Posted on 10/11/2007 10:57:59 AM PDT by SmithL
NEW YORK, (AP) -- Columbia University has refused to turn over security videotape that could help identify who hung a noose on a black professor's office door, police said Thursday.
Investigators began asking on Wednesday for tapes from cameras in the building, but have been rebuffed by administrators, said Paul Browne, the New York Police Department's top spokesman.
He said police will have to get a court order to force the school to provide video they believe could crack the case.
"It's unfortunate because it adds a time-consuming step to the investigation," Browne said.
A Columbia spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.
Authorities were testing the 4-foot-long twine noose for DNA evidence, but had no suspects as of Thursday morning.
On Wednesday, the professor who was the target of the attack, Madonna Constantine, told hundreds of faculty and students at a rally on the Ivy League campus that the incident was a "blatant act of racism" that "reeks of cowardice and fear."
"I'm upset that our community has been exposed to such an unbelievably vile incident," she said.
Police believe the noose was placed on the doorknob of Constantine's office at Teachers College — Columbia's graduate school of education — Tuesday morning, when a colleague spotted it and notified authorities.
Police declined to discuss possible motives or suspects.
Constantine, 44, told police there was "ill will" between her and another professor who had replaced her while she was on an extended leave, a police official said.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Dollars to doughnuts, the tape probably shows the “offended” perfesser tying the hang rope himself.
You don’t suppose that the person on tape is in a protected class with tenure, do you?
hmmmmmmm
That is the rumor.
Betcha dollars to dimes it a non-white individual.
If it was a white person they be doing life at Alcatraz.
Didn’t this happen within the last few years - it turned out that the “victim” did the damage herself, to her car, I believe.
Anyway, as the above posters surmise, it’s got to be someone of the protected victim class, otherwise it would be all over page 1 of the NYT by now.
It has happened a lot. I think one dumbass wrote the epithet backwards on her own head ... while looking in a mirror. LOL!
I find myself in the odd position of supporting Columbia’s position in one respect: What is wrong with waiting to comply until after a warrant is issued? That is the legal way for the police to obtain this.
I see no problem in obtaining a warrant. That’s how it should be done.
If Columbia is sitting on the tape, you can bet your bottom dollar that it shows this staged outrage was a racial put-up job. Look for them to do almost anything to keep from admitting this.
Columbia is going to find themselves a laughingstock if they keep this sort of thing up.
Columbia’s had a pretty crappy track record this past month.
I bet whomever hung the rope was either a minority or female, or a member of some other protected group. If it was a white male who did it they’d have handed it over in a heartbeat.
BINGO
If the tape showed a non-minority hanging this noose, the police would not need a warrant because they could just tape it off the 6:00 news. The fact that it has not been leaked speaks volumes.
Sounds like another cause the good Reverend Sharpton should be jumping into!! Not even a video tape of the professor putting up the noose herself would deter him!
You’re both wrong.
Because if it was a white male the tape would have found its way to a news desk by now.
That’s what I am thinking. The professor did it himself; so Columbia has to doctor the tape.
Huh? Columbia is not be investigated and they have absolutely no legitimate reason for not promptly turning over evidence that could help solve a "crime" in which they are the complainant and not the perpetrator.
What you suggest would be the same as demanding the police obtain a warrant to enter your house and take fingerprints after a burglary when you are the one who called the police to report the burglary.
I think something smells very fishy here. It's as if Columbia already looked at the tape and discovered that they don't really want the perp to be identified and regret calling the police in the first place.
That was my reaction when I saw the grandstanding press conference in TV.
I’m betting that the tape willl show Prof. Madonna Constantine hanging the noose. I’m also betting that the tape will turn up “lost” or “damaged”.
Why shouldn't the police be required to get a warrant to get this tape?
Because it's Columbia?
Because it's a public place?
Because it's in the public interest?
Because it might embarrass somebody?
You can bet that whoever it is, it won’t jibe with the liberal stereotype of the kind of people who commit these “crimes.”
And then all of the sudden the idea of prosecuting the perp for a hate crime will completely disappear.
This whole story stunk from the beginning...
There is no LEGAL requirement for the police to obtain a warrant for to ask for surveillance video.
If they ask and are refused, then they should get a warrant.
The situation is no different than when the police ask to see the video surveillance from any gas station that's been held up, or a after a jewelry heist or rape in a parking garage, etc.
Generally, the only time the video should be refused is when it's self-incriminating.
I agree if Columbia is consistent in requiring warrants for non-emergency requests for information and if they are holding the tape instead of "accidentally" reusing it right now.
Instances of these hate crimes when investigated properly and the perp is actually found, 90% of the time the perp is the person claiming to be a victim or the supposed victim aquired the help of someone else to engage in the activity.
Rarely are they actually legitimate crimes.
Handed it over? They would have given digitally enhanced copies to all the major networks prior to even notifying the police.
I beg your pardon; I misunderstood your position.
You are incorrect. Any organization has the freedom to release their property (the video) to the police, media, whoever, as long as it is in a public area with no expectation of privacy. The question is why would the university try to conceal the identity of someone that committed such a horrible act? He/she should be hanged.
I’ll bet Madonna is the perp, as we have seen so many times in the past with these types of incidents.
It was Mahmood?
Probably with letterbox hi def version to boot.
Here is the defense. Take it to the bank.
"With the Jena 6 being in the news and not being taken seriously enough by the white populace I was only attempting to raise awareness." --Guilty Prof.
They can’t get any mileage out of this “hate crime” if it was a black student OR it was a professor!
As a public school, can you submit a freedom of information request?
I won’t bet against you.
2 Words... “Tawana Brawley”
And when they actually prove out that she hung the noose there herself, the argument will change to “ it was a political statement” to bring attention racist white people, so it doesn’t matter who put it there, racism is the larger issue that must be addressed.
Liberal Press will gladly accept this and drop the matter ~ ...move on
Not to mention, who knows what would happen in the crazy sue-happy country if they did turn it over without a warrant.
Adding to the possibility that she is the one doing it is the line:
Constantine, 44, told police there was "ill will" between her and another professor who had replaced her while she was on an extended leave, a police official said.
My intuition: She was on extended leave. The brought in a temporary replacement, but the temp was much better that she was. So she was getting pushed out the door. She invented the nooze as to be "untouchable" by the admin staff. They wouldn't be able to fire the women who had a nooze put on her door. Obviously she forgot about security tapes, and the school doesn't want to embarrass themselves further.
Does anybody think this wasn’t a put-up job done by the “victim”?
But aren't warrants needed when attempting to find or obtain a piece of evidence from a defendant/suspect, etc... not from the complaining/prosecuting party?
Why else refuse to turn it over?
I said the same as soon as I heard this.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.