The department has received "only six or seven"complaints about mistreatment of minority guardsduring the past four years, Sinclair said.

Sinclair said the department has reprimandedsecurity supervisors in the past, but he would notsay how many times or whether any of thereprimands were related to charges of racialharassment.

Sinclair confirmed that the departmentinvestigated a sexual harassment complaint made byKennedy School guard Jacquelynn Leonard in 1990.

In a grievance dated November 8, 1990, Leonardsaid security supervisor Thomas Henaghan"discriminated against me on a gender basis" and"harassed me on a racial basis."

Leonard said Henaghan "issued a sexist command"and referred to her as a "girl."

According to the complaint, Henaghan toldLeonard not to answer a phone call in the securityoffice. "No, you can't answer that. You're awoman. They'll hang up on you," he allegedly said.

"As far as he's concerned, he thought he wasprobably joking," said Leonard. "But women andminorities know that is not joking."

Leonard said she met with Henaghan to discussthe matter, and that she has not had any otherproblems with the supervisor. Henaghan could totbe reached for comment.

Last month, a Russian guard said Henaghanharassed him "almost every day" for the past twoyears. Henaghan denied the charge.

Sinclair said Henaghan denied Leonard's chargesof harassment in 1990. An investigation could notcorroborate either Henaghan's or Leonard'saccount, he said.

In an interview yesterday, Leonard also saidHenaghan tried to retaliate against her for makingthe harassment complaint.

"He put down that I was late when I wasn't,"said Leonard. "He was retaliatory."

Sinclair said that those instances of tardinesswere removed from Leonard's record, and deniesthat they constituted retaliation.

"It was a misunderstanding," he said. "If wehad thought it was retaliation, we would havetaken very strong steps."

Sinclair also denied that the departmentdiscriminated against former guard Rodney Johnson.

Johnson, who is Black, said the departmentrefused to rehire him in 1988 after he quit toapply for a post in the MIT police department.Johnson was employed at Harvard for 10 years andsaid Chief Johnson had promised him a post if onebecame available.

Johnson also said Harvard officials once placedhim on probation for six months after a whiteguard falsely accused him of stealing. He said theformer head of security often harassed minorityguards.

Voss and a Hispanic former guard, Rolando Diaz,alleged last month that Dowling, the current headof security, fired them because of theirethnicity.

Voss and Diaz also said security supervisorDonald Behenna singled them out for verbal abuseand tolerated the use of racial epithets