Story by MetroNews Correspondent Brad McElhinny
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The woman at the Charleston roadside park had pulled in to meet an acquaintance and complete a purchase. She was shocked by the unexpected and unwanted experiences that occurred instead.
She called an emergency dispatcher and described an indecent exposure incident, according to transcripts recently released by Metro 911 in Kanawha County.
“Yes. I was sitting here, uh, waiting on somebody on somebody to come and give me my stuff I’m buying off of her,” the woman told a dispatcher, “and there’s a guy that pulled up beside of me here at Daniel Boone and he unzipped his pants and he’s got his thing out, shaking it.”
MetroNews requested the 911 records following widespread allegations about a lewd behavior involving longtime Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper.
No charges have been filed so far. The Charleston Police Department began investigating the incident, which was then assigned to a special prosecutor, who now has referred the case to the West Virginia State Police. An original recusal from the Kanawha County Prosecutor’s Office was described only as “Investigation Pertaining to Kent Carper.”
Under West Virginia code, an indecent exposure charge is considered a misdemeanor punishable by no more than 90 days in jail or fine no more than $250, or both.
More punishment is possible if the exposure was done for sexual gratification. If that can be proven, the fine is no more than $500 and the jail time is no more than 12 months.
Carper’s family on May 19 acknowledged an allegation of inappropriate conduct at the park, characterizing it as a misunderstanding related to a health crisis. Carper has been recovering from a stroke, heart attack and bypass surgery.
“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,” stated Virginia Carper, the commissioner’s youngest daughter.
“My father’s illness and his apparent confusion have been misinterpreted as being something inappropriate. My family and I regret this awful misunderstanding.”
Daniel Boone Park is a roadside park along Kanawha Boulevard with picnic tables, a fishing pier and boat docking.
West Virginia MetroNews obtained transcripts of the Daniel Boone Park call by submitting a Freedom of Information Act Request asking for public records representing recordings of calls to the Metro 911 emergency line the afternoon of May 15.
The request was temporarily denied, citing an ongoing investigation. This past Friday, Metro 911 approved the request for transcripts that redact identifying information about the caller.
The first call from the woman at the park was placed at 2:17 p.m. May 15, which was a Monday. The woman described the indecent exposure by an older white male. The dispatcher promised to send an officer.
A second call followed at 2:23 p.m.
“Oh my god, ma’am, I just called you about that guy had his pants down…” the caller begins.
The woman continues, ” I’m here at Daniel Boone, and, oh my god, the guy got out of the damn van there, and come up here… honey, he’s the one on damn TV, he’s…”
The dispatcher, who was different from the one who handled the prior call, asks for more context. “I don’t know what you mean. Who is he?” this dispatcher asked.
The transcript doesn’t specify a name, but the caller says the man was someone she recognized as a public figure. “I don’t… oh my god, um… I think his name’s… he’s well known. But he come up to my damn Jeep and said ‘nice Jeep’ and he’s got sunglasses on. I am shaking like a leaf.”
The officer who had been dispatched showed up by then. The dispatcher offers another expression of confidence that the officer would keep her safe and sort matters out.
“Alright, thank you ma’am,” the caller says.
A spokesman for Carper’s family has said a stroke that Sunday or Monday followed by a heart attack early that week. He went into the hospital for quadruple bypass surgery on May 18.
Emails obtained by local news organizations show that at 3:57 p.m. May 15 Carper followed up on a conversation among commissioners about the condition of Big Bend golf course by asking county employee Megan Estep, “Are you interested in being the superintendent [at] Big Bend?”
Estep has been dating the Charleston police officer who responded to the complaint at the park.
Carper, a Democrat, has served on the commission more than 20 years. He hasn’t been to recent commission meetings because of the medical recovery.
The situation is complicated and keeps unfolding bit by bit. Former Charleston Mayor Danny Jones, a longtime local political observer, has said it would be wise of Carper to open up about everything at once.
“It doesn’t look good. The whole thing doesn’t look good,” Jones said June 23 on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
“I believe now he’s got to get all this one in one news cycle. If he wants anybody to remember anything else about him but this very incident — in other words you mitigate everything with one press conference, one nolo (contendre) or guilty plea and you go on.”