James Crowley's co-worker in the Cambridge Police Department, Justin Barnett, made an appearance on the Larry King show last night.
James Crowley
He and his lawyer, apologized, yet denied, Barrett, a 36-year-old police officer, is a racist, for referring to Harvard Professor, Henry Louis Gates Jr., as "banana-eating jungle monkey" which Rev. Al Sharpton stated is ridiculous.
Henry Louis Gates Jr.
It is indeed an oxymoron to apologize if you claim you did nothing wrong. Make no mistake, Barrett, used a racial slur in his email to Boston.com.
Attorney: Cop made mistake with 'jungle monkey' e-mail
(CNN) -- A Boston, Massachusetts, police officer who sent a mass e-mail referring to Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. as a "banana-eating jungle monkey" didn't intend to express bigoted views or cause pain, his attorney said in a statement Thursday night.
Attorney Peter T. Marano apologized to Officer Justin Barrett's "fellow police officers and fellow National Guardsmen, as well as to the citizens of Boston and the citizens of the United States."
"Regrettably, these words are the lasting picture people will see of Justin Barrett," Marano wrote. "Justin Barrett ... has made a mistake -- his poor choice in words is that mistake. His lack of thought into the possible outcome of using such words has caused this debate. Justin never intended for these words to bear such a racial connotation."
Barrett didn't intend "to inflame racial tensions, express prejudice or bigoted views, or inflict hurt and pain," Marano said.
Barrett, a two-year veteran of the Boston police force and a member of the National Guard, sent an e-mail to the Boston Globe and fellow Guard members in response to a July 22 Globe column about Gates' controversial arrest earlier this month....
