The Drudge Scoop:
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.
ROLL CALL reports: 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.”
A source tells the DRUDGE REPORT: "It was apparent that the driver was intoxicated (stumbling) and claimed he was in a hurry to make a vote.
"When it became apparent who it was, instead of processing a normal DWI, the watch commander had the Patrol units clear the scene. The commander allowed other building officials drive Kennedy home."
This morning's incident comes just over two weeks after Kennedy was involved in a car accident in Rhode Island.
"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."
Fortunately no one was hurt this time. Maybe the Kennedy Curse is finally wearing off.
Too bad his father wasn't so lucky ...
Here's more good stuff from Michelle Malkin, who along with Jason Smith notes the illegible scrawl used by Rep. Kennedy on the official police report form. Would a sober man (who wasn't a doctor) write this poorly?
Michelle also links to others who are wondering why the mainstream press is ignoring the story (*gasp*) and to some interesting contrasts between the way the Capitol Police handled Kennedy and Cynthia McKinney. Does the white rich Kennedy Priviledge Card trump the black victim Race Card?
There's another extensive roundup by Kim Priestap at Wizbang too.
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Added:
After his accident Patrick Kennedy admitted an addiction to prescription pain killers and checked himself into rehab. While it isn't really true to say that the mainstream press "ignored" the story (it did get about 24 hours of coverage) it is certainly fair to say that they under-reported it. After the weekend, the story completely went away. Compare that to the months-long witch hunt that was piled on Rush Limbaugh, who voluntarily came forward with his addiction and never had an accident related to it.
At a minimum, a major newspaper owes us a story on why police supervisors sent the street officers home and took over the accident scene after Kennedy's identity had been reported, and why those supervisors ordered officers at the scene not to give Kennedy a sobriety test even though he appeared to be intoxicated.
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