BOSTON -- A Boston police officer who sent a racially charged e-mail protesting newspaper coverage of the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. apologized Wednesday night and said "I am not a racist."

Justin Barrett, 36, admitted using the term "jungle monkey" in writing about the arrest of the Harvard professor by a Cambridge police sergeant.

"It was a poor choice of words. I did not mean to offend anyone," Barrett told NewsCenter 5's Cheryl Fiandaca.

Watch Report

Barrett, who is a captain in the Massachusetts National Guard, was suspended by Boston police and condemned by the Guard for what it called a "racially insensitive e-mail."

Gates, a black Harvard scholar, was arrested at his home earlier this month on a disorderly conduct charge after he tried to budge open the door of his Cambridge home.

The e-mail was first sent to the Boston Globe and then to local members of the National Guard, in response to a Globe article about Gates' arrest.

In the e-mail, Barrett writes, "(Gates') first priority should be to get off the phone and comply with police, for if I was the officer he verbally assaulted like a ... jungle monkey, I would have sprayed him in the face with OC deserving of his belligerent non-compliance."

Barrett said he was venting his frustrations about the author and the way they characterized police officers.

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis found out about the e-mail on Tuesday and immediately stripped Barrett of his gun and badge, officials said.

"The words were being used to characterize behavior not describe anyone," said Barrett. "It was a poor choice of words. I didn't mean it in a racist way. I treat everyone with dignity and respect."

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino wants Barrett fired from the department.

"I just say that we want to rid our department of the cancer, and that is what we did -- rid the department of the cancer. All the police officers I know don't condone any of that," Menino said.

"An individual preaching hate has no place in our society," he said.

Barrett is assigned to District B-3. He was placed on administrative leave pending a termination hearing.

Maj. James Sahady, a spokesman for the National Guard, said, "Capt. Barrett’s opinions are in complete violation of Army and National Guard Values and will not be tolerated."

Barrett has been a Boston police officer for two years and received extensive training in racial profiling prevention while in the academy.

"People go through these courses and they pass them and you don't know what they are going to do in a situation," said Menino.

Barrett and his attorney said they will fight the charges brought both by the police department and the National Guard.

"People are making it about race. It is not about race," Barrett claimed.

Barrett will get only pro forma support from the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association which condemned the e-mail, but said it is contractually obligated to protect his rights at a disciplinary hearing.

"We strongly denounce these statements as being offensive and hurtful," the union said in a statement.

Editor's Note: While we realize some readers may find the use of Justin Barrett's exact quote offensive, we felt it was important to the full understanding of the story to report it verbatim.