CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A special prosecutor could soon get involved with the investigation of Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper.
Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Adam Petry confirmed his office has requested a special prosecutor to look into an incident at Daniel Boone Park in Charleston earlier this month.
Carper’s youngest daughter previously acknowledged an allegation of misconduct against her father was related to his health. Carper, 71, has been hospitalized after having quadruple bypass surgery on May 18.
“Unfortunately, an allegation of inappropriate conduct has been made against my father while he was apparently parked in a vehicle at or near Daniel Boone Park on Monday,” Virginia Carper stated on May 19, the day after his surgery.
The statement went on to say, “My father’s illness and his apparent confusion have been misinterpreted as being something inappropriate. My family and I regret this awful misunderstanding.”
Virginia Carper said her father’s surgery was promoted by a heart attack he had on May 15, the same day investigators have been looking into.
Earlier this month, MetroNews and other news organizations filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the City of Charleston and with Metro 911 for incident reports and recordings of 911 calls from Daniel Boone Park on May 15; however, those requests have been denied pending an investigation.
“The information you are requesting is part of a pending investigation and, therefore, is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act,” the City of Charleston responded at the time.
Metro 911 responded, “We cannot provide you with the requested recordings at this time as there is an ongoing investigation. As such, Charleston Police Department has requested that the recordings not be released at this time.”
Carper has served on with the Kanawha County Commission since 1996 and is a law partner at Hill, Peterson, Carper, Bee and Deitzler.