Rep. Kennedy Settles Lawsuit by LAX Guard

In a settlement announced this week, Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.) has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to a former security guard at Los Angeles International Airport who alleged that the congressman assaulted her at a security checkpoint in 2000.

Kennedy, the son of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), will personally pay part of settlement to Della Patton of Los Angeles. His insurance company will pay the remainder.

“He felt it was his responsibility to own up and take responsibility for this incident,” said Jack McConnell, Kennedy’s lawyer. “He’s saying that this is an unfortunate incident, and that he’s sorry it happened.”

Patton filed suit in Torrance Superior Court, claiming that Kennedy “intentionally battered” her “with his hands and body” on March 26, 2000, in an attempt to force his way past her at a Terminal 7 security checkpoint at LAX.

The incident, which was captured on tape by two security cameras, started when Kennedy tried to put oversized luggage through an X-ray machine, said Patton’s attorney, George Mallory. Patton and another screener informed him that he would have to check his bag.

Kennedy pulled out his wallet and showed Patton his identification. When she refused to let him pass, Kennedy “shoved her and she struck the magnetometer,” Mallory said.

After the altercation, Patton suffered a “frozen shoulder” and had arthroscopic surgery for “loose bodies” in her left shoulder, Mallory said.

Kennedy, who eventually checked his bag on a flight to Boston, had previously apologized to Patton and offered $25,000, which she rejected.