Port Arthur councilmembers and first responders on Kinlaw incident

Published 5:59 pm Thursday, January 11, 2018

Leaders in the city of Port Arthur are addressing a copy of a video that shows councilman Thomas Kinlaw III berate first responders at the scene of a traffic accident in which his daughter was involved.

The video, which is circulating through various media sites, was not released by the city of Port Arthur and appears to have been recorded by a firefighter at the scene on Memorial Boulevard near 19th Street this past weekend. It shows a shaken and upset Kinlaw drive up to the scene and interact with firefighters and police officers.

Mayor Derrick Freeman said he watched segments of the video, but he didn’t watch enough to make a judgment, nor has he talked to Kinlaw.

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Above all, Freeman is of the opinion city councilmembers should not be treated differently than the average citizen.

“We should be kept to a higher standard and we shouldn’t cast aspersion as councilmembers,” he said. “He (Kinlaw) was emotional. He did seem rightfully frustrated, but I won’t say anything until I watch it.”

Freeman added it was out of character for Kinlaw to act that way.

“We (the city council) want to do things with excellence. We should be the standard-bearers. Hopefully we’ll learn something,” Freeman said.

Willie “Bae” Lewis Jr., District 5 councilman, said he watched the video last night. He said he would handle the situation differently than Kinlaw, but also said Patrick Melvin, chief of the Port Arthur Police Department, needs to orient his officers too.

“There’s no reason for officers to not know who are the elected officials. They see us at city hall. We’re highly visible,” Lewis said.

Lewis said parents act a certain way when family members become injured such as in a vehicle wreck. Better communication is needed on both sides — the city council and the police department.

“There was a good reason why he became upset to find what happened to his daughter,” he said. “Two were racing down the street and T-boned her and no one got arrested to my understanding. One of the drivers refused treatment.”

Harold Doucet Sr., District 4 councilman, said Kinlaw was emotional due to his daughter’s condition after the wreck.

“He said he was sorry how he reacted. That’s what happened in a nutshell,” Doucet said. “He realized he made a mistake. There’s not much to say.”

Osman Swati, District 6 councilman, meanwhile, had a different point of view on the matter.

He said as a father he can understand how Kinlaw became hysterical seeing his daughter in an ambulance, but Swati said Kinlaw didn’t know the extent of the injuries, and he believes he took things a little too far.

“What is our authority as a councilmember?” Swati asked. “As individuals, we’re just like ordinary citizens. We have authority as a body. Nobody is special without the council.”

Swati said after watching the video Kinlaw could’ve been arrested for assault.

“It’s good that he apologized. I’m embarrassed for the city council. He’s a good friend of mine, but this is not acceptable.”

Swati has placed an item on the next meeting of the Port Arthur City Council agenda at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday to discuss education and ethics, individually and as a body, for the council.

“I want to apologize on behalf of my fellow councilmembers and to the first responders. I commend the work they do in the city,” he said.

Fire chief Larry Richard said an investigation into the incident is but could not elaborate on what it is about. He also could not give a timeline for when the investigation would be complete.

Police Chief Melvin was asked if he was aware of the incident with Kinlaw and said he was not familiar with the TV interview (aired by local media) and has not made any comment concerning the topic.

He was also asked if his officers acted improperly at the scene and if so, how.

“I feel my officers acted appropriately in this situation,” Melvin said in an emailed response to the Port Arthur News.

The News also asked if Melvin believes city council members should be treated differently than the average citizen, to which is responded, “I feel all persons should be treated equally.”

Kinlaw issued a statement on the incident:

“As a parent, as a father, I was put in a situation that was uncanny to me, out of my character, that will probably not happen again. I received a phone call that my daughter had been in a major accident, as a result of two guys high-speed racing. My daughter avoided one car, and the other car t-boned her, and caused her car to spin four or five times and injured her.

I get in my truck and while going to my daughter’s accident scene, nobody’s answering her phone so I’m thinking the worst

And when no one answers the phone, I really wanted to get to my daughter, when I arrived at the scene see lots of emergency lights, and the condition of my daughter’s car. It had been T-boned, all the airbags were deployed and it was smoking.

If you ask me if I’d do things differently I would say yes.

I did speak with both the fire chief and police chief and expressed my apologies to both of the departments about this situation.

My daughter at this time is doing well. She has some bruising, head injuries, but she is doing well.

Again when I arrived at the scene my top concern was not where my truck was parked, but my priority was my daughter’s well-being.”