Updated
Breaking news from Roll Call (subscription required):
Police labor union officials asked acting Chief Christopher McGaffin this afternoon to allow a Capitol Police officer to complete his investigation into an early-morning car crash involving Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.).
According to a letter sent by Officer Greg Baird, acting chairman of the USCP FOP, the wreck took place at approximately 2:45 a.m. Thursday when Kennedy’s car, operating with its running lights turned off, narrowly missed colliding with a Capitol Police cruiser and smashed into a security barricade at First and C streets Southeast.
“The driver exited the vehicle and he was observed to be staggering,” Baird’s letter states. Officers approached the driver, who “declared to them he was a Congressman and was late to a vote. The House had adjourned nearly three hours before this incident. It was Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy from Rhode Island.”
Baird wrote that Capitol Police Patrol Division units, who are trained in driving under the influence cases, were not allowed to perform basic field sobriety tests on the Congressman. Instead, two sergeants, who also responded to the accident, proceeded to confer with the Capitol Police watch commander on duty and then “ordered all of the Patrol Division Units to leave the scene and that they were taking over.”
Baird said he had been advised that after the officers departed, Capitol Police “House Division officials” gave Kennedy a ride home.Kennedy’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
He said he was going to a vote at 2:45am? He must have really downed quite a few adult beverages if he thought the cops would buy that one. And what is going on with these Democrats thinking that they don’t need to pay the consequences for their behavior?
There’s more at WUSA:
9 News has learned U.S. Capitol police officers are concerned about the handling of an accident involving Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-Rhode Island) about 3 a.m. this morning.
Rep. Kennedy was reportedly behind the wheel of a green Ford Mustang when it crashed into a security barrier at 1st and “C” streets Southeast.
There are no reports of injuries. A Boston TV station is reporting Kennedy told officers he was late for a vote. We are told police drove him home after conferring with higher-ups in the department. So far, Kennedy HAS NOT been charged. A spokesman for his office told CNN that alcohol was NOT involved.
The head of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 1, Lou Cannon, told 9 News that he’s concerned that Kennedy may have received special treatment and this could be a case where “rank has its privilege.”
Cannon also told 9 News that officers noticed the car swerving, looking as if it was going to make a U-turn.
9 News reporter Stacey Cohan spoke to Kennedy’s press secretary at his congressional office in Rhode Island, who said she is looking into the situation, but does not have any information right now.
Congressman Patrick Kennedy is Ted Kennedy’s son. He is currently serving his sixth term as the Democratic Congressman from Rhode Island. He sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
At least no one was hurt when this Kennedy was driving.
Update: Drudge has his siren flashing on this one:
Officers Claim Brass Interfered in Investigation of Rep. Kennedy Incident, ROLL CALL reports.
Police labor union officials asked acting Chief Christopher McGaffin this afternoon to allow a Capitol Police officer to complete his investigation into an early-morning car crash involving Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), son of Sen. Ted Kennedy.
According to a letter sent by Officer Greg Baird, acting chairman of the USCP FOP, the wreck took place at approximately 2:45 a.m. Thursday when Kennedy’s car, operating with its running lights turned off, narrowly missed colliding with a Capitol Police cruiser and smashed into a security barricade at First and C streets Southeast.
A Capitol Police bulletin issued this afternoon stated that the department is investigating a “traffic violation that occurred in the early morning hours on May 4” at that location, ROLL CALL’s John McArdle reports.
“The driver exited the vehicle and he was observed to be staggering,” Baird’s letter states. Officers approached the driver, who “declared to them he was a Congressman and was late to a vote. The House had adjourned nearly three hours before this incident. It was Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy from Rhode Island.”
Baird wrote that Capitol Police Patrol Division units, who are trained in driving under the influence cases, were not allowed to perform basic field sobriety tests on the Congressman. Instead, two sergeants, who also responded to the accident, proceeded to confer with the Capitol Police watch commander on duty and then “ordered all of the Patrol Division Units to leave the scene and that they were taking over.”
This morning’s incident comes just over two weeks after Kennedy was involved in a car accident in Rhode Island.
Was that accident covered up too?
Update II: Here are copies of the police report Kennedy’s previous accident. Hat tip: Michelle
Update III: I guess there’s more than one way for a Kennedy to get hammered.
Update IV: Rep. Kennedy issued a statement in which he said he consumed no alcohol before the accident:
“I was involved in a traffic accident last night at First and C Street SE near the U.S. Capitol,” Kennedy said in a written statement released by his office. “I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident. I will fully cooperate with the Capitol Police in whatever investigation they choose to undertake.”
Kennedy appeared to be intoxicated when he crashed his car into a barrier on Capitol Hill early Thursday morning, said Louis P. Cannon, president of the Washington chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police.
Cannon, who was not there, said the officers involved in the accident were instructed by an official “above the rank of patrolman” to take Kennedy home.
No sobriety tests were conducted at the scene.
I guess we’ll never know because the Capitol police who were on the scene were sent packing before they could administer a sobriety or breathalyzer test. So how does Rep. Kennedy explain the staggering the officers said they witnessed?
Update V: Rep. Kennedy issued a new, longer statement in which he said he was impaired because he took sleep medication:
WASHINGTON – Rep. Patrick Kennedy (news, bio, voting record) crashed his car near the Capitol early Thursday, and a police official said he appeared intoxicated. Kennedy said he had taken sleep medication and a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness.
Kennedy, D-R.I., addressed the issue after a spate of news reports. His initial statement said, “I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident.”
Later, however, he issued a longer statement saying the attending physician for Congress had prescribed Phenergan on Tuesday to treat Kennedy’s gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach and intestines.
Kennedy said he returned to his Capitol Hill home on Wednesday evening after a final series of votes in Congress and took “prescribed” amounts of Phenergan and Ambien, another prescribed drug that he occasionally takes to fall asleep.
“Some time around 2:45 a.m., I drove the few blocks to the Capitol Complex believing I needed to vote,” his second statement said. “Apparently, I was disoriented from the medication.”
I don’t know which is worse: getting sloshed and then driving or deliberately mixing two sleep inducing medications and driving. Either way, this guy should be arrested for driving while stupid.
Update VI: Take a look at the post at Flopping Aces. He lists all the Democrats who have created problems for themselves as well as the recent incidents that Rep. Kennedy has been involved in. Add it all up and we have one out of control Democratic Party.
Update VII: Fausta at BadHairBlog speculates why Rep. Kennedy may have told the police that he was on his way to a vote at 2:45 am:
Late to a vote? One would think that answer showed he was drunk, but he was claiming something else: More like claiming diplomatic Constitutional immunity.
United States Constitution,
Section 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same;
Patrick claims he had no alcohol prior to the incident.
And if he did, it sure didn’t affect his memory of the Constitution.
Great catch, Fausta.
Update VIII: Here’s a shot of Kennedy with a drink in hand, and one with a dancing cop…
Michelle Malkin, Greg at The Political Pitbull, A Blog for All, and Ace of Spades are following this as well.
Did He get a breathalyzer test right away? or blood alcohol test? I bet not? Hes related to the swimmer.
ahh sorry that was answered up above hehe.
This kind of thing runs in that family, I suppose.
It just amazes me that the sort of thing that would ruin almost anyone else’s life can be swept under the rug so easily.
His Boss fathers tentacles have a long powerful reach indeed.
“And what is going on with these Democrats thinking that they don’t need to pay the consequences for their behavior?”
They’ve always been that way; now, they’re just getting more blatant and arrogant about it… and they wonder why no one votes for them anymore.
more important question.
are those actually his teeth in that photo, or does he have a mouth full of corn?
Gee ociffer i just swerved off the road because i bit into one of these rotten corn nuts in my mouth. can you guys give me a ride to my dads place? You know Him, Hes the biggest blowhard in the senate!
Well at least no one got killed this time unlike when his father was drinking and driving. Like father, like son.
He said he was rushing to a vote but the last vote had been six hours earlier. This is the most blatant attempt at cover-up and privilige since, well, another drunk Kennedy was given preferential treatment. This is outrageous. If it was you or I, we would have been arrested and be facing DUI charges. Junior gets a ride home and tucked into bed.
Like father, like son.
Denial is also a river in Egypt. The statement: “I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident…” could lead one to belive he might have been under the influence of *other* substanances.
Patrick J. Kennedy was one of the top House Democrat recipients of money from Jack Abramoff’s clients.
And remember: Chappaquiddick Ted was the genius behind our current immigration woes.
Can You imagine if this had been one of the Bush twins that had this special treatment? what would the lefts reaction be? hmmmmm
Not that I would put it past a Kennedy to be driving drunk, but the staggering thing alone does not necessarily mean he was drunk. I got into a pretty bad accident on the way home from work a few years back (truck hit me from behind going forty, I was stopped), and I was dazed and staggering around immediately afterwards.
Then again, he did apparently say he was late for a vote at 3 am, so…
manits:
If he had been injured shouldn’t the cops have gotten him some medical help. I hope you got a medical check-up after the accident if you were feeling dazed.
Omni, Virgo, Proud Kaffir, Cate S et al
“”And what is going on with these Democrats thinking that they don’t need to pay the consequences for their behavior?”” from Omni
And
“”And what is going on with these Democrats thinking that they don’t need to pay the consequences for their behavior?” from cate s
It never ceases to boggle the mind. So here’s another sleazy Kennedy story.
Given the quotes above, you’d think that we didn’t have a President, Sec. Of Defense & a Vice-President who are CLEARLY guilty of 2nd degree murder of 2400 Americans and another 18K Americans maimed & crippled from their deliberate LIES to falsely lead this nation into a war of choice that they foisted on this nation.
Granted there is no evidence that the above war criminals were intoxicated when they LIED to this nation.
None of you give a rat shit about the Bush/Cheney Murder & Maiming while totally sober. You damnable hypocrites!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But lets turn our heads from the true monstrous crime of this President & his coddling Party who made Mass Murder the order of this new century.
Behold, we have another Kennedy to hang for inebriation.
Strain on a gnat and swallow a herd of camels-anything to cover up the REAL crime against this nation.
Any of you Republican hypocrites catch the nailing of the Master Murderer Rumsfeld in Atlanta today?
Yeah that late for a vote at 3am thing is really glaring. unless of course He meant a vote on who buys the next round at the local pub? i thought they said He was not injured? so why stagger? and for crying outloud the cops around here want to give you a field sobriety test when you have,nt even had an accident or stagger or anything.this is such a croc!
Mak
Please stick to the posted topic and take another glycerin tablet..
Virgo
Before treating w/ minor Kennedy crimes, deal w./ the Murder perpetrated by your criminal president.
In your comments, you turned the question to Democrats thinking they can get away w/ something.
So, as long as we’re addressing getting away w/ something LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE of murder-sanctioning you P.O.S. And it’s your Political Party.
At least the GOP does,nt sanction the mass murder of the unborn!And Your calling who a Hypocrite?
Another mutt from the Kennedy litter gets to lift his leg to the judicial system, then go back to sucking on the taxpayer teat without any repercussion.
Thoroughly and utterly disgusting.
Does anyone know if Congressman Kennedy plans to wear a neck brace to any of his official functions tomorrow?
Man. Imagine if this happened to Dick Cheney? I can’t even begin to imagine when the newspapers, talk shows, Today show, CNN, op-eds, etc etc would stop discussing this for 24 hours a day.
Being a Dem has its advantages. As my buddy claims — it is the party that says “do as I say, not do as I do”.
Gee, I wonder if his dad told him to do the right thing and come clean?
One day the kennedy’s will be judged, hopefully by then,they will not be in a position to cause this country more damage. Arrogance is the only strong suit of this tribe of idiots. God help us .
KMan If this were Cheney it would be nonstop wall to wall coverage of the Whitehouse cover-up! what did Bush know? when did He know it? did Rove threaten to fire the chief of police if Cheney were given a FST , Condi Rice is ratcheting up the Iran situation to give cover for Cheney. and on and on in a million possible sub plots. Plus can You imagine the White house press corp? haha they,d be chewing their hand off to get the fisrt dig in.
Mak44:
I’m not going to go along with your attempted thread jack today but just to note that Patrick Kennedy voted to authorize the invasion of Iraq. Of course, much like driving a car, using that Congressional voting device when you are slashed is kind of tricky- as is, by your example, attempting to post coherently on a blog while under the influence of multiple substances.
I will not respond to you anymore. You and your Pavlovian puppies/ Bush lied mantra are nothing but a broken record. I suggest others follow suit. No more feeding this troll until he can debate in a proper, intelligible manner.
Best Regards,
PK
He shot who in the face?
And the post above says that the Capitol Police were sent away. That is correct, they were sent away … by the Capitol Police. So in essence, they sent themselves away.
It isn’t like the Secret Service stepped in and told these local officers to butt out.
Not that I am saying this is excusable behavior nor am I condoning the behavior. But we are talking about a one car accident where no one was injured. Again, it isn’t like he shot some guy in the face. Or beat up his mistress. Or raped a child.
enjoy: http://www.armchairsubversive.com/
Baird wrote that Capitol Police Patrol Division units, who are trained in driving under the influence cases, were not allowed to perform basic field sobriety tests on the Congressman. Instead, two sergeants, who also responded to the accident, proceeded to confer with the Capitol Police watch commander on duty and then “ordered all of the Patrol Division Units to leave the scene and that they were taking over.”
Baird said he had been advised that after the officers departed, Capitol Police “House Division officials” gave Kennedy a ride home.
They were sent away and not allowed to investigate further. This is a clear case of privilige.
He hasn’t killed anyone yet. However considering this is his second accident in two weeks, shouldn’t safety be of concern?
Proud Kaffir
Your criminal thug, Rumsfeld, had his ass nailed to the wall today in Atlanta for lying about Iraq, using his very words from the past by a retired CIA officer yet. You people on here don’t give a shit about what these war criminals have done to this nation, but like the typical Hypocrite, go looney over a Kennedy DUI incident.
It just shows where your priorities are. You people are just filthy for your tolerance of criminal leaders while picking over a possible DUI.
Wonder if all the lefties that were huffing and puffing about Dick Cheney’s lunch-time beer before his hunting accident will do the same about Kennedy’s incident?
Oh, and that was a rhetorical question.
And don’t forget he assaulted that black female airport security guard a few years back. He got off on that too because there was a payoff.
That’s how the Kennedys deal with all their crimes. Payoffs.
More about those “minor” Kennedy crimes:
Joe Sr., father of Ted, ran whiskey during prohibition from whence came the family fortune. Joe Sr. would otherwise be compared to Al Capone except that Capone never supported the Nazis.
Ted, father of this one, is surely guilty of negligent homicide, if not outright murder. While another family member stood accused of rape, and yet another now resides upstate for murder in a golfing “accident”, Ted never faced charges in the “unwelcome advances while not wearing pants” category.
The third generation then, apparently is in the habit of a car accident every week or so, accompanied no doubt, by some of the product his grandfather so notoriously smuggled. We know, with far too much experience, that well-connected drunks who drive and get away with it, eventually kill others, themselves, or both. The fact that he narrowly missed a police car and “only slammed into a barrier” we can altogether attribute to luck, not superior family drunk driving skills and lack of available bridges.
On the subject of superior skills, some might conclude that flying a plane through a storm with your leg in a cast is something only a Kennedy, or Evil Knieval, would even try. But the run of death is a long one, when this family pilots vehicles.
That none of these three criminals have yet to face a charge says a lot about privilege v justice. Each has offered only excuses so lame that only a liberal would believe them.
In the evading justice game, drunk driving does rate lower than rape or murder, I must confess. But if you think that serial drunk driving is so minor, try telling that to the judge, the next time it comes up, and see what happens. Best of luck with that.
I wonder how the accident report will read? mechanical failure? falling asleep?avoiding an animal will be most probable. I wonder why no reason was suggested? I suppose it would be fair to assume they havent chosen one yet? kind of like the McKinney thing.
You right-wing people? are just plain scum for what gets you honked as compared w/ what you swallow.
Blatant Hypocrites–you got an administrationm riddled w/ major crime against the people of this nation& you become a pack of running dogs for the possibblity of a Kennedy DUI.
Well it beats talking about the lousy economy all the live long day!
1) Apologist for DUII = apologist for manslaughter or worse.
2) The number of folks dying each year at the hand of drunk drivers in the US eclipses the annual US, Iraqi and foreign insurgent death toll. Just try and legitimize your anti-administration rants and ignore that statistic.
3) This flaunting of law and responsibility destroys any credibility the individual, or those that defend him, might have. It is an attack on our system of government as brutal as anything alleged by the left.
epador
what a simplistic argument you slobbered up there.
The 2 are not comparable and in the case of the Iraqi slaughter the result of deliberate lies to mislead a nation into war.
No logical connection–apples and oranged
oranges
You may have been misled , I was not! I knew exactly why we went to Iraq. To get rid of Saddams regime, and that is what we have done.
Michelle Malkin has the police report from Patrick’s previous accident from two weeks ago in R.I. The most interesting part is Kennedy’s handwriting. Although the police officer calls his appearace normal (probably normal for a Kennedy), his handwriting and words do not appear to be the work of a sober Congressman.
As I’ve read in other parts of the internet, his statement appears to be written by a chimpanzee, or a 2 year-old, or a Kennedy.
Aha the one thing i did not add in my above paragraph, the excuse is going to be He was taking prescription drugs? thats a good one . i wonder if they were in the car? quick write a prescription..
Sure sounds fishy to me. Just to play devil’s advocate, could he be diabetic, prone to insulin shock? The symptoms can be similar to drunk driving. And some people are still sensitive enough about diabetes to try and keep it private.
Virgo
You continually prove just how damn dumb you are.
Your postings reflect that you have nil for thought processing or refleection. Too many years of LimBARF & Insanity brainwashing.
A good point!
He is claiming now that he was at home, took his sleeping and anti-nausea meds, became disoriented, and in his state of disorientation drove to the Capitol believing he was late for a vote.
These people are shameless.
LOL!
A good point Brian I meant, only if He has had a couple of accidents in a couple of weeks? maybe its time for a Limo ride to and fro, im sure He can afford it.
I dont get fox , I wish I did ,that Colmes guy seems like a much kinder and nice version of You. 44kaM
Hes really in concoction mode now. better be careful; the more you say the more discrepancies to be had..
Mak:
“President, Sec. Of Defense & a Vice-President who are CLEARLY guilty of 2nd degree murder”
“Virgo
You continually prove just how damn dumb you are.
Your postings reflect that you have nil for thought processing or refleection.
Virgo or Gemini?