Harvard U. Police Accused Of Racial Profiling
Department Accused Of Unfairly Stopping Blacks
POSTED: 5:44 am EDT August 27,
2008
UPDATED: 12:36 pm EDT August 27,
2008
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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Harvard University campus police are finding themselves under investigation following accusations of racial profile on the Cambridge campus.They've been accused of unfairly stopping African-Americans students, professors and other members of the community, and the charges have prompted Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust to put together a panel to look into the charges.
Video | Survey Faust announced the review Tuesday in a letter to administrators and faculty that also was posted on the university's Web site. The special six-member committee will be headed by Boston attorney Ralph Martin, an African-American and former Suffolk County district attorney.It will study police diversity training, community outreach and recruitment. "All of us share an interest in sustaining constructive relations between our campus police and the broader Harvard community in order to provide a safe and welcoming environment for all faculty, students, staff, and visitors," Faust saidHarvard law professor, Dr. Charles Ogletree, who has spent years mediating meetings between black students and police, said, "We need a structured set of training sessions with Harvard police on the issue of racial profiling and concrete steps to improve the relationship between police and communities of color." The probe was sparked by an incident earlier this month when campus police confronted an unidentified black Boston High School student who was using tools to remove a lock from a bicycle.She said the person was a summer employee who owned the bike and was trying to cut the lock because the key had broken. The Boston Globe said black students and faculty protested last year after police interrupted a campus field day sponsored by two black student groups, asking if they had a right to be there.The newspaper said in 2004, police stopped a prominent black Harvard professor as he was walking to his office because they mistook him for a robbery suspect.A Harvard campus police spokesman said the department welcomes the panel's investigation.“The review will provide the department with an invaluable opportunity to benefit from Mr. Martin's expertise and to hear in new ways from the Harvard community about how we might better serve our diverse population,” Steven G. Catalano wrote in a e-mail, according to the Harvard Crimson newspaper.
Video | Survey Faust announced the review Tuesday in a letter to administrators and faculty that also was posted on the university's Web site. The special six-member committee will be headed by Boston attorney Ralph Martin, an African-American and former Suffolk County district attorney.It will study police diversity training, community outreach and recruitment. "All of us share an interest in sustaining constructive relations between our campus police and the broader Harvard community in order to provide a safe and welcoming environment for all faculty, students, staff, and visitors," Faust saidHarvard law professor, Dr. Charles Ogletree, who has spent years mediating meetings between black students and police, said, "We need a structured set of training sessions with Harvard police on the issue of racial profiling and concrete steps to improve the relationship between police and communities of color." The probe was sparked by an incident earlier this month when campus police confronted an unidentified black Boston High School student who was using tools to remove a lock from a bicycle.She said the person was a summer employee who owned the bike and was trying to cut the lock because the key had broken. The Boston Globe said black students and faculty protested last year after police interrupted a campus field day sponsored by two black student groups, asking if they had a right to be there.The newspaper said in 2004, police stopped a prominent black Harvard professor as he was walking to his office because they mistook him for a robbery suspect.A Harvard campus police spokesman said the department welcomes the panel's investigation.“The review will provide the department with an invaluable opportunity to benefit from Mr. Martin's expertise and to hear in new ways from the Harvard community about how we might better serve our diverse population,” Steven G. Catalano wrote in a e-mail, according to the Harvard Crimson newspaper.Copyright 2008 by TheBostonChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
