Boston cop ("English teacher", "I am not a racist") suspended for calling Gates a " jungle monkey"

[tj2001]

An officer in the Boston Police Department was suspended yesterday for writing a racially charged e-mail about Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. to colleagues at the National Guard, a law enforcement official said.

The law enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Officer Justin Barrett referred to the black scholar as a " jungle monkey" in the letter, written in reaction to media coverage of Gates's arrest July 16.

Barrett, a 36-year-old who has been on the job for two years, was stripped of his gun and badge yesterday and faces a termination hearing in the next week, said police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll. He has no previous disciplinary record, she said...

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/officer_suspend.html

----------------

FAUX News has posted Barrett's email at http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/justin_barrett_full_email_072909

Boston police union says "investigators should not rush to a conclusion":
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gp4uPuzLuooqpvDagi4_RloFRs0gD99ODLNG0

[ShenandoahAspen]

1. He needs to be fired. nt

[bluestateguy]

2. I hear the Klan is hiring

They are looking to start a Boston chapter.

[EFerrari]

4. These guys are risking their jobs in this economy.

Unbelievable even at that level.

[rwheeler31]

3. Good this crap needs to stop.

[BlooInBloo]

16. Why? It's only a few bad apples, after all.

[NashVegas]

5. My Respect for the Massachusetts Nat'l Guard Just Went Up, Tremendously

[kirby]

6. The story does not say if he was on duty or not?

If it was something he did privately, his act should be protected by the 1st amendment. Of course, so should have whatever Gates said, so I guess it cancels?

[EFerrari]

7. So, you're comparing Gates standing up for his rights in his home

to this overt and public racist?

[kirby]

11. They can be both viewed as 1st Amend issues...

I just finished reading the below article that someone else posted. Take a look. The author highlights how the public and the media have missed the point that the bogus Gates arrest was unconstitutional.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/28/gates-crowley-arrest-first-amendment-free-speech-harvard-opinions-contributors-harvey-a-silverglate.html

I find the racist cops behavior despicable, but don't know the details, and cant help but see a parallel in the 1st Amend issue here.

[EFerrari]

22. Yes, he does have a 1st amendment right to disclose what a racist he is.

And his department, which has a code of ethics, has a right to pull him.

[NoGOPZone]

25. Here's the difference. Gates was ARRESTED for exercising his 1st Amendment rights

this officer wasn't. The two incidents aren't directly comparable.

Off topic, after reading his email, I think a case could be made that he isn't fit to serve regardless of the slurs. He thinks pepper spray should have been used. I'm not sure this guy should be wearing a uniform.

[kirby]

30. But...

He works for the government. If he is fired for an email/'letter to the editor' that he sent outside of work and the government fires him, isn't that a 1st amend issue?

Many police departments do have a code of ethics catch-all such as "to keep my private life unsullied as an example to all", which he obviously failed. Whether they enforce it or
whether the police unions allow it to be enforced, I'm not sure.

[NoGOPZone]

36. How much does the First Amendment protect?

We're all familiar with the basics, and yes there are differences when it comes to public and private employment. Regardless, I'm not sure it's going to be of help to a civil servant who employment demands objectivity when it comes to race.

Of course, the unions and the contracts will be a factor, as they should be, but that's not a First Amendment issue.

[malaise]

31. You are correct

Constitutional rights are not selective. If he wrote that crap on his own time and not on the office computer, he's just a moran - nothing more nothing less. He does have the right to write racist crap.

[BuyingThyme]

8. He's perfectly within his rights to say something like that,

but I think it's also fine for police departments to investigate and act upon charges of racism as a matter of policy.

The whole email thing is a little creepy however.

And one good thing: At least one person in the National Guard was offended.

[kirby]

21. I agree... n/t

[blogslut]

32. Really? You think so?

Here's just a snippet of the email:

His (Gates) first priority of effort should be to get off the phone and comply with the police for it(SIC) I was the officer he verbally assaulted like a banana-eating jungle monkey, I would have sprayed him in the face with OC deserving of his belligerent non-compliance...

You're defending this?

[BuyingThyme]

33. I always defend Constitutional rights.

[blogslut]

41. Well

He has the right to be a racist but he doesn't have the right to be a racist on the job. I'm glad they're ditching this man. The fact that he suggests that he would have blasted professor in the face shows the man should not be allowed anywhere near any citizen while wearing a uniform. I wouldn't hire that guy to flip burgers much less give him a gun.

[BuyingThyme]

42. Me neither.

[Thickasabrick]

38. Isn't he admitting he would be a bad cop to someone who was speaking

disrespectfully to him? That would seem like grounds for firing right there.

[lexanman]

9. are you really defending this guy?

You think he should stay as a cop? Openly racist guy on a police force? Is there no low for the cop apologists on this board? Why does DU tolerate racist enablers? Doesn't this crap belong on stormfront? Unbelievable.

[kirby]

10. I'm siding with our Constitution.

His racist comment is despicable. But if it is some email he forwarded to some friends at home, that is different than if he was at working doing it.
I am far from a cop apologist or a racist enabler.

Here is a good article someone posted...

http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/28/gates-crowley-arrest-first-amendment-free-speech-harvard-opinions-contributors-harvey-a-silverglate.html

[GodlyDemocrat]

12. Save some exceptions, the Constitution does not apply to employment

n/t

[kirby]

15. His employer is the government... n/t

[lexanman]

13. The police are free to hire and fire anybody

at will for any reason or no reason. He is free to have his constitutional right to be a racist. Unemployed and being sued for defamation, that is. Gates' had his constitutional rights trampled by being arrested and humiliated. And he did nothing except repeatedly ask the cop for his id and badge number. At his own home.

I can only shake my head anymore.

[kirby]

19. There is a police union involved I'm sure...

So no, they cannot hire and fire anybody. But the guy sounds mentally unstable which should be case to challenges his ability to serve the public. He sounds like some White Power Solder of Fortune type.

[lexanman]

23. They just suspended him and are actively looking to get rid of him

Yes, they can hire and fire people. Union contracts have specific clauses about this sort of garbage. He actually sounds very stable. He's not going to be able to get away with that bullshit defense. He's a racist cop(imagine that) and he needs to be fired and sued by Gates for defamation. Ruin his life and his ability to ever get a job in law enforcement again.

[kestrel91316]

45. Funny. He sounds extremely UNstable to me.

[lexanman]

56. what do you mean by unstable

unstable as in he shouldn't be held responsible for his racism, or unstable as in not fit for duty.

[kestrel91316]

58. Not fit for duty. Police are PUBLIC servants. Severe racism makes

a person fundamentally incapable of serving all members of the public fairly.

He IS, however, fit to be a member of the KKK.

[lexanman]

60. I agree completely

[merh]

46. I think he would have been fine if he hadn't identified himself as a cop

See, his actions put him and his partner at risk. Add to that his comments reflect badly on the department and he has now put each and every arrest he makes of an African American in doubt. Did he make a lawful arrest or was it just an arrest of a jungle monkey? And god forbid he ever use a taser or pepper spray again.

SCOTUS has ruled in Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 (2006), that public employees do not enjoy First Amendment protection while speaking in their public capacities rather than as citizens.

He put himself out there as a cop, what he would do as a cop had it been him in Crowley's shoes.

There is more to weigh when advocating the 1st amendment protection for police officers, they have a professional responsibility, a duty to the public and to their fellow officers.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

53. If he were being prosecuted you'd be siding with the constitution.

As it is, you're just siding with racism.

[kirby]

57. That is not true...

The Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment applies to public employees. The distinction is whether the person makes the comments in their official capacity or
as a public citizen. By your logic, punishment other than prosecution, is not a violation of the 1st Amend, which is not correct. And that ruling was the Bush court. The dissenting liberal
opinions did not feel there should be a distinction between whether a statement is made in an official capacity or as a public citizen.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

59. Absurdity.

Sure, public employees have the right to free speech, and the public has the right to fire them over it.

According to your absurd logic, a public school teacher could lecture all day on the virtues of pedophilia and the school couldn't do a thing about it.

[kirby]

62. Not what I said...

I said according to the Supreme Court ruling, a public school teacher, in her role as a public citizen, could send controversial letters to the editor, without the school being able to fire her. Your pedophilia red herring is non-sense. Obscenity has been ruled as an exception to the first amendment.

[MadBadger]

48. I think in his line of work, being a racist would compromise his ability to complete his job.

[merh]

49. exactly

[Selatius]

61. If he used police department or national guard computers to send the email, he's terminated.

You can do it on your own computer on your own time, not the taxpayers'.

[TexasObserver]

14. His writing skills are criminal, irrespective of his racist comments.

What a maroon!

[NoGOPZone]

17. Some English teacher. "I might as well ax you the question" is his idea of English. nt

[dorkulon]

47. That's another racial slur, methinks. This guy is brimming over with hatred. nt

[Fuzz]

18. Yes, don't rush to a conclusion. Jungle monkey could mean so many different things, right?

[BlooInBloo]

20. Clearly all the facts aren't in.

[EFerrari]

28. Don't be a knee jerk. Wait for the facts, you cop hater.

:sarcasm:

[Fumesucker]

35. Absolutely... Right out of Gorillas in the Mist, eh? n/t

[Thickasabrick]

24. Why would Fox News post Barrett's email? Do they want him to

receive supportive letters from their viewers?

[EFerrari]

26. Yes, they do. n/t

[fascisthunter]

27. lol... get f out of my city you racist pig!

[ljm2002]

29. Wow, I just read the actual email...

...and the term "jungle monkey" is not just an aside (bad enough, to be sure) -- it's liberally strewn throughout.

What a racist jerk. Guess he'll be looking for work soon.

[Thickasabrick]

34. Link please? - I just found a small paragraph - what does "OC" mean as in

he would have sprayed him in the face with "OC"

[kirby]

37. Oleoresin Capsicum == Pepper Spray n/t

[Thickasabrick]

40. Thank you!! I thought they just tasered everyone these days. nt

[EFerrari]

39. It's the second link in the OP. n/t

[Thickasabrick]

44. OMG.....I bet he beats up women. He's telling the reporter she is

only good for serving him coffee and donuts on Sunday morning? I think a really sick dude has been unearthed.

Thanks for the link info - I totally missed it. Reading the whole thing really makes a difference!!

[Poll_Blind]

43. Ok, after reading his e-mail that cop needs a full psyche evaluation. PERIOD.

He managed to work in "jungle-monkey" something like 4 times at least, maybe as many as 6. Anyone looking at that letter would reasonably think that he was throwing that term in- not unconsciously as people might have suspected after reading the headline, but with the full intention of making a splash...seemingly without regard for consequences.

Which is scary considering his job and the nature of his racism. BTW, I presume he received a personality test in order to be hired. Something like the "Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory" hopefully would have revealed these sorts of personality traits. Not necessarily the racism but the penchant for causing a stir to invite attention- which appears to be the payload on this particular e-mail.

Totally fucked, BTW, as well.

PB

[donheld]

50. Fire him now!

[EFerrari]

51. His defense is -- he didn't mean his words in a racist way:

"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."

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/20219730/detail.html

omfg

[SemiCharmedQuark]

52. ROFLOL!!! Oh lord...

[susanr516]

63. If that email is an example of dignity and respect

I would hate to see what he considers rude behavior. The officer certainly seems to have anger management issues. I think the PD was correct to suspend him, at least until he can have a psychological screening.

[Aloha Spirit]

54. Boston people--what's the deal with all the low frequency townies.

They still goin on and on about how Gates racially profiled Crowley and how black people need to get over it.
Srsly
I am avoiding all public places where I might overhear someone say something wacky.

[varelse]

55. "He has no previous disciplinary record"

Because no one's ever called him on this bullshit before? It's awfully hard to believe he's never pulled it before. :(