D.A. to review case

by Oscar de León
Staff Writer

A Claremont McKenna professor was placed on paid leave after an investigation by the Claremont Police Department and the FBI concluded that she may have been responsible for vandalising her own car in a highly publicized incident earlier this month.

After investigating the vandalism as a federal hate crime, authorities have forwarded their results to the district attorney’s office for review.

According to Lt. Stan Van Horn, two witnesses, who are not Claremont students, claim they saw Visiting Professor of Psychology Kerri Dunn vandalize her own vehicle.

Dunn originally reported to the police that she found her vehicle with broken windows, slashed tires and numerous offensive epithets on the night of March 9 after a “Free Speech Vs. Hate Speech” discussion at the Claremont Colleges.

Dunn went on to address more than 2,000 students and faculty from the five Claremont Colleges in a peace rally the evening after the incident.

Van Horn said that the FBI was involved in the case from the beginning because the incident involved a federal civil rights violation.

“We spent two days investigating the two witnesses to make sure that they weren’t lying,” Van Horn said, adding that he found them to be credible sources.

Van Horn also said that interviews with Dunn revealed inconsistencies in her version of what happened.

“She has denied the conclusions,” said Claremont McKenna President Pamela Gann.

Dunn’s contract with the school expires on June 30, she said.

“She is currently on a temporary paid leave of absence and members of the psychology department will now be teaching her class,” Gann said.

Dunn was not available to comment and her attorney Gary Lincenberg declined to comment on the case.

“If the conclusions were to be true, than this is very unfortunate because it is a major distraction from major problems in racism,” said Halford Fairchild, professor of psychology and black studies at Pitzer College.

“If she were to have done it, then she should come out and say why,” said Leticia Arrellano, associate professor of psychology at the University of La Verne.

Police said Dunn most likely will not be changed with a hate crime.

While there were racial epithets on the car, none of the epithets were directed at specific individuals.

“If she had placed the car in front of a Jewish temple,” Van Horn said, that would have been a different story.

For an incident to qualify as a hate crime,Van Horn said, the it would have had to target a specific person or race or ethnic group.

Instead, Dunn is likely to face misdemeanor charges for filing a false police report.

Van Horn said that these types of incidents are almost unheard off.

“Hate crime is not common in Claremont,” he added.