by David Lightman
After arguing with a Capitol police officer and reaching to touch the officer's nametag, Rep. Christopher Shays Friday apologized for acting “in a way I know was not appropriate.”
The Fourth District Republican said in a statement, “ I take full responsibility for this incident and want to ensure it does not reflect negatively on the officer in any way.” Capitol police did not respond to requests for comment.
The incident unfolded like this: Shays was waiting to meet constituents on the east front steps of the Capitol for a photo Thursday afternoon. But the intern guiding the constituents was on the west, or opposite, side of the Capitol.
The intern was unsure how to find Shays, so the congressman called on a cell phone and advised going to the nearest officer and hand him the phone, so the officer could help.
But officers apparently can't talk on cell phones while on duty.
Shays, though, thought there could be an exception made in such circumstances, since it was raining hard and the constituents were getting soaked. He walked through the Capitol and joined the intern and the constituents, where he confronted the officer.
Shays got angry. Two people familiar with the situation said he hollered at the officer using profanity. A source with knowledge of the incident said the congressman reached up to touch the officer's nametag so he could read it more clearly in the rain.
Shays Friday issued a statement saying that “although my focus was in trying to locate my constituents and get them to a dry location, I know I clearly could have handled the situation with the officer in a more professional and respectful way, and I regret I did not do so.”
He praised the police force, noting that during his 19 years in Congress “I have grown to respect and appreciate the difficult mission performed by the men and women of the United States Capitol Police every day.”
When he returns to Washington Monday-members are home for the weekend-Shays said he hopes to meet with the office and apologize to him in person.
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Comments
Don't the D.C. cops know that the Republican Party dittoheads are ABOVE THE LAW?
Just ask Scooter Libby and President McFlightsuit.
Posted by: John E | July 20, 2007 5:59 PM
I'm sure he asked God for forgiveness and God gave it to him, so end of story.
Posted by: Op109 | July 20, 2007 6:11 PM
Why apologize?
Cops are not Jesus.
My wife gets a ticket for doing 35 in a 25, yet drug gangs rule the streets of many hoods?
Hey officer Friendly; Go get some real bad guys for a change instead of writing tickets. Hey, how about ticketing that @$$h0!$ with the 70 Db ghetto blaster at midnight.
Get over the uniforms, America.
Remember; any time you are in official contact with a cop, you are in danger. Don't pull out a cell phone or a wallet. It's been proven; A cop can kill you for any reason.(almost)
Posted by: C.Morris | July 20, 2007 6:42 PM
No one says cops are Gods.
But fortunately, the majority perform a lot of Godly tasks. Like busting drug dealers, pedophiles,
car thieves, burglars, stickup men and the like. DOn't blame the cops that the courts keep allowing these people to get out of jail early. Cops don't control the courts.
Your wife got a ticket? Maybe she needs to improve her driving skills...lots of people do. Crashes kill lots of people, as do drugs. The biggest cause of crashes? Excessive speed. And anyone who is pulled over by an officer should know better than to have anything in their hands, other than the steering wheel. Most of us will never have a job that asks so much, yet provides so little positive feedback, and the pay will never be enough! Imagine the streets of most major cities without them...
Posted by: J | July 20, 2007 9:43 PM
Would love to know what Rep. Shays had to say about Cynthia McKinney back when she pulled her stunt with the cop.
Posted by: Rick/Sneads Ferry, NC | July 20, 2007 9:46 PM
"My wife gets a ticket for doing 35 in a 25, yet drug gangs rule the streets of many hoods?"
I'm sure the officer at the Capital is to blame for that. I guess that's a good reason to disrespect him, or all cops for that matter. Maybe you should just tell your wife not to speed.
Posted by: The Capitalist | July 20, 2007 9:48 PM
"Two people familiar with the situation said he hollered at the officer using profanity."
Did these two people really use the word "hollered"? Or is this Mr. Lightman's paraphrase?
I don't know. The word just sounds funny.
Posted by: Biggdawg | July 20, 2007 10:19 PM
Atleast Shays didn't try to blame it on race...like Cynthia McKinney did,and still does....McKinney is still jobless now...probably writing a book like Valerie(007)Plame tried to do...
Two lefty lying losers out of a job...priceless!
Paulo
Posted by: Paulo | July 21, 2007 2:00 AM
Paulo the true, red-blooded American steps up for the conservatives again. Surprised you have't dropped that o and taken Revere as your surname. Which part of Brazil did you say you were from?
Posted by: Rick/Sneads Ferry, NC | July 21, 2007 10:43 AM
Can't you see Paulo now. Snickering behind his keyboard.
Taking potshots at a CIA agent (Plame)and a decorated combat veteran (Kerry).
You know he's never been the military.
Posted by: Doug Zook | July 21, 2007 12:59 PM
You seem to miss my point;
A policeman pulls you over, asks for your registration, you open the glove box, pull out the wallet that contains your registration, officer puts a .357 in you and says he thought you pulled a gun.
He walks.
This has happened repeatedly. Ask Rudy G. He's good with it.
What I am trying to point out is the rampant uniform worship in this country. It's dangerous. It's why we don't call torture, torture anymore.
Yeah, my wife deserved the ticket. Not my point. She is a good driver, BTW.
Posted by: C.Morris | July 21, 2007 7:54 PM
The rules of right wing conservatism are clear and finite.
It is wrong for a member of Congress to assault a police officer UNLESS that member of Congress is a Republican.
This is conservative rule 3892. 3891 is adulterers are unfit for public office unless thy adulterer is David Vitter
Posted by: big dave from queens | July 22, 2007 7:51 AM
Where's all the law and order outrage? Bruce and John D? Hellloooo?
Posted by: kb | July 22, 2007 12:56 PM
this is a good example of the power of the republican talk radio monopoly.
the nationwide uncontested repetition that took Cynthia Mckinney to the woodshed and launched her case into the MSM is not going to do the same here. until progressives realize the the talk radio monopoly is the root of the problem and is the only thing keeping the Dems from a veto proof majority, soldiers will continue to die in Iraq.
Posted by: trank | July 22, 2007 4:15 PM
Based on my knowledge of the case, the "dust up" involving the Capitol police and Ms. McKinney was a much more serious confrontation than the one involving Shay. Shay seems to have handled the aftermath with much more grace than McKinney. I am not, by any means, defending Shay. There is not a day that passes without hypocrisy somewhere within the Republican party bubbling up like noxiously flatulent gases from the Bog of Eternal Stench. The Shay incident is so infinitesimally trivial as not even register on the Stink-o-Meter. Liberals and progressive will look like the pharasitical if they use this incident to beat up on the Rethuglicans. If you make too much of this minor incident - who will pay attention when you attempt to point out the major ones.
Posted by: The Skeptical Cynic | July 22, 2007 5:25 PM
Police manhandle a black congresswoman they see every day, one who questions official fairy tales.
They wouldn't dare respond to a pale member of the Buscist party in the same fashion. And Shays apologized because, after all, he'll need the uniforms to stave in the heads of the populace if & when they ever decide to take a french solution to the problem of parasitical aristocrats.
Posted by: Jan | July 23, 2007 2:19 AM
Of course nothing will be made of it. He's male and white. Cynthia McKinney was female and black.
Posted by: vlwall | July 23, 2007 9:50 AM
C.Mo, I'm usually siding with you, but I disagree (respectfully) on this one. Sure, there are bad cops out there, and police officers who have let their power go to their heads, but by and large I'm in humble gratitude every day for what police officers do. Big city cops (in my case Chicago) literally take their lives in their hands with every interaction they make. They don't know that your wife, when they stop her for doing 35 in a 25 mph zone, isn't carrying a gun and won't be shooting at them. Pre-teen kids are armed and dangerous these days.
I may complain about a lot of stuff, but I hope the day's long off when I'll start laying into police officers.
And Chris Shays ought to do whatever the law dictates he should do for verbally abusing a police officer -- no more, no less. In this case, he didn't do very much at all and I'd hope his sentence wouldn't be very much, either. Anybody can get mad and fly off the handle, and no harm was done. In this case, a court case would assure that everything was done above board, but if there was ever an instance that cried out for "settled out of court" it'd be this one.
Posted by: Op109 | July 23, 2007 11:57 AM
No need to blame it on race; no need to do ANYTHING!
There is absolutely no accountability for ANYTHING a Republican does.
After all, why was Shays not given a ticket for attacking a police officer...?
Posted by: Mimi Schaeffer | July 23, 2007 6:27 PM