City Review Board Dismisses Racial Harassment Complaint

The controversy surrounding an alleged case of racial harassment by city police last March ended this summer when a civilian review board voted unanimously to dismiss the complaint filed by two Black Harvard students.

Andre L. Williams '89 and Craig A. Cochrane '91 claimed that they were "treated abrasively" by Cambridge police after officers removed them from a University shuttle bus and searched them. It was later learned that the police were responding to a shoplifting call at a nearby drug store and had twice been told that the suspect was white.

The students charged that police singled them out because they were Black. The incident sparked protests on campus last spring, and Williams and Cochrane filed a complaint with the Cambridge Police Review and Advisory Board against the officers involved.

But the board said in August that it would not ask the city manager to pursue action against any individuals. Instead, it recommended that the police force institute racial sensitivity workshops for its officers.

Williams, now enrolled at Vanderbilt Law School, said he would not appeal the decision.