Laurel Thatcher Ulrich once pointed out that, "Well behaved women rarely make history." Perhaps she should have added that women who are deemed to have thrown what Marianne Means characterized as a "hissy fit" will surely become infamous.

While most of us would agree that taking a swing at a police officer is not a well considered thing to do, that does not invalidate McKinney's charges of racism and inappropriate touching. Nor does it justify the vicious and ignorant political and media lynching that followed[...]Nor is this is not the only time that charges of racial discrimination have been leveled against the Capitol Police. In 2001, Black Capitol police officers filed a racial discrimination suit against the department. Inappropriate behavior towards Black legislators has also not been limited to the nation's capitol. At Coretta Scott King's funeral, the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus was not allowed to join the funeral procession because the Georgia Capitol police did not recognize them as elected officials.

Astoundingly, the media lost no time in broadcasting Tom DeLay's pronouncement that ethics charges should be brought against McKinney for her "outrageous" behavior. Did they think that a man who spearheaded a redistricting plan that the Justice Department has deemed to be in violation of the Voting Rights Act and who is leaving office because of his own unethical behavior was qualified to make such charges?

Orginally quoted by seattlelaw
Your definition actually doesn't contain the three required elements for criminal battery. These include (1) the conduct itself, i.e., touching, (2) the mens rea or mental state of the defendant, and (3) the necessary harmful result to the person.

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE: First of all, I think all of us, including Congresswoman McKinney, respects the Capitol police and respects them for their responsibility and their job. But I believe that she is quite accurate in the fact that there are very few of us who happen to be African American women, and there are very few of us who would be so, if you will, difficult to be remembered, if you will, or to be able to be noticed. And frankly, many of us get either confused or asked for our I.D. or treated in a manner that is not necessarily accepting. And in this incident it was unfortunate. But it is the role of the Capitol police, of whom we respect, to basically know the members of the United States Congress. And if you are rushing toward a vote, a House vote -- and I think people should understand we have 15 minutes to cast a vote no matter where you might be in the entire capital of Washington, D.C. You might be in meetings off the Hill. You still have 15 minutes to vote. It's very difficult then to be stopped, while the clock is ticking, for to you cast your vote.

So I think this is a question, first of all, where it should be resolved away from the cameras. I certainly don't think an arrest warrant is appropriate. I hope that the arrest warrant is not issued so that there can be an issue on the Democratic side of the aisle, while there is an issue now with Tom DeLay on the Republican side of the aisle. And I hope that this can be resolved, respecting the Capitol police, respecting Congresswoman McKinney, who serves well in the United States Congress and serves her constituents. And most of all, I hope that we can reconcile this issue, so that we can continue our work. I think it's an issue that clearly has the opportunity to be reconciled outside the legal process and that any difficulty in identification can be solved in an administrative manner.

AMY GOODMAN: Has this ever happened to you, where you were not recognized?

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE: Oh, on several occasions. And, of course, you have to suffer the indignity and sometimes handle it in a way that you don't care to handle it, because of the fact that you believe that you've served in the United States Congress and that you should be identifiable. So there is merit to the points that she is making. And there certainly may some concerns about securing the Capitol, which we understand has taken a whole different tone after 9/11.

But I think cooler heads can address this question in a way other than the criminal justice system of issuing an arrest warrant for a member of the United States Congress, who was within her right to be in the building and was within her right to be rushing toward the House floor to vote, as I understand the facts, and certainly should have had the courtesies of the Capitol police, as we should extend courtesies. So why can't this be resolved, where we learn who each other happens to be and we improve the picture book, if you will, and the training, so that we all can be fully identified.

There is no requirement, by the way, for any member to have an I.D. We do have them. But we may have been rushing from somewhere and not carrying the I.D., and there is no requirement for us to have a pin, which is our identifying pin, which I happen to be wearing at this time. But there is no requirement, as a understand it, for members to have that at this time.

wikipedia.org

Rep. McKinney is a co-sponsor of Rep. John Conyers's H. Res 635, which would create a Select Committee to look into potential grounds for the impeachment of President Bush. On January 20th, 2006, she also signed a statement by the group The World Can't Wait called Drive Out the Bush Regime.

Lawmakers are permitted to skip the security checkpoints if they are wearing a congressional lapel pin that identifies them as an elected official or if they are recognized by the police.
www.foxnews.com...

Everyone is assuming she was lightly grabbed and over-reacted. But how do you know for sure? Were you her? Were you there? Did you grab her

originally posted by seattlelaw
I do believe you are the very first person to suggest that I am naive in at least thirty years.

Lawmakers are permitted to skip the security checkpoints if they are wearing a congressional lapel pin that identifies them as an elected official or if they are recognized by the police.
www.foxnews.com...

So, Ms. McKinney did not truly break the law on the count of not wearing her pin or the I.D. However, what still stands is what exactly occurred in those seconds she swung around and connected her cell phone with the cop's chest. I think those are the main points of contention that are debatable.

Lawmakers are permitted to skip the security checkpoints if they are wearing a congressional lapel pin that identifies them as an elected official or if they are recognized by the police.
www.foxnews.com...

washingtonpost.com

An African American martial arts instructor filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against Montgomery County and a county police officer, alleging that he was pulled over and handcuffed because he is black. Terrance Anthony Robinson, 49, was stopped about 10:30 a.m. Jan. 14 on Colesville Road in Silver Spring as he was on his way to his studio, Jow Hop Kuen Gung Fu Academy. The lawsuit is the second in a week against Montgomery police claiming racial profiling.
[...]
Robinson, of Lanham, said in the suit that he did not commit a traffic infraction before being pulled over.Officer Laura Paletto, who stopped him, wrote in an incident report that she was running tags on Columbia Pike and New Hampshire Avenue and stopped Robinson after a search for his tag -- T ROB -- indicated "a wanted hit did come back to the owner of the vehicle."
[...]
Robinson alleges Paletto asked him to step out of his car, frisked him and handcuffed him. He also said he was kept in handcuffs for about an hour and that officers declined initially to tell him why he was being detained.Officers told Robinson that he had an outstanding warrant from Baltimore County, the suit says. Paletto wrote in her report that she later "determined the hit may in fact be for a sound alike and not the actual owner who was wanted." She also wrote that she "explained to Robinson that a mistake was made, apologized, and explained that this incident would be documented."

amnestyusa.org
As the testimony cited in this report shows, racial profiling occurs in almost every context of people’s lives:

*While driving: A young African-American schoolteacher reports being routinely pulled over in his suburban neighborhood in San Carlos, California, where only five other African-American families live. Native Americans in Oklahoma report being routinely stopped by police because of the tribal tags displayed on their cars. In Texas, a Muslim student of South Asian ancestry is pulled over and asked by police if he is carrying any dead bodies or bombs.

* While walking: In Seattle,Washington, a group of Asian-American youths are detained on a street corner by police for 45 minutes on an allegation of jaywalking. While a sergeant ultimately ordered the officer in question to release them, the young people say they saw whites repeatedly crossing the same street in an illegal manner without being stopped.

* While traveling through airports: An eight-year-old Muslim boy from Tulsa, Oklahoma was reportedly separated from his family while airport security officials searched him and dismantled his Boy Scout pinewood derby car. He is now routinely stopped and searched at airports.

*While shopping: In New York City, an African- American woman shopping for holiday presents was stopped by security at a major department store. She showed the guards her receipts. Nonetheless, she was taken to a holding cell in the building where every other suspect she saw was a person of color. She was subjected to threats and a body search. She was allowed to leave without being charged three hours later, but was not allowed to take her purchases.

* While at home: A Latino family in a Chicago suburb was reportedly awoken at 4:50 a.m. on the day after Father’s Day by nine building inspectors and police officers who prohibited the family from getting dressed or moving about. The authorities reportedly proceeded to search the entire house to find evidence of overcrowding. Enforcement of the zoning ordinance, which was used to justify the search, was reportedly targeted at the rapidly-growing Latino population.

* While traveling to and from places of worship: A Muslim imam from the Dallas area reports being stopped and arrested by police upon leaving a mosque after an outreach event. Officers stopped him, searched his vehicle, arrested him for expired vehicle tags, and confiscated his computer.

Originally quoted by jsobecky
OK, ceci, how do we know that she is not offered the same courtesy as other members of congress? Put another way, how do we know that other congresspeople are treated any differently?

In an interview on CNN Wednesday night, McKinney’s lawyer confirmed that representatives of the Capitol Police actually met with the Congresswoman in the wake of the “assault” incident to apologize to the Congresswoman. That sure doesn’t sound like the action of a police department that believes one of its own was the victim of an assault – but rather, it seems to me, indicates they were concerned the police officer acted inappropriately.
[...]
Then, an even more revealing moment occurred on the broadcast when the chief of the Capitol Police, Terrance Gainer, admitted on camera that the Capitol police officer struck first by grabbing McKinney as she was attempting to enter the Capitol office building. That’s an amazing concession, because it is evidence that the police officer initiated the “assault” on McKinney, a U.S. Congresswoman, who arguably was caught off guard and might well have reacted instinctively, in self defense, seeking to put distance between herself and a perceived attacker.