Police say they were prevented from giving Kennedy a sobriety test

Richard Sisk & Michael Mcauliff
New York Daily News
San Jose Mercury News
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Washington (US):
Rep. Patrick Kennedy wrecked his car in an early morning accident on Capitol Hill Thursday, and police say supervisors stopped them from giving him a sobriety test.
Two police union officials, who were not at the scene, complained that the Rhode Island congressman and son of Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., looked like he'd been drinking after crashing into a barrier near the Capitol building at 2:45 a.m.
"The driver exited the vehicle and he was observed to be staggering," Officer Greg Baird, the acting head of the Capitol police union, wrote in a letter to his boss, according to the newspaper Roll Call.
Lou Cannon, president of the Washington chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, said Kennedy looked intoxicated.
"It's my understanding that he had an odor of alcohol about him and he was unsteady on his feet," Cannon said.
Kennedy, who has a history of substance abuse and depression, admitted to the car accident, but denied he had been drinking.
"I was involved in a traffic incident last night," said the 38-year-old. "I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident. I will fully cooperate with the Capitol Police in whatever investigation they choose to undertake."
Late Thursday night, Kennedy put out a second statement saying he had taken sleep medication and a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness.
Baird complained in his letter to acting Capitol police Chief Christopher McGaffin that Kennedy and a pair of sergeants thwarted any proper investigation.
Mar 05, 2006