Police Probe Fuels Kennedy Controversy

Report Says Rep. Patrick Kennedy Had Slurred Speech, Was Unsteady

(CBS/AP) 

In his statement, Kennedy said he was apparently disoriented from the drugs when he got up a little before 3 a.m. Thursday and drove to the Capitol thinking he needed to be present for a vote.

"Following the last series of votes on Wednesday evening, I returned to my home on Capitol Hill and took the prescribed amount of Phenergan and Ambien," Kennedy said. "Some time around 2:45 a.m., I drove the few blocks to the Capitol Complex believing I needed to vote. Apparently, I was disoriented from the medication."

"At no time before the incident did I consume any alcohol," said Kennedy, going on to address questions about why he was not asked to take a sobriety test. "At the time of the accident, I was instructed to park my car and was driven home by the United States Capitol Police. At no time did I ask for any special consideration, I simply complied with what the officers asked me to do."

"I have the utmost respect for the United States Capitol Police and the job they do to keep Members of Congress and the Capitol Complex safe," he continued. "I have contacted the Chief of Capitol Police and offered to meet with police representatives at their earliest convenience as I intend to cooperate fully with any investigation they choose to undertake."

Ambien, a widely-prescribed sleep medication, has been blamed by many individuals for incidents involving driving, eating, cooking and other actions that happened when the patients were supposed to be asleep — actions they later said they could not remember.

Meanwhile, some are questioning the incident and the way it was handled by police, suggesting Kennedy received special treatment.

Louis P. Cannon, president of the Washington chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, who was not on the scene, said the congressman had appeared intoxicated when he crashed his car into a barrier on Capitol Hill.

"The officers on the scene, it is my understanding, smelled alcohol. And based on his demeanor and their experience, believed him to be intoxicated," Cannon told Chen.

Cannon also says officers at the scene were instructed by an official "above the rank of patrolman" to take Kennedy home.

A letter written by Capitol Police officer Greg Baird to Acting Chief Christopher McGaffin said Kennedy appeared to be staggering when he left the vehicle after the crash about 3 a.m. The letter was first reported by Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper.

Baird wrote McGaffin that two sergeants who responded to the accident conferred with the watch commander and were ordered to leave the scene.

He said that after the officers left, Capitol Police officials gave Kennedy a ride home. Last night, however, it was clear Kennedy's car is drivable, Chen reports.

But Cannon told CBS News, "I would think for the average citizen they would probably be taken into custody."

Cannon says police, depending on the circumstances do sometime take people to their homes but he believes "because of who he is, courtesies were extended. ... If it had been you or me, we would have left in handcuffs."

Kennedy spent time at a drug rehabilitation clinic before he went to Providence College. He has been open about mental health issues, including being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

He has served in Congress since 1994, and was the youngest member of his family — the best-known of America's political dynasties — to win elective office, beginning his legislative career at age 21 in the Rhode Island Assembly.

The investigation is ongoing, but no charges have been filed, Chen says.