professor gates 911 caller want her life back and shes not racist july 29 2009

Lucia Whalen spoke with a shaky voice and tears in her eyes Wednesday about Gates' arrest and the incident that sparked a national debate about race relations. Gates was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge earlier this month as he was trying to force open the front door of his home."People called me racist and said I caused all the turmoil that followed," Whalen said.Whalen, 40, who is of Portuguese descent, called police to report that two men may be breaking into a home. On the police tapes that were released earlier this week, she is heard telling the dispatcher that she thought one of the men was Hispanic, and not black. Whalen said that she now hopes the tapes will help heal her reputation."I know the truth, but I did not speak up right away because I did not want to add to the controversy. After the tapes came out (I realized) there was public support," she said.Whalen said that she was "careful and honest" with her words and never thought the situation would be analyzed by an entire nation."I am proud to be a member of the Cambridge community. While I do not live there, I have worked (there) for 15 years. When I was called racist and I was a target of scorn and ridicule because of the things I never said, the criticism hurt me as a person, but it also hurt the city of Cambridge," Whalen said.She hopes that "the truth of the tapes" will help heal the community as they have helped restore her reputation. Despite the pain, she said that if she was in the situation again, she would do the same thing and had no regrets about calling 911."What has made me feel better is that the truth is out and that I feel good about," Whalen said. "If you are a concerned citizen, you should do the right thing. I would do the same thing."Whalen's attorney, Wendy Murphy, said that her client was the one person in the situation who did not overreact."She made a measured, thoughtful and objective call to 911 to report suspicious activity," Murphy said. "Any one of us would be lucky to have someone living or working in their neighborhood -- someone who cares enough to get involved."

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professor gates 911 caller want her life back and shes not racist july 29 2009

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