Officer Apologizes For Racial Slur Against Henry Louis Gates Jr.

It seems Boston Police Department Officer Justin Barrett has come out and issued an apology for a nasty e-mail in which he calls Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. a “banana-eating jungle monkey.” Yeah, apparently he did in fact write that message. You can see Barrett’s apology below. Now, who knows what the record of Barrett is with regard to such poor conduct (if, in fact, he does have a prior history). His record may be squeaky clean (outside of this substantial stain). I don’t know that Barrett should necessarily be fired, but if he is not relieved of his duties … his margin for error should be pretty small.

Here is an excerpt from a story published online by CNN:

A Boston police officer who sent a mass e-mail referring to Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. as a “banana-eating jungle monkey” has apologized, saying he’s not a racist.

Officer Justin Barrett told a Boston television station on Wednesday night that he was sorry for the e-mail.

“I regret that I used such words,” Barrett told CNN affiliate WCVB-TV. “I have so many friends of every type of culture and race you can name. I am not a racist.”

Barrett was placed on administrative leave after the e-mail surfaced, and he might lose his job as a result.

In a news conference held Thursday morning, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis denounced the e-mail.

“We have a relationship to maintain with the community,” he said. “Police officers certainly have First Amendment rights, but they can’t cross the line. I believe this crosses the line.”

Remember all of that talk about us being post-racial … I guess we’re not there yet and maybe not even close as we’ve seen with some of the far-right anger directed at our nation’s first black president.

CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/30/gates.police.apology/index.html

A Vicious Slur Used By Cop Against Henry Louis Gates

A nasty slur was used against Henry Louis Gates Jr., the black Harvard University professor, who was involved in an unfortunate incident that led to his ridiculously being arrested. Now, it appears a Boston Police Department officer named Justin Barrett, in an e-mail, has used a racial slur to describe Prof. Gates as a “jungle monkey.”

Here is a statement reported by the Boston Globe which quoted police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll:

“Yesterday afternoon, Commissioner Davis was made aware that Officer Barrett was the author of correspondence which included racially charged language,” she said. “At that time, Commissioner Davis immediately stripped Officer Barrett of his gun and badge, and at this time we will be moving forward with the hearing process.”