Kevin Michael Walsh 52, of Chestertown, Md admitted in an interview with the Spy yesterday that he made a kicking gesture at Chestertown’s police dog, while participating in Saturday’s Christmas parade as “Frosty the Snowman.” In the taped interview, Walsh said he admonished the dog’s handler, PFC James H. Walker, at the corner of High and Cross Streets for bringing the dog to a parade. He also admitted to making inappropriate comments to Mayor Margo Bailey’s son, but insisted his comments were not aimed at children.
Chestertown Police Chief William Dwyer said the police dog flinched backward to avoid Walsh’s kicking motion. PFC Walker was startled by the encounter and immediately put the K9 in the patrol car. Moments later Walker approached Walsh to explain why such an aggressive gesture towards the K9 could be unsafe. Dwyer said Walsh became instantly irate and struck Walker in the face with his “Frosty” hood. Walsh was quickly arrested and removed from the parade in cuffs. Dwyer said the police department has received threatening emails from people sympathetic to Walsh.
Walsh was charged with three counts of assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and failure to obey a lawful order. He says he will appear in court on January 10 in his “Frosty” costume and expects considerable media attention.
Dwyer expressed frustration over a very troubled year with Walsh and said balancing Walsh’s civil liberties with protecting the town from his episodes has been a herculean task.
Arrest of Kevin Walsh
The spectacle went global almost immediately and was picked up by print and broadcast media around the world. The slow holiday news cycle made room for the story on local TV channels and newspapers across the country. The blogs also picked up the story, and animal rights groups were calling for Walsh to be prosecuted. Walsh said he has a possible interview in New York this Friday with ABC.
The Spy caught up with Walsh yesterday to get his side of the story. Walsh maintains that Mayor Margo Bailey is out to get him, and that his five arrests this year are entirely routed in his opposition to the plastic bag ban passed in March. He believes Bailey is using the Chestertown Police to harass him. He also said he was threatened with arrest if he came to the town office to register as a candidate for the Second Ward.
The following audio contains segments of yesterday’s interview with Walsh. Edits were made to omit inflammatory comments and accusations against people of the town, but we thought it only fair to let Walsh explain his most recent arrest and his ire with town government.
Hit play to hear the interview:
A very telling interview.
Thanks for this article and interview. one hopes that this matter could be resolved as amicably as you have presented it here. I sincerely hope that Kevin’s story is told and understood to its fullest and that once and for all, he can find some resolution to the issues that bother him about Chestertown and life here. More to the point, his day(s) in court, shortly to arise, both as a defendant and a plaintiff, will allow the courts of law and public opinion to settle these squabblings once and for all.
We as a community can embrace solutions rather than pointing fingers and worrying about who has done what wrong and about what we can do to move forward. Animal rights, civil liberties and police polices are all well and good issues to deal with, but none is really what this sordid tale is about. Its about having a voice and needing it heard. Your forum has done that, and it is very appreciated.
Now that Kevin has drunk from the cup of publicity, will he become addicted? Let’s hope not for everyone’s sake.
For a moment I thought Bill Arrowood’s characterization of thiis episode as “sordid” was a bit over the top. On its’ face, a story like this doesn’t come along very often. What an opportunity for a little Holiday fun, right? Having listened to your interview tape, however, I think the adjective “sordid” appropriate. All of this is really quite sad. I respectfully suggest that the public interest would be best served by de-escalating this confrontation and turning the spotlight to something more substantive. The more publicity Frosty gets, the more publicity Frosty will crave. Congratulations to the Spy for publsihing this audio tape. Now, let this sordid story melt away.
@ Hugh Smith.
Another take on attention is that each delay in demoting him is a day that some poor resident in our townis free of vengeful unprovoked wrath.
So this forum needs to support remedy without beating the horse to death. I am hopeful that a mode will be employed so all of us in the line of fire can get back to normal.
Sad part is, no one in Florida ever heard of Chestertown. Maryland …………………Now Chestertown is Famous for What? Sad…………laughable………….NOT a REAL picture of the Eastern Shore…….!
Kevin gives signs of being mentally ill. There is no debate concerning that fact. He has been responsible for many destructive incidents, most of which have never been made public. Kevin Walsh needs help; the town cannot provide appropriate treatment; the county doesn’t seem to have the resources to help this sick man, and the state facilities are unknown. So Chestertown is stuck with this guy creating havoc and worse, stuck with people mocking him; stuck with people doubting the police and doubting the press, and stuck with mindless remarks regarding the police and the town government. Kevin Walsh needs help. Can’t someone do something for the long-term benefit of Kevin? Won’t someone in authority step in once and for all do something constructive to help this man?
Charlie Dixon says:
“Can’t someone do something for the long-term benefit of Kevin? Won’t someone in authority step in once and for all do something constructive to help this man?”
Sure,
If Kevin wants to he could get a lawyer and a doctor and together they could come up with a plan where he agrees to certain things and ask the court to grant Probation Before Judgement in the current cases while he works towards these goals that are agreed on. The problem I see with this is he seems to be in a fighting mood and seeks to WIN rather than compromise or even admit any fault. Some of the charges are very serious and the police and court may not go along. He also has a history of this stuff.
If he wants to continue fighting the charges and suing the police etc. he could end up in jail and they could order him to get evaluated but they can’t really make him do anything.
I had a good friend with very similar problems. He, like Kevin, was very smart but he often had paranoid thoughts and this resulted in all kinds of fights, getting fired, and generally withdrawing from and being rejected by everyone around him. Because he was so smart he finally figured out that at least some of his problems were being caused by himself , and agreed to see a doctor. The treatments were just going to the doctor and taking various meds. etc. The last time I talked to him he had a good job and had moved up in that job over a 5 year timeframe. He was even talking about getting married. It all seems to have worked out quite well.
It’s all up to Kevin. He does have all the civil rights that we all have but the Courts have rights, duties, and powers too.
I know Kevin. He Came to Chestertown within months of my arrival here.
He has always been a handful and clearly, geometrically more trouble
since his stroke. But as I said before in this dialogue,
misplaced compassion is just a step away from gross stupidity.
Time to figure out who here is really the victim, one person or a town.
There are avenues open besides the tedious slog of the public sector.
There are private individuals who have not brought their experiences
to the public forum who could consider the private lawsuit remedy.
Kevin needs help but so do we,
So maybe somebody will step up
to the plate and turn the tables.
what is good for the goose
should be good for the gander.
Doesn’t any think thatbthe police over reacted to the situation. They know him and know whatbthey are dealing with. Was he even baited? Why couldn’t the police merely have issued a summons to appear at thw timw or aerved it later after the situation calmed down? Was it really necessary for two officers to take walsh down on the street in front of all the people present? I might suggest some training for the police. And yes, i heard the interview and have a sense of what they were dealing with. All the more reason not to escalate the event.
Jim,
I see your point, but you have to remember that a police dog is generally considered a member of the force. To the officer, kicking at the K9 is going to come across as if he was kicking at a human officer and the reaction is going to be the same – or more intense.
Is taking down “Frosty” during a Christmas parade easy to explain to children present? No, but having Frosty kicking at police dogs, challenging police, and making a general nuisance of himself isn’t easy to explain either.
I dont disagree with your points,phil. My points are that there was no urgency for the police to do what they did and had they handled this better, ctown would not have made international news because its police officers used force to arrest frosty. And gave him a platform. Its not exactly a big town, and problem citizens are well known. There were better ways to anticipate a disruption by mr walsh and deal with it via a plan already in place.
Jim you seem to think that this bad behavior
is not premeditated or in any way planned to provoke.
On the contrary there is a method to the madness.
So you need to be better informed
You are on the wrong track here and you need a reset button.
The police are under the stress of deliberate provocation.
Police shouldn’t be allowed to over react but you can’t expect them to just not do their job because someone gets mad easily and causes trouble. Both sides agree that he kicked at the dog and they both say the policeman approached Kevin and said he wanted to talk to him after he walked away.
Stephan. I dont think i have a reset button. I’ll look, though. But, seriously, Maybe what you mean is that you disagree with my opinion? I accept that, but i do have one. It goes like this. The incident that made international news and olaced the town in bad light was avoidable, but you make it appear as if arrest was the necessary end because walsh needed to be punished.Its not, and punishment is not the job of law enforcement, its for the courts to mete out. No one appeared in danger, and the police could have dealt with this in an easier fashion that would have resulted in walsh appearing to face the same charges he now faces. No internatiinal press, no cops pictured kneeling on frosty’s back, no lingering tee shirts, xmas cards, posters bearing the legend”xmas greetings from chestertown, md” and the photo of his arrest. The end result would have been identical. Appearance before the judge to face the same charges with the same disposition. Nicely and peaceably. Were the police witihin their rights to take him down? Probably. I am suggesting use of a little discrection as opposed to a one size fits all solution.
Everyone has an opinion.
So if someone yelled out at you,
while shopping for juice
telling you to shop instead for Jew Juice…
that is just a matter of opinion. or free expression…
And when another Chestertown resident
has to duck into a storefront
to avoid uninvited confrontation
he has to surrender his peace of mind
on what should be a routine event
And if another person fears that their
house might be burned down
by “Jewish Lightning” fearful reaction
too is a matter of free choice .
And when a young man
is subjected to borderline lewd comment s
about his mother for two days running,
he must have chosen to hear those comments.
And when resident has to call police
in fear of his behavior in a local store
that was her choice… and perhaps
an over-reaction as well?
That was the second time police were called
to the same store, to the same purpose
in less than a week
This time a visitor to the town made the call.
My politics and morality are the farthest thing
from condoning police brutality
.We are a small town
with a decent group of public servants,
trying to get past baiting and taunting
like others mentioned above.
they should be commended not mocked.
Punishment is not the issue.
Public peace and safety are.
the right of any resident of this town,
even a good dog doing a hard job
Too bad you don’t have a reset button…