Rising officer netted Sen. Craig

[unhappycamper]

This image from television provided by WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, Minn., shows Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Police Sgt. Dave Karsnia in Feb., 2006. Karsnia, who arrested Sen. Larry Craig, was known as a reliable student and a hard worker, and he often tried to minimize embarassment for the people he caught in bathroom stings at the airport. (AP Photo/WCCT-TV, Minneapolis)


Rising officer netted Sen. Craig
By Joshua Freed, Associated Press Writer | August 31, 2007


MINNEAPOLIS --Sgt. Dave Karsnia shielded the men he arrested in the airport bathroom from embarrassment.

After he flashed a badge, he would point silently to the exit. When one man said his wife was waiting at a gate, Karsnia called for a citation book to spare the man a trip to the airport police station.

And when his bathroom stings netted a U.S. senator from Idaho, he even promised him, "I don't call media."

That promise -- which Karsnia seems to have kept -- didn't do Sen. Larry Craig much good.

Craig's arrest was surely the biggest of Karsnia's career, but it was only one of more than a dozen he made in the Minneapolis airport's restrooms this summer.

Just 29, his record has been that of a rising young officer. He joined the Minneapolis Airport Police in 2000 as a community services officer, just out of college. Three years later, he was named the department's Officer of the Year, and in 2005 he was promoted to sergeant. Last year, he finished his master's degree.


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[Atman]

1. Didn't I see that guy doing a show at Manray one night?

Or was it the Indian chief? Or maybe it was the construction worker...I can't remember, it's all so hazy now...

.

[global1]

2. So Now Let's Jump All Over The Cop That Did The Arresting. What's With This Board This AM.?.....nt

[WillParkinson]

4. He seems...

To be a very honorable and decent guy. My thanks to him for making, and apparently keeping, his promise to serve and protect, no matter who you are.

[Atman]

11. In listening to the tapes, he seemed very fair and professional

It's just the story angle du jour, I guess.

.

[closeupready]

17. I don't entirely agree. He seems to have

been very aggressive in his questioning. He interrupts Craig several times, asks leading questions. Though he did say that he wanted to be fair.

[FredScuttle]

19. Yeah, how inappropriate for an INTERROGATING COP to act

Are you kidding?

[closeupready]

21. No, not kidding.

n/t

[FredScuttle]

24. Are you at all familiar with how a cop interrogates a suspect?

If he's not aggressive and asking leading questions, he's doing a piss-poor job of it.

Kudos to this cop...I think he treated that assclown fairly.

[seemslikeadream]

7. I know defending war profiteers and dirty drinking water to soldiers

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

10. It's fascinating, yes? It seems "talking points" get thrown out on this board when GOPers are, yet

again, exposed for the absolute hypocrites which they are.

MKJ

[DemReadingDU]

3. Great article!

The officer was a decent cop, not offensive, yet doing his job.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. But I'm worried that his potty patrol days may be over now that his face

is flashed all over this country.

[Ganja Ninja]

5. Rising? The man is on bathroom detail at the airport.

Talk about a shitty job!

[TlalocW]

12. Yes, his career seems to have stalled

:)

TlalocW

[LeftHander]

14. sucky detail for sure....nt

[northzax]

27. i think the point was to stop it from being sucky

and send it back to being shitty or pissy...

sorry. couldn't help myself.

[FredScuttle]

20. He deserves a nice long cruise

n/t

[Blue_Roses]

8. From the article, he sounds like a great cop and

a very professional one at that. He earned a Masters degree, so the guy is obviously serious about his work. I think we need more cops like him. For a cop to try and respect the person they are arresting is extremely admirable.

[Wiregrass Willie]

22. From the tape, he appears to be a racist

OFFICER: I just, I just. I guess, I guess I'm gonna say I'm just disappointed in you sir. I'm just really am. I expect this from the guy that we get out of the hood. I mean people vote for you.

"hood" is not a code word for "my neighborhood"

[Orrex]

26. I don't know...

"Hood" has become a kind of cultural shorthand for "the bad section of town," without necessarily communcating any commentary on race or ethnicity.

I agree that it can easily have a racial component, but judging from the context here it's a stretch to use that one word as justification to call the officer "a racist."

[Wiregrass Willie]

28. You are probably right

I'm just trying to figure out how Craig could have broken down and given in so easily. With all the power of a US Senator, he sure caved in quick.

[Orrex]

29. That's a good question

Overall, I'd have to say that he didn't exactly demonstrate the best judgment in this situation...

[lonestarnot]

9. Blame the poor ass cop for doing his job. Peepers give me the creepers.

[Kolesar]

18. When I was young, I hated the solicitations that horny homos would write on the walls of the stall

I would be playing in the park and go to the stalls and see "I will ____ your ____ Friday night". It took me a while to figure out what they were really saying. I was less than 10 years old and reading this stuff.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

13. Maybe He Can Be A G

eom

[H2O Man]

15. A good cop.

If he were a bad cop, I think that when he found out the fellow he had just arrested was a US Senator, he would have let him go. He didn't. He appears to believe in the concept of equal justice.

[beastieboy]

16. When interrogating Craig he said "No wonder we are going down the tubes" LMAO!

[havocmom]

23. Yep, the young man got his eyes opened up, didn't he?

He sure sounded calm, measured, rational and fair on that tape. He did not roll over and play helpless but was not aggressive. It was amazing. He is a good cop. And now, he is an more aware citizen.

The Senator tried bluster and bully. The officer maintained calm and professional standards in the face of a man who was trying to misuse what authority he thinks his position gives him. The officer got quite a lesson.

And he gave quite a lesson too. He was great on that tape.

[TwilightGardener]

25. A good, honorable cop, doing his job--he didn't let Craig go, but he didn't

squeal on him, either, and he treated his suspects with respect and dignity. Good guy.