Black Students File Police Complaint

Claiming that Cambridge police officers last month singled them out of a crowded University shuttle bus because of their race, two Black students yesterday field a formal complaint with the city's Police Review and Advisory Board.

Craig A. Cochrane '91 met yesterday with William Golon, the Review Board's executive director and chief investigator, and opened the inquiry by describing what happened on the evening of March 14.

That night, Cochrane and Andre L. Williams '89 were ordered off a shuttle bus outside Johnston Gate and searched after Cambridge police confused them with a suspect in a nearby shoplifting.

The two said they finally decided to file the complaint, after more than a month's delay, because City Manager Robert W. Healy failed to issue a written response to complaints they raised with him shortly after the incident.

"I've been pining over this thing for too long now, and he's not taking action, which as head of Cambridge he should be taking," said Williams. "I really regret that we waited to file the complaint."

Williams said he will meet with Golon on Monday.

Golon said he will begin a preliminary investigation and bring his findings to the Review Board next Thursday. At that point, the Board could approve a full investigation, which would include issuing subpoenas to the officers involved.

City Solicitor Russell B. Higley said the police department's internal affairs division is conducting a parallel investigation.

Cochrane said he decided that a full investigation was needed in light of recently revealed evidence.

Last week, The Crimson reported that the police officers who searched the two students were twice told by a radio dispatcher to look for a "tall white male over six feet, [with] blond hair, blue eyes, blond mustache, blue jeans, grey jacket."

Both Cochrane and Williams are Black, and neither is over six feet tall.

"It's very clear that neither one of us fitthat" profile, said Cochrane.

After meeting with the students on March 23,Healy said poor lighting conditions might have ledofficers to mistake the two for a shoplifter atRix Health and Beauty Aids on John F. Kennedy St.

At that meeting, Healy agreed to look intosetting up racial sensitivity training workshopsand revising police regulations to requireofficers to explain their actions to suspects,according to Cochrane and Williams.

Healy did not respond to repeated requests foran interview yesterday.

Although Higley said he did not know whataction Healy might take, he said that the racialsensitivity training workshops would probably beincorporated into an existing program to retrainpolice officers.

"Every year, each and every officer has to gothrough a retraining process," said Higley."We've been doing that for years, that's nothingnew." He said he thought this incident might beincluded in such a program.CrimsonJohn F. KimCRAIG A. COCHRANE '91 (right) delivered acomplaint yesterday to WILLIAM GOLON, executivedirector of the Cambridge Police Review andAdvisory Board.