(Rep Chris) Shays screams at Capitol Police officer, later apologies

[RamboLiberal]

On Thursday afternoon, Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) got into a loud, angry dispute with a U.S. Capitol Police officer at the security checkpoint inside the entrance of the West Side of the Capitol. On Friday, Shays, a veteran lawmaker, offered a public apology for the incident and said that he wants to meet with the officer personally to reiterate how sorry he is.

Shays reportedly grabbed the officer during the dispute over whether the officer should allow a group of tourists to enter the building, said several sources. Tourists are not allowed to use the West Front entrance, but Shays was trying to bring the group through that entrance anyway. The officer refused to allow them in, and Shays then "yelled and screamed" at the officer, including using profanity, the sources said.

Update - here's a Capitol Police report on the incident:

"On Thursday, July 19, 2007, a United States Capitol Police officer had an interaction with Congressman Christopher Shays on the West Front of the Capitol wherein the Congressman acted in a manner that was inappropriate.

"The officer took offense to the manner in which the Congressman spoke to him and said that the Congressman also reached out and touched his nametag.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0707/Shays_screams_at_Capitol_Police_officer_later_apologies.html

What did the Wingnuts demand of McKinney when she got in to a tiff? Wasn't it arrest and more? Bet they don't talk about this one.

[Divine Discontent]

1. COME ON FOX NEWS...

where ya at??? didn't we hear about endless McKinney crap and arguments about her harassing the police there doing their job of securing our capitol?

COME ON FOX, get on Shays about this - oh that's right, you're not NEWS... but it was fun to dream you were for a couple seconds.

www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<--- top '08 items & antib*sh stickers!

[Chipper Chat]

2. Nah. Shays just 'mis-spoke'

as most reprehensiblepublicans do.
Now DEMOCRATS - they BREAK THE LAW!

[WI_DEM]

3. don't they represent the party of "Terra" and now here is Shays trying to get special

privileges for his (probable) group of wealthy CT political donors.

[libnnc]

4. "touched his nametag"....hmmmm does that equal

ASSAULT?

SHAYS ASSAULTED A CAPITOL HILL POLICE OFFICER? DID I READ THAT CORRECTLY?

[partylessinOhio]

5. You mean Shays got away with this while Cynthia McKinney was

pilloried to the point that she lost her seat in Congress?

Different strokes for different folks????



:argh:

[malaise]

6. Bingo

and I'm not seeing this on MSM the way I saw Cynthia 24/7

[Stinky The Clown]

11. Shays looks ..... well ........

...... white.

I'm sure someone will find a reason to scold me about this, but I see this as a typical double standard.

I'm not condoning McKinney's actions so much as decrying the difference in the way these things are dealt with.

[mondo joe]

16. Shays and McKinney took different routes. Shays wisely apologized quickly.

McKinney tried to make it a battle, only to apologize later.

[cascadiance]

18. Without seeing what happened, it's hard to know whether BOTH deserved an apology or not!

Though on the face of it they seem like the same sort of incident, perhaps what was done to McKinney was less deserving of an apology versus what "provoked" Shays to do what he did. With the way our media works these days, its probably impossible to know the true nature of each of these circumstances.

[cascadiance]

17. Rethugs must be being forced to take the Hypocritic Oath by Rove these days!

... not to be confused with the HippoCRATIC oath that doctor's take. Don't want to insult them!

[Kingshakabobo]

7. I'm sure the battery charges will be forthcoming. n/t

[Canuckistanian]

8. I'm waiting for Tom Delay to demand his arrest

In the meantime, I think I'll write a 24-volume encyclopedia all about Republican hypocrisy.

[librechik]

9. Thank God he didn't have Ghetto Hair!

when he grabbed that cop. That could get him tossed out of Congress. If he was Cynthia McKinney...

[seriousstan]

10. Perhaps McKinney should have had the class to apologize also.

On Friday, Shays, a veteran lawmaker, offered a public apology for the incident and said that he wants to meet with the officer personally to reiterate how sorry he is.


The officer chose to handle the matter by filing a courtesy complaint against the Member. After personally meeting with the officer, Chief of Police Phillip D. Morse, Sr. and Assistant Chief of Police Dan Nichols discussed the matter with Congressman Shays who acknowledged he acted inappropriately in the heat of the moment and took full responsibility for his actions. The Congressman stated his full support and admiration for the officers of the U.S. Capitol Police and offered his apologies.


compared to

Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) has complained she was the victim of racial profiling that led to a run-in with a Capitol police officer last week.

[Kingofalldems]

13. Changing the subject? Read the post again.

The wingnuts demanded the arrest of a Democrat (BTW,this is DU) and are silent on Shays. That was the whole point of the OP. And I do believe she eventually apologized. Nice try.

[seriousstan]

15. Being DU doesn't mean I have to suspend reality. I remember PERFECTLY how McKinney handled herself.

You call that an apology? Get real. She should have shown some class. Then it would have been a non-issue, much like now. Instead, as is her MO, she inflated the incident into an issue.

[MAX 1]

21. SO...

It's only an assault when an anti-Bushie does it? RIGHT?

I mean,
No hints of double standards?

WHAT - SO - EVER ?

[MetaTrope]

12. Dry run for the next visit of Saudi student pilots

Carrying VERY big camera bags, naturally.

[Karenina]

14. You can't make this stuff up!!!

:crazy:

[LeftishBrit]

19. Republican congressmen and juvenile delinquents seem to have a surprising amount in common!

[MAX 1]

20. SHAYS' AGAINST ASSAULT B4 HE B4 IT

SO,

He was against assaulting an officer before he was for it?

It’s not an assault when I flick away your lapel to read your badge and proceed to cuss you out but not when I tap you with my cell phone (lethal weapon? lol) to get you to move and to let go of me?

What then, is the threshold of 'Assaulting an Officer'?

I'm not going to even do the painfully obvious jabs into the Republican psyche concerning the sexist and racial overtones that will be implied if there is no accountability concerning this matter. And REHAB ain't gonna cut it as that would imply that Shays was possibly drunk or had been smoking something!