Officer Justin Barrett (WCVB/CNN)
Justin Barrett, the Boston police officer who sent a fiery email to a Boston Globe journalist comparing Henry Louis Gates Jr. to a "banana-eating jungle monkey," appeared on Larry King Live Thursday night.
Appearing distraught, Barrett attempted to explain his actions and salvage his reputation, stating:
"I would like to take this opportunity to offer fellow police officers, soldiers and citizens my sincerest apology over the controversial e-mail I authored," Barrett said on CNN. "I am not a racist. I did not intend any racial bigotry, harm or prejudice in my words. I sincerely apologize that these words have been received as such. I truly apologize to all."
Barrett has since been suspended from his military duties as captain in the Army National Guard and placed on administrative leave from the Boston Police Department pending the outcome of a termination hearing.
The e-mail controversy stems from an article written by Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham on July 22nd, in which she sides with Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. In the column, Abraham writes:
What would you do in Gates’s situation? Would you stand for this kind of treatment, in your own home, by a police officer who by now clearly has no right to be there? Most people might not be bold enough to say the things Gates was accused of. (Alas, the classic “I’ll speak with your mama outside’’ attributed to him in the police report was never uttered, his attorney says). But any normal person would have trouble keeping his cool. So Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct.
The whole thing became huge news, because this immensely famous expert on race was charging racism.
Yesterday, trying to avert a public relations disaster over the dunderheaded moves by Cambridge police, the Middlesex district attorney announced the charges would be dropped. A wise move, but too late to stop the damage. Gates, whose great success has allowed him to transcend the racial divide, is now one very high-profile argument for its persistence.
Barrett stated he got upset at Abraham because he felt her column was biased:
"It did not show the roles and duties of a police officer and how dangerous it already is without having a debate about people getting in a police officer's face, which should never happen at all."
In the email that Barrett crafted and sent to Abraham, he wrote the term "jungle monkey" four times, and called Abraham's writing "jungle monkey gibberish."
Abraham wrote a follow-up column on Thursday. Here's an excerpt:
I try to read and respond to every e-mail I get. The reasoned ones often help me see points of view I may not have fully considered. Some of the thoughtful e-mails about Gates, along with developments in the story that came after my column appeared, made me wish I’d cut Sergeant James Crowley more slack.
But when somebody begins with insults, racial epithets, or both, I hit the delete button.
This happens so often I barely register it any more.
Below is a video of Barrett's appearance on Larry King Live, as well as a statement from Ed Davis, the Boston Police Commissioner.
You might also be interested in:
CNN correspondents, guests, and President Obama react to Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrest
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Comments
I am a white male 30 year police officer in Los Angeles. I hate to admit it, but the attitude shown by this clown is more common in policework than anyone can imagine. Unless police departments get serious about these people, nothing will change. It was more accepted 30 years ago than it is today, but it is still around. The only way to correct this is to have ongoing inservice psychological testing and to punish conduct like this with a giant hammer. It is common knowledge that black on black crime is epidemic but this is only tossing gasoline on a raging fire allowing these individuals to remain in law enforcement. I have learned, respect is earned, on both sides of the blue line. I hope this guy is fired forthwith.
Now u know the dude was beng a idiot at the home of Gates! When u send a email like that u are a racist to some degree! no matter what he says! He prolly dosent even know it, his dad was like that his dad before him was like that and so on. When i first read about this story i just thought it was a cop over stepping his authority as they do so often! But it is clear now that he didnt like the black man asking him for his I.D because he was a black man. Its a shame to me that we still have to deal with this in USA people just cant be people and there skin has to matter. Im a 28, white man that is sick of it wonder how the black folks feel about it!!!!!!!!!!!!
Um, Joshua, the cop who wrote the hate e-mail is not the same cop who arrested Gates. Officer Barrett wrote the hate-mail. Having read that e-mail I must say that, while I find his blatant bigotry scary, I think it's even scarier that he used to be an ENGLISH TEACHER. Yikes - he even seems to consider himself a good writer. God help our schools.
Officer Gunther I would like to thank-you for your honesty. I think it is very unfortunate that anyone regardless of race can be arrested in their own home. As a black female, I have never been racially profiled, I always act professional with the police, but let's say I am a bit nuts and I didn't threaten or break any law, I shouldn't have to be arrested. I also know that racial profile exists because I used to have a really old car while my brother would have a fancy car. He would always switch cars with me when he came to visit me in Miami because he just didn't want to be bothered by the police. While I can forgive Officer Barrett, I don't think he should be in a position of power and carry a gun. I wish him well and I hope he is able to find a profession in another field.
Sorry, Mr. Lawyer, mid-30s is not "a young man."
What is left unspoken in all of this so far is how he advocated for an abuse of authority. Everybody wants to hang the whole thing up on racism (and sure, there's plenty of material there), but in both this and Crowley's case, the animating presumption is that the police should be allowed to overrreach, arrest people for disorderly conduct when their own state supreme court never sustains those charges under those circumstances, and that an officer should use pepper spray on someone who is exercising their First Amendment rights. Pathetic and nauseating.
This cop is a real creep judging by that vitriolic email, and of course he goes to Larry King with his lawyer. Larry King coddles all his guests and asks softball questions, and the cop is so much of a coward that he hides behind his lawyer and talks over and over again about how he was in Iraq.
Glad he apologized, but let's have him prove it by his actions. Personally I want him to be made an example of, there's too much racism and bigotry among the police these days.
For every one good cop, there's a racist one. Institutional Racism exists within the Police Department and the criminal justice system. This fact needs to be addressed and America needs to stop trying to make the victims the victimizers and trying to say if you bring up race, you must be the racist. That trick doesn't work. The proof is in the pudding. There are plenty messed up cops out their - black and white. Instituitonalized Racism is Institutionalized Racism - fix the institution.
heloo all
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