By KATHERINE C. PEARL
Staff Writer

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A Radcliff woman organizing a local contingent to attend a May march pushing for tougher gun laws has had a run-in with the law herself.

But Diane Stacy, whose efforts to recruit local participants for the Million Mom March were the subject of an article in Monday?s paper, said the criminal charges stemming from a December arrest have no bearing on her involvement.

“It?s not relevant to what I?m trying to do,” she said.

Stacy vowed to continue working to raise money and interest for a trip to Washington, D.C., for the march. Plans for a charity auction and candlelight vigil scheduled for Friday in downtown Elizabethtown remain unchanged.

Those involved with the march on the state level support her decision.

Rene Thompson, Kentucky coordinator for the Million Mom March, said she welcomes Stacy?s participation.

“I don?t think one (the charges) has anything to do with the other (the march),” Thompson said. “Diane Stacy has never shown me to be anything but an honest and honorable person, and I am happy to work with her and happy to know her.”

Stacy claimed the charges she faces are unfounded.

Stacy said the events which resulted in her Dec. 5 arrest occurred after her oldest daughter returned home from a neighbor?s house intoxicated and abused. Stacy said when she attempted to take her daughter to the hospital, the girl fled.

After a search for several hours, Stacy said she and her husband learned the girl was at a neighbor?s house and the police had been summoned. She said when she tried to claim her daughter, the Kentucky State Police officer on the scene asked her to leave.

An altercation ensued when Stacy attempted to leave, she said.

Stacy said she drove to a friend?s house and then went to the Radcliff police station to attempt to file charges against the officer and was taken in to custody.

She was charged with third- and fourth-degree assault, third-degree escape, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Stacy was lodged in the Hardin County Detention Center and released the same day on a $2,500 bond.

As a condition of her bail, Stacy is required to stay 500 feet from her oldest daughter, according to court records. She was uncertain when she is slated to appear again in court.

Kentucky State Police officials familiar with the case could not be reached for comment.

(If you’ve seen this one, forgive me.)