my hits and that makes them money. Same thing if you hit their commercial banners.
It would be easier to rebuild the Hoover dam than to make this woman "hot". Geez kid you need help. You are truly hurtin'
This excuse for . . . humanity has clearly been on the public stage toooooo long.
Her idiocy belongs in a closet or hair salon on some bayou somewhere.
What outrageous arrogance.
Gads she's insufferable.
Great points.
Of course, facts don't seem to bother this bw*tch much at all.
She enjoys fantasies of being queen bee and has no intentions of being reasonable the rest of her life.
Sheesh.
This is from a Tom Wolfe novel, right?
Sounds like "Who told you to put the balm on? I didn't tell you to put the balm on."
Good one! :)
***My guess is that they are the best of the best from various PD's around the country...?****
You would be wrong. They used to be political jobs , but now they are civil service I believe, although I know for a fact it doesnt hurt to have a friend in Congress.
The issue is facial recognition
If I had a face like that I think I'd run and hide.
Two possibilities. Is it
A. Buckwheat McKinney
B. A brain sucking alien that has died of starvation.
McKinney uses the race card.
The Pope is Catholic
"her eyes look a little strange in some of her pics.
do you know if she has some sort of disorder (mental or physical) that would cause this?"
Yeah. It's called being a friggin' communist! That'd make anybody's eyes bug out.
"It would be easier to rebuild the Hoover dam than to make this woman "hot". Geez kid you need help. You are truly hurtin'"
No I'm not "hurtin". I have an ability to see how women can be good looking, which is something most men don't have. Most guys see a fat chick and just dismiss her. I look for the way she can be helped to be attractive. It's part of my plan to have sex with every woman on the planet.....(or nearly every woman)
Pretty is as pretty does.
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