COPS PROBE POL'S FAVORITE BARS - KENNEDY CHECKS SELF INTO REHAB

WASHINGTON - Detectives probing U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy's
early-morning car wreck interviewed workers at the Hawk 'n' Dove bar
yesterday while rank-and-file Capitol police are pushing prosecutors
to throw the book at the well-connected pol. "Mr. Kennedy, by his own
admission, was operating under the influence of narcotics, which is a
violation," said Lou Cannon, president of the Capitol police union.
Cannon said detectives probing the Rhode Island Democrat's 2:45 a.m.
wreck visited several watering holes along Pennsylvania Avenue
yesterday, asking bartenders and waitstaff if they saw Kennedy in the
hours before the congressman crashed his Mustang convertible into a
security barricade.

Kennedy checked himself into a Minnesota rehab center last night.
Among the bars detectives were focused on was the Hawk 'n' Dove, a
popular tavern that Kennedy is known to frequent, Cannon said. The
Herald reported yesterday that a hostess at the Hawk 'n' Dove said
she saw Kennedy drinking in the bar Wednesday night. Employees at the
pub declined comment yesterday. Cannon said despite Kennedy's
decision to seek treatment for his booze and drug problem, detectives
are continuing to build a case for prosecutors. "We're still
following the same course. We're asking that the investigation be
completed," he said. Kennedy, 38, was slapped with a trio of minor
citations for Thursday morning's crash and hastily checked himself
into the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. "I've been fighting this chronic
disease since I was a young man," he said, looking solemn and tired
at a Capitol Hill press conference. "Of course, in every recovery,
each day has its ups and downs." He blamed the crash on disorienting
effects from the prescription pills Ambien and Phenergan, which he
was taking to help him sleep and for stomach pain, respectively.
Combining the pills can have intoxicating effects.

"I simply do not remember getting out of bed, being pulled over by
the police or being cited for three driving infractions," he said.
"That's not how I want to live my life." Despite his contention that
he had no memory of the incident, Kennedy offered a detailed version
of events just one day earlier - including the time he was driving
and the exact street location. Murky details continued to trickle out
from the congressman with a revelation to the Providence Journal that
he spent the hours before the crash with an unidentified woman. Cops
at the crash scene reported that Kennedy appeared to have been
drinking, was stumbling, slurring and had "red and watery" eyes.
Supervisors blocked patrolmen from giving Kennedy a sobriety test and
instead drove him home. In Washington, D.C., a first-offense
conviction of driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol carries a
mandatory six-month license suspension and possible fines. CNN
reported last night that a preliminary internal police probe found
that "supervisors employed improper judgment." Cannon said a watch
commander on duty at the time of the crash will be transferred. But
Capitol police spokesman officer Michael Killough said: "We can't
confirm that any personnel has changed." Asked at the press
conference if he planned on resigning, Kennedy shook his head and
said, "I need to stay in the fight." Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.)
said of his son: "He has taken full responsibility for events that
occurred." Rep. Kennedy's mother, Joan, who has battled alcoholism,
declined comment last night.