A Boston police officer was placed on administrative leave while the department investigates allegations he sent a mass e-mail using a racial slur while referring to Harvard Professor Louis Gates.
Officer Justin Barrett, 36, a two-year veteran assigned to District B-3, was placed on administrative leave pending a termination hearing yesterday afternoon. When a supervisor confronted Barrett about the e-mail – in which he called Gates a “jungle monkey” – he admitted to being the author, according to officials.
Barrett is a member of the National Guard. The e-mail was sent anonymously to fellow guard members and to the Boston Globe.
