Boston cop who sent 'jungle monkey' e-mail sues city of Boston

[cynatnite]

BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- A Boston police officer is suing the city after he was suspended for referring to a black Harvard professor as a "banana-eating jungle monkey" in an e-mail.

"If I'm charged with a crime I want a chance to answer. I want the chance for a fair hearing," Officer Justin Barrett told CNN on Tuesday.

Barrett has apologized and denied he is a racist.

His lawsuit claims his civil rights have been violated; Barrett's lawyer said the words referring to Henry Louis Gates, Jr. were misinterpreted.

"The choice of words were poor; but they weren't meant to characterize professor Gates as a banana-eating jungle monkey," attorney Peter Marano said. "They were meant in a response to behavior and characterizing the behavior. Not the person as a whole."

Marano said the city had effectively fired Barrett, though he is officially suspended with pay.

He said it was fair to hold Barrett to a higher standard than the general public because he is a police officer, but that he was still entitled to express his opinions.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/05/massachusetts.gates.lawsuit/index.html

[Uzybone]

1. talk about ballsy

[walldude]

2. Yes he is entitled to express his opinion and we as the public have a right

not to have racist assholes in positions of power and authority. Welcome to a free country jackass.

[cynatnite]

4. I had visions of Carrie Prejean for a moment while reading this. n/t

[elehhhhna]

14. Dear Officer Chunkhead: Freedom Isn't Free! You could lose your job.

[omega minimo]

3. Maybe the officer needs to eat a banana and get some potassium to his brain

:wow:

[ecstatic]

5. So his apology on Larry King was BS, then

:eyes:

[wininboy]

6. And no doubt, the racist beast will be represented by a union atty

They are so despicable

[abumbyanyothername]

12. Welcome to DU

as long as you're here.

:hi:

Unions are held in pretty high esteem around here, by the way.

[vadawg]

17. yup, hes entitled to representation, just like anybody else

and the union rules preclude his just being fired, so the city has to go through the proceedures which include him being allowed representation..

[wininboy]

18. My point is, the rightwing bigot probably hates unions

including his union provided lawyer.

[armyowalgreens]

19. Well none of us know for certain that he's right wing.

[vadawg]

21. we just know hes either an idiot or he did something idiotic

hopefully they can figure out which it is..

[wininboy]

23. Sure he is

His letter stinks of rightwing authoritarianism.

[armyowalgreens]

24. I have not read the entire letter. I have only read excerpts...

but it didn't sound like he hated authoritarianism. After all, he is a police officer.

[vadawg]

20. well i gotta say i think everyone hates lawyers as a given :)

[redqueen]

7. Oh he said a lot more than just "jungle monkey"...

His screed was very telling. He's racist and misogynist... the two seem to go hand-in-hand so often.

(full text here: http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/justin_barrett_full_email_072909)

"That paragraph was as pathetic as jungle monkey jibberish - I might as well ax you the question..."

"You are a hot little bird with minimal experiences in a harsh field. You are a fool. An infidel. You have no business writing for a US newspaper ... You should serve me coffee and donuts on Sunday morning."

"Famous for what? Expert why and says who? What has he done for me and my family? What has he done for the law enforcement community or military veterans or to secure freedoms and our borders in this country? What has he done to help limit and reduce my income tax?"

"Your final statement reads, "Gates, whose great success has allowed him to transcend the racial divide-" to which I ask, when did he transcend? He indeed has transcended back to a bumbling jungle monkey, thus he forever tremains (sic) amid this nation's great social/racial divide that makes it a free and great nation mixed with crazy and awkward differences. Go ahead, ax me what I think?"

"Your article titl(missing from image) should read CONDUCT UNBECOMING A JUNGLE-MONKEY BACK TO ONE'S ROOTS."

[Bluerthanblue]

13. you hit the nail on it's head-

well said Redqueen!

:hi:

[zbdent]

22. so he's tossed the shovel and opted for

an oil rig?

[dysfunctional press]

8. do all the pigs in boston have such big balls on them...?

well- i guess so.

[YOY]

9. You know...I have called folks "monkeys" with no racial context...

but I think "banana-eating jungle monkey" really sets a tone for just what kind of insult you intend and what kind of person you are.

[countingbluecars]

10. Geeze, it's not like he said

Professor Gates acted stupidly or anything as offensive as that!

[Bluerthanblue]

11. his e-mail spoke of the desire to be violent though- beyond the

racist comments. I read his e-mail, and it sure sounded like someone who had lost control of the "authority" they wielded over the general public. It isn't his "voicing his opinion" that he's having problems about- it is the mind-set that his "voice" exposed.
And you don't have to have committed a crime to be terminated.


:shrug:

[noiretextatique]

15. i'm glad he's off the force and i hope the suspension is permanent

"The choice of words were poor; but they weren't meant to characterize professor Gates as a banana-eating jungle monkey," attorney Peter Marano said. "They were meant in a response to behavior and characterizing the behavior. Not the person as a whole."

sure :eyes:

[Politicalboi]

16. I guess then just saying

Gates acted like a child just wouldn't be understood.
And wasn't he on the cities computer when he spewed his venom? So using the computers for your own entertainment is ok?