Cameraman, Legislator's Guard Scuffle After Ga. Vote

ATLANTA, Aug. 10 -- Police on Thursday continued to investigate an election-night scuffle between a bodyguard for ousted U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney and a television cameraman, but officials said criminal charges are unlikely in the case.

The cameraman told police the bodyguard -- a karate expert who has appeared in martial arts movies -- shoved and punched him.

"It's kind of like 'he said, she said' -- or, in this case, 'he said, he said,' " said DeKalb County police spokesman Jason Gagnon. "I don't think, based on what they're saying, that there would be any charges from us."

McKinney, the congresswoman who drew national attention in March after striking a Capitol Police officer, lost her reelection bid in a runoff Tuesday to fellow Democrat Hank Johnson.

A grand jury in Washington declined to indict McKinney for the clash with the officer, but she eventually apologized before the House, and Johnson frequently mentioned the incident during the campaign.

Early Wednesday morning, Steve Muhammad, part of a security detail that had accompanied McKinney as she prepared to deliver her concession speech, called police to say he had been assaulted by Gary Stilwell, a cameraman for Atlanta station WXIA-TV.

Muhammad, 67, a black belt in Kenpo karate who has worked security for celebrities including Wesley Snipes, said that when he told Stilwell to step back, Stilwell threw his camera at him -- striking him in the eye.

Stilwell told police he was trying to film McKinney when security officers pushed him, knocking his camera off of his shoulder. High-definition video cameras generally cost between $50,000 and $80,000.

In Atlanta, local television stations were reporting Thursday that Muhammad was involved in several other minor scuffles with journalists during the campaign.