Rep. Kennedy Inquiry in Hands of City Attorney

Police turned their investigation of U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy’s confrontation with an airport guard over to the city attorney’s office Thursday for a decision on whether charges should be filed.

The case will be reviewed by a deputy city attorney, said Mike Qualls, spokesman for City Atty. James Hahn. There is no set time for when the decision could be expected, Qualls said.

Della Patton claimed the Rhode Island Democrat shoved and grabbed her on March 26 after she told him his bag was too big to fit through an X-ray scanner at Los Angeles International Airport. She filed a battery complaint with police.

Detectives assigned to investigate the high-profile case interviewed witnesses and examined a surveillance videotape of the incident before presenting the evidence to city prosecutors.

Kennedy admitted last week that he lost his temper, but said that he apologized to Patton and that the incident had been “blown completely out of proportion.”

Police said only that the video showed “physical contact.”

Detectives were investigating whether it qualified as misdemeanor battery. The penalty is a maximum of six months in jail and a $2,000 fine.

The 32-year-old son of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) asked police last week to make the videotape public, insisting it would clear him of battery allegations. Police refused, saying it was evidence in a criminal investigation.

Qualls also said the city attorney’s office would not release the tape.

Patton, 58, hasn’t returned to her airport security job since the incident, her attorney, Paul Trump, said Thursday. The attorney also said a civil suit hasn’t been filed and there have been no discussions with Kennedy’s lawyers.