Rep. McKinney apologizes for scuffle with cop

updated 6:51 p.m. ET April 6, 2006

WASHINGTON - With a grand jury investigating and little support from House colleagues, Rep. Cynthia McKinney reversed course and, with “sincere regret,” apologized Thursday for an altercation in which she entered a Capitol building unrecognized, refused to stop when asked by a police officer and then hit him.

“I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened at all, and I regret its escalation and I apologize,” McKinney, D-Ga., said during a brief appearance on the House floor. “There should not have been any physical contact in this incident.”

The grand jury investigation into whether to seek assault or other charges was continuing. It was unclear what impact the McKinney apology might have.

Her remarks came as two House officials who witnessed the March 29 scuffle prepared to answer subpoenas from the grand jury convened by U.S. Attorney Kenneth Wainstein. A day earlier, McKinney was shunned on the House floor by several colleagues, while the leaders of her party openly rejected her explanation that she was acting in self-defense when she hit the officer.

Black Caucus urged resolution
The night before the apology, members of the Congressional Black Caucus urged McKinney in a private meeting to find a way to put the matter to rest, according to a person familiar with the session who spoke on condition of anonymity.

What McKinney called a “misunderstanding” on Thursday she had labeled “racial profiling” and “inappropriate touching” a day earlier. For nearly a week, she and her lawyers had insisted that she had been assaulted and had done nothing wrong. She is black, and the police officer is white.

McKinney, 51, has a history of confrontations with officers.

In this case, she entered a House office building without passing through the metal detector that screens visitors. Members of Congress are permitted to bypass the machines, but she was not wearing the pin that identified her as a House member at the time.

The officer, whose name has not been made public, has said he asked McKinney three times to stop. She did not.

Terrance Gainer, outgoing chief of the Capitol Police, has said the officer placed a hand on her and she responded by hitting him. He said McKinney’s race was not a factor.

Even as McKinney tried to put the incident behind her, a new scuffle occurred Thursday outside the Capitol between a man apparently protecting her and a reporter who asked the congresswoman whether she’d spoken to the grand jury.

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