[progchat_action] Police: Columbia slow to cooperate with noose probe
 
Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2007 09:29:52 -0500 (CDT)

(This shows Lee Bollinger, President of Columbia University, to be a
sanctimonious hypocrite of the worst order. Eager to condemn Iranian
President Ahmadinejad, his  own Colunbia University administration refuse to
cooperate with the police in the investigation of a hate crime.  This is no
matter of 'political correctness,'  the noose has the same sort of
murderous racial symbolism as a swastika - which by the way appeared
elsewhere on the Columbia campus shortly after the noose. Bollinger has no
moral authority to lecture anyone. SR)

Police: Columbia slow to cooperate with noose probe

by Rocco Parascandola
 NewsDay
October 11, 2007

Columbia University officials stymied investigators for two days by refusing
to release videotape that could provide clues about who put a noose on the
office door of a black professor, police charged Thursday.

The tempest hit a crescendo at midday Thursday, when Police Commissioner Ray
Kelly publicly lamented the delay, criticizing the university for telling
investigators that police needed a subpoena to view the videotape.

By then, the New York Police Department had obtained the subpoena, and soon
after Kelly's comments, Columbia told police it would let police view the
roughly 56 hours of tape captured on seven different surveillance cameras
posted on the Morningside Heights campus.

 Police still worried that the time lost may have hurt the probe. The first
24 to 48 hours are considered crucial in any investigation, police said.

"It gives the perpetrator less time to concoct a story or cover their
tracks," said Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, the NYPD's top spokesman.
"Obviously, the sooner we have information the better.

"This delayed us."

Diane Dobry, spokeswoman for Teachers College, said the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act precludes Columbia from simply releasing the
videotapes. "We always cooperate with police in any investigation," she
said. "The reason we require a subpoena is because of privacy laws. That's
our policy."

The Columbia community last night was dealing with another hate crime after
a caricature of a male wearing a yarmulke above a swastika was found drawn
in black ink on a bathroom stall door in Lewisohn Hall, home of the School
of General Studies.

Meanwhile, the arduous task of reviewing the videotape was expected to begin
late Thursday, more than 48 hours after the NYPD made its initial request.

The case broke Tuesday morning, when a professor found a 4-foot-long noose
hanging from the office door of psychology professor Madonna Constantine,
44, a respected educator and author of a book called "Addressing Racism."

At first, Columbia seemed ready to let police view the videotapes, but said
it couldn't do it until Wednesday morning, when its top technician would be
at work, Browne said. Police agreed, Browne said, in part because the
department prefers to watch the tape while those most familiar with a
particular surveillance system -- and all its quirks -- operates it.

On Wednesday, school officials spent the day publicly condemning the
incident as an act of racial hatred.

That afternoon, Janice Robinson, the general counsel and executive director
for diversity and community at Teachers College, told Deputy Insp. Michael
Osgood, head of the Hate Crime Task Force, that the tapes would not be
released without a subpoena.

"He described it as arguing with her," Browne said. "He told her that it's
going to slow down the investigation."

Constantine and her lawyer declined to comment on the issue yesterday.

There still is no suspect, police said, but one source said detectives have
all but ruled out a female psychology professor with whom Constantine had
bickered. The professor, Suniya Luthar, who is currently on sabbatical, said
outside her Scarsdale home that she had nothing to do with the noose.

"This is a despicable incident," the professor said. "Nobody anywhere should
have to experience something like this."

The professor had been considered a potential suspect because Constantine in
May had filed a defamation lawsuit against her. There had been friction
between the two, police sources said, because Constantine had replaced the
other professor after returning from a sabbatical.

The source said investigators found the professor highly credible and do not
believe she was involved.

Adam Pincus and Maria Alvarez contributed to this story.

Copyright ) 2007, Newsday Inc.

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