Capitol Police Chief Denies Racism Charge

[seriousstan]

U. S. Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer said Wednesday that Rep. Cynthia McKinney turned an officer's failure to recognize her into a criminal matter when she failed to stop at his request, and then struck him.

"He reached out and grabbed her and she turned around and hit him," Gainer said on CNN. "Even the high and the haughty should be able to stop and say, 'I'm a congressman' and then everybody moves on."

---cut---

"I've seen our officers stop white members and black members, Latinos, male and females," he told CNN. "It's not an issue about what your race or gender is. It's an issue about making sure people who come into our building are recognized if they're not going through the magnetometer, and this officer at that moment didn't recognize her."

"It would have been real easy, as most members of Congress do, to say here's who I am or do you know who I am?" Gainer added.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/04/05/D8GPRPI8F.html

[Karmakaze]

1. He really said that?

He really said "the high and the haughty"? Very professional! Sounds like someone has a chip on his shoulder.

[Benhurst]

2. He must have practiced for days to keep from saying

uppity.


:grr:

[rodeodance]

3. I have read that the word uppity is a real smear in the Black community-

[LostinVA]

6. It is REALLY a derogatory term, from Jim Crow and

segregation days.... it's not even a thinly-veiled insult...

[rodeodance]

4. 'one of the Kennedy, laps, left-leaning, wachos'--said a Fox reporter (mos

words I caugght-paraphasing).

[the observationist]

5. Rep. McKinney and racism

I just finished reading this article on CNN and unless there is more evidence out there that hasn't been made public I have a really hard time believing that the officer that stopped Rep. Cynthia McKinney did so out of racism. The evidence isn't there.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/05/mckinney.scuffle.ap/index.html

[NaturalHigh]

7. Good for Chief Gainer.

It's about time someone stood up to McKinney's race-baiting.

[Panda1]

8. Why don't they simply release the video?

Which report is true?

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/georgia/news-article_wxia.aspx?storyid=78032
...
U.S. Capitol Police say there is surveillance video of a confrontation between an officer and Rep. McKinney, but they say the video will not be released.
...


http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/0404metmckinney.html
...
A security video shows McKinney entering the building and moving around the metal detector and X-ray machine. It does not show her encounter with the police officer, according to officials familiar with it.
...

(Which "officials" have seen it?)

[Critters2]

9. McKinney's behavior on CNN was appalling

She refused to answer even the most questions about what happened. After watching this, I have a feeling she is in the wrong but has now dug too deep a hole to climb out of gracefully. She should apologize, start wearing her lapel pin and move on.

[Bacchus39]

10. her interview on NPR was ridiculous too

she actually had two of her lawyers with her!!!! when the question came up of whether or not she hit the officer her lawyers butted in and said she couldn't answer.

[Critters2]

11. That;s what happened on CNN, too

One lawyer was with her, the other butted in over the phone no less!! She would not even tell what happened in her own words.

I can't see her as a victim of anything but her own huge ego, at this point.

[Bacchus39]

12. yes that is exactly it

she is the reason the issue is exploding. not that a congressperson hitting a cop isn't news, but it is spiraling out of control.