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Student Alleges Harvard Guard Harassed Him

Chief Says Police Procedure Violated

Six months after he publicly charged University police with racial discrimination, Inati Ntshanga '95 says he has been harassed again by a Harvard police department employee.

Ntshanga, who is Black, said a University security guard mistreated him because of his race during an incident Monday in the Science Center. Police Chief Paul E. Johnson, while stopping well short of calling the incident harassment, said yesterday that the guard, Raymond Gonzalez, violated department procedure.

"We are delighted that it worked out as well as it did," Johnson said.

According to Ntshanga and Harvard officials, Gonzalez ordered Ntshanga out of the Science Center twice--once for bringing his bicycle into the building and a second time for failing to have his student ID while he used a computer in the basement.

Ntshanga claimed that Gonzalez refused to listen to him and fiercely interrupted his session on the computer when the student couldn't produce a student identification. The guard then called the police.

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"When I asked him a question, he didn't answer; he used his authority," Ntshanga said. "He punche[d] the computer, presse[d] all the buttons."

"[The guard] used his power," Ntshanga added. "He was harassing me."

Ntshanga said the incident is part of a pattern of harassment against him by Harvard police and security officials. Monday was the second time Ntshanga has publicly accused the University of abuse, and the student says he has had four separate runs-ins with Harvard police departments employees. All four incidents, he claims, were racially motivated.

Last spring, Ntshanga, a Black student from South Africa, charged that his 1992 arrest by Harvard police was racially motivated. Ntshanga was arrested even though he was a Har- vard Student Agencies employee working his job in the agency's Matthews Hall linen room.

Police, who had suspected he was homeless, said they picked him up because he refused to produce his student identification.

Ntshanga spent two hours in jail before being released into the custody of Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III. He was later acquitted on all charges.

Ntshanga's public statements sparked a campus debate on police harassment.

Many Black students alleged that Harvard police had detained or harassed them, too, because of their race.

At Ntshanga's request, Johnson, Gonzalez and Ntshanga will meet on Thursday to discuss the most recent incident.

"I want him to explain why did he treat me like that," Ntshanga said.

Science Center Incident

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