California professor and her brother profiled by campus police

Danielle Fuentes Morgan says her brother Carlos Fuentes was racially profiled on the campus of Santa Clara University. (Photos: Social media)

A Black assistant professor in California said she and her brother were harassed by campus security.

Danielle Morgan‘s experience is now being investigated by Santa Clara University after the professor’s brother, Carlos Fuentes, was targeted by campus police.

The Arts and Sciences professor who had reunited with her brother after the COVID-19 quarantine kept them apart for months, was trying to let her brother inside her home on the campus. But campus police say they thought that Fuentes was a homeless person, The Mercury News reported.

One of the security officers said four cars were called to the scene for “the officers’ safety.” They explained they were not armed, and that Fuentes would not be harmed.

However, Morgan’s takeaway from the exchange was that the officers felt threatened by her brother, and if they had been armed, they could have hurt him.

“I was aghast that they explained he wasn’t in danger because they weren’t armed, not because he wasn’t a threat or because they wouldn’t hurt him, but because they COULDN’T,” Morgan wrote on Twitter.

“When Morgan asked what the problem was, the officer told her that her brother had been ‘in the bushes,’ saying that officers thought he may have been homeless,” The Mercury News stated.

The police asked Morgan to show her identification, and when she asked why, she said the police told her, “Well, it’s not your home. The University owns it.”

Morgan’s white husband was not asked to show his identification.

Morgan tweeted about the incident, which went viral over the following weekend.

The encounter got the attention of SCU president Kevin O’Brien who announced that the campus safety officers in question were placed on administrative leave pending the results of an outside investigation, The Mercury News said.

Thank you all so much for your kind words and support. I want to let you all know that the president of SCU as well as my dean and other administrators have personally reached out to me. I am awaiting information on next steps.

— Danielle Fuentes Morgan (@mos_daf) August 22, 2020

The university formally apologized to Morgan and Fuentes, posting their statement on the university’s social media account.

To Professor @mos_daf and her family: I am deeply sorry for the hurtful incident that happened today @santaclarauniv.
No work is more important than our efforts to realize a more inclusive, welcoming and safe campus where all are respected and valued. pic.twitter.com/KCA50RitP4

— Kevin O’Brien, S.J. (@kevinobriensj) August 23, 2020