Republican Rep. Christopher Shays apologized Friday for a loud and angry altercation he had a day earlier with a Capitol Police officer, saying he behaved “in a way I know was not appropriate.”Shays immediately apologized and Capitol Police immediately said that it didn't rise to the level of the infamous Cynthia McKinney incident.
Shays spokesman John Cardarelli said the incident took place at the West Front entrance to the Capitol during a rainstorm when the congressman was trying to locate a group of his Connecticut constituents who were coming for a Capitol tour.
An intern had gotten lost with the group and had difficulty describing where they were to Shays, who asked to speak to the police officer. The officer refused, saying it was against policy to accept phone calls while on duty.
Shays eventually found the group and went to them, but the police officer refused to allow them to enter the building through the West Front entrance, which is off-limits to tourists. Shays, Cardarelli said, grabbed the officer’s lapel “to look at his name badge” and shouted at him.
“I know Chris swore, and he probably did use the f-bomb,” Cardarelli told CNN.
Shays later told CNN he did not remember grabbing the officer’s lapel, but he said he was angry and frustrated at not being able to locate the group and get them inside out of the rain.
“The one thing I do remember is wanting to know who it was — I couldn’t see the badge well,” he said. “I didn’t make a fist — that i’m sure of.”
If it were you or I who assaulted a cop (and that's simply something I would never even consider doing), I'd be sitting in jail. Members of Congress get freebies.
Whatever they're paying Capitol Police, it isn't enough.
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