Ramsey tapped for national panel
The independent group will review the arrest of a Harvard scholar and community policing.
Twelve people from across the country - including Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey - have been chosen to review the arrest of black Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. by a white police sergeant, Cambridge, Mass., officials said yesterday.
In an interview last night, Ramsey said the panel would not only examine the controversial arrest but also look into the "broader issue that needs to be addressed" regarding police-community relations and how race and perceptions play a factor.
Ramsey said it was not the intent of the panel to determine who was right or wrong in the incident.
"If that had been the case, I wouldn't have participated," Ramsey said.
City leaders created the independent panel after Gates' arrest July 16 sparked a national debate over racial profiling. Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley arrested Gates on a charge of disorderly conduct at his home while investigating a possible burglary. The charge was dropped, and Gates alleged he was a victim of racial profiling.
The two men later shared a beer with President Obama and Vice President Biden at the White House.
Cambridge City Manager Robert Healy said panel members were chosen based on their diverse professional backgrounds and their experience with community relations and conflict resolution.
Ramsey, who was police chief in Washington from 1998 to 2006, has a national reputation as an innovator, educator, and practitioner of community policing.
John Gallagher, a federal prosecutor in Philadelphia who served as special counsel to former Philadelphia Police Commissioner John F. Timoney, will also serve on the panel.
"It is important to remember that the greatest achievements of policing take place when police and communities work together," Gallagher said last night. "I expect this panel will aim to identify these areas of cooperation as well as areas where improvements need to be made."
Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Washington-based Police Executive Research Forum, was tapped to lead the group, which will include Yale Law professor Tracey Meares and former FBI assistant director Louis Quijas.
The committee is scheduled to meet for the first time early next month. It is unclear how long its review will take.