Police Behavior Is Unacceptable

Harvard University students have frequently leveled charges of racism against the Harvard police. It seems that almost every year there is some allegation that officers have acted differently because of a suspect's race.

In the most recent case, a Harvard junior has alleged that his arrest in December of 1992 was racially motivated.

The student, Inati Ntshanga, a citizen of the Republic of South Africa, was arrested by Harvard police after entering the HSA linen office in the bottom of Mathews Hall during Christmas break. Ntshanga worked with HSA and was authorized to be in the office.

Ntshanga and his lawyer sent a series of letters to Harvard administrators complaining about the incident. After a ten-month delay, the University examined the matter and declared in January of this year that the Harvard University Police Department's conduct was proper.

But Harvard's verdict notwithstanding, serious questions remain. When questioning Ntshanga, the police asked for his Harvard I.D., which he did not have. They then allowed him to call a friend, who Ntshanga hoped could find his I.D. When the friend was unable to, the police promptly arrested Ntshanga and took him to a holding cell in the Middlesex County jail.

Ntshanga was promised more phone calls when he arrived at the jail, but he was never given the opportunity. Instead he sat for two hours in a cell with convicted felons. Why did the police not let Ntshanga call his supervisor at HSA or a University official to confirm his status?

Police Chief Paul E. Johnson said that informing administrators is normal procedure in this type of case. Dean of Students Archie Epps agreed that the police should have called an administrator: "I believe that the police should have followed normal practice and called one of the deans or his house staff to verify that he was a student."

Also worthy of investigation is Ntshanga's contention that the arrest was revenge for a previous disagreement with one of the officers, with whom Ntshanga, as a member of the escort service, was acquainted. According to Ntshanga, the two had argued about a race-based complaint that Ntshanga had made regarding some other police officers in an earlier incident. During the conversation, Ntshanga says the officer told him of her hostility towards Blacks. The officer apparently denied that she recognized Ntshanga when the arrest was made.

Whatever the motivations of the Harvard police were, the case illustrates conduct that is unacceptable, unprofessional and demanding of condemnation.