In its editorial on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2001, The Dartmouth stated that the Hanover Police, in contrast to their treatment of Timothy Hall, "conducted many student interviews in a subdued, professional fashion" during the Zantop murder investigation. Well, I have to strongly disagree with that statement. It is common knowledge that at the beginning of a murder investigation, virtually everyone who last saw or had contact with the victim(s) is a "potential" suspect. I knew before the police questioned me that I would be considered a "potential" suspect in the first stages of the investigation because I was one of the last people to see Half Zantop alive and because I sustained an injury (a "scrape" above my left eye in a sledding accident) the day of the tragedy. However, what followed was a travesty! The Hanover (and the New Hampshire) Police, apart from being inexperienced, were incompetent, ignorant and racist.
The Monday after the murders, they first showed up in my dorm without identifying themselves as officers. Then they came later, without prior notification, as I was about to eat my dinner. They interviewed me for about one hour in my room and then for over three hours in the Hanover Police headquarters, where they also took pictures of my injury and fingerprinted me. That day my friends who had been sledding with me the day of the tragedy were also brought in for questioning. The next day, after they told me they were going to e-mail me to schedule a meeting time, the officers showed up again at my door without prior notification and questioned me for over an hour.
During those two days of intense interrogation, I fully cooperated with them, and even signed their little search warrants, forwarded to them most of my e-mails from that tragic weekend, and even showed them the clothing I was wearing on that fateful day. I cooperated with them so that I would not look suspicious or be subpoenaed by the courts along with the stuff in my room. After all, I was innocent and had nothing to hide.
But the police were not as nice to me. They began their "questions session" by making blatant assumptions (or stereotypes) about who I am -- a dark-skinned Hispanic from the Caribbean -- and where I come from -- New York City -- among many other things. They asked me and my friends, in a very indifferent manner, senseless and stereotypical questions such as whether or not I practiced Santera (a mostly Caribbean-based religion of African origins that, unbeknownst to the police, involves only the ritual sacrifice of animals, specifically goats and chickens -- not people -- and is practiced by an extreme minority -- not everyone); they asked what kinds of weapons I kept in my room (as if I were some kind of terrorist or was supposed to have weapons just because I am from New York City), and many other questions that had nothing to do with the case.
During those two days, they also asked me some of the same questions over and over again and asked me over 10 times if I was telling them the truth as they tried to find discrepancies in my testimony or else they would "burn me out." One of their favorite questions was why I did not have a car, to which I responded many times that I did not even have a driver's license and that I lived in New York City. Apparently, these officers had never been in or met anyone from New York, where plenty of people don't drive or even have driver licenses. When those methods did not work, they began to use "entrapment" techniques: telling me that "people" had told them that I had been at the Zantops' house many times for dinner (when in fact I had never been there); that I had planned, along with the Zantops, many programs while I was living at the International House for two terms last year (which is absolutely false); that I had had a "heated" argument in Spanish with Half Zantop the day before the murder (when in fact I had just talked to him jokingly for a few seconds); and that they had strong reason to believe that I had been at the Zantops' house the day of the murders (whereas they had no reason to believe such a thing). These and other comments made to me by the police were nothing but unsubstantiated statements, speculations at best, which I and my family and friends did not appreciate at all. Added to all of these things is the fact that at times the police gave me the impression that they did not know what they were doing. For instance, at one point while they were "searching" my room, one of the officers asked the other one if one of my mugs was "evidence." I doubt that they would have caught those two boys without some federal intervention.
After two days of police "work," they had not managed to link me or my friends (after their alibis were confirmed and their cars examined with luminol and other "forensic" elements) to the crime. This news came after they had confiscated two of my knives, my Timberland boots, two pairs of gloves and 10 pieces of clothing, all of which were ruled out in the lab within the first few days. However, the Hanover police (with whom I had countless conversations throughout the Winter term and who failed time and again to update me on the status of my "alleged" involvement and property) told me on various occasions that I was going to get my things back in a "matter of days." Since then, the defense of the two alleged killers has occurred, and because of the bureaucracy in the legal system in New Hampshire, my things have been sitting in the lab for the past ten months. But I suppose that is just how this "system" works so I guess I'll have to wait a while before I get my property back.
Now I believe that perhaps I would have gotten a very different treatment if I had been a blanquito (a white man) instead of who I am. I also believe that if we were living in a different time period -- let's say 30 years ago -- I would have been framed for the crime if they had not made any arrests by the officers who "were just doing their work" -- or should I say "overdoing it!" This incident has also taught me that the Hanover and New Hampshire Police must promote intercultural competence within their respective departments. This new knowledge will equip them with the skills to accept and appreciate personal differences without making negative judgements, and refrain from indiscriminately applying stereotypical information and over-generalizing secondhand information about groups to all members of these groups. They also will be able to process incoming information without exaggerated bias and discrimination. Needless to say, all of these things brought about undue stress in many ways, including unwanted media attention and bitter attacks by some misinformed students, to me, my family, and friends throughout the Winter term, especially in the week this took place, which just happened to be "midterms week."
