Even if you had the sweetest Thanksgiving, full of spiritual and familial joy, I would wager Kevin McConnell and his wife, Michelle, had at least as much to celebrate, in pure relief.
For the past year McConnell, a D.C. police detective, has been living under threat of termination for firing his weapon in self-defense in summer 2008. He shot and killed the man who attacked him. Though the department’s force investigative board determined his actions were justified, one official ordered he be fired. His case has been pending before the police trial board.
Ten days ago, a federal jury cleared him of blame in a $25 million wrongful-death suit brought by the dead man’s family. Still, his own police department continued to move toward his dismissal.
On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, the Metropolitan Police Department sent an agreement to his attorney, Jim Pressler. In sum, it said the MPD was dismissing all adverse actions against McConnell. He was exonerated.
“A huge weight had been removed from my neck,” McConnell told me. Friends called to offer congratulations. “Lots of people came to the house. We could celebrate.”
I recounted the details of McConnell’s case in a column last week. He was on duty at midnight in August 2008, in the hills east of the Anacostia River, in the center of the 7th Police District, the city’s most violent neighborhoods. He confronted a man who was trying to attack a carryout owner who had closed his shop.
“Police,” McConnell said. “Stop what you are doing.”
The man, Jason Taft, jumped McConnell. Taft had been drinking. He had a long rap sheet, including a charge of assaulting a police officer. They fought hand to hand. Taft got McConnell in a guillotine hold and said: “I’m going to choke you out.”
Losing consciousness, McConnell managed to get his pistol. He fired three times. One shot injured his own thumb, two hit Taft, who died an hour later.
It took McConnell months to recover. His wife, Michelle, is also an Metropolitan Police detective. They had just had their first child. In that time, no MPD officials checked on his welfare. Instead, the department moved to terminate him.
Last week, after McConnell won in federal court, Police Chief Cathy Lanier asked to see him. They met in her office, according to his lawyer. The detective told his story. A day later, he was off the hook.
Kris Baumann, chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police, says the department mishandled the case. “This is the manner in which this department treats its officers,” he says. “That’s why we lose 1,000 every year.”
McConnell gives Lanier a thumbs up for meeting with him and hearing him out. But he wants to make sure that the MPD takes better care of cops in his position.
“I plan to get involved in the family support group in the near future,” he says, “so the family isn’t forgotten.”
Giving back is the best way to give thanks.
E-mail Harry Jaffe at [email protected].
