Grand Jury Won't Indict Rep. McKinney

Congresswoman Admitted Striking A Police Officer In March

(CBS/AP)  A grand jury declined to indict Rep. Cynthia McKinney on Friday in connection with a confrontation in which she admitted hitting a police officer who tried to stop her from entering a House office building.

The grand jury had been considering the case since shortly after the March 29 incident, which has led to much discussion on Capitol Hill about race and the conduct of lawmakers and the officers who protect them.

"We respect the decision of the grand jury in this difficult matter," said U.S. Attorney Kenneth Wainstein. "We thank its members for their hard work and careful consideration of the evidence and testimony.”

His statement, released late Friday, also included support for the officer involved, Paul McKenna, and the Capitol Police. He said, "This is a tremendously difficult job, and it is one that Officer McKenna and his colleagues perform with the utmost professionalism and dignity."

With that, Wainstein closed a case that has simmered with racial and political tension.

The encounter began when McKinney tried to enter a House office building without walking through a metal detector or wearing the lapel pin that identifies members of Congress.

McKenna did not recognize her as a member of Congress and asked her three times to stop. When she ignored him, he tried to stop her. McKinney then hit him.

McKinney described the encounter as "racial profiling," insisting she had been assaulted and had done nothing wrong.

McKinney is black. McKenna is white.

She received little public support for that stance, even within the Congressional Black Caucus.

Wainstein, meanwhile, referred the matter to a federal grand jury, which then subpoenaed several House aides thought to have witnessed the encounter. McKenna, too, testified.

Members of the CBC privately urged McKinney to put the matter behind her. The next morning, she appeared on the House floor to apologize.

"I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened at all, and I regret its escalation, and I apologize," McKinney, D-Ga., said April 6. "There should not have been any physical contact in this incident."

Wainstein said in a statement Friday: "Members of Congress are fortunate to have the protection and the service of one of the finest police forces in the country."