First Cops On Scene Didn’t Pursue Arrest

If the first Yale cops on the scene of a smashed window panel had had their way, a cafeteria worker would never have faced a felony criminal charge. And Yale University would not have suffered an international embarrassment.

So concluded Patricia Kane.

Kane is the attorney who represented Yale cafeteria worker Corey Menafee on the criminal charges university police brought against him on June 13, after he broke a Calhoun residential college window panel that showed slaves picking cotton.

A judge eventually nolled the charges brought by Yale police. And Yale, under intense pressure from alums and the New Haven community, eventually rehired Menafee after forcing his ​“resignation.”

The whole controversy would never have erupted if the first two officers on the scene had had their way. Speaking with host Kica Matos on WNHH radio’s ​“Kica’s Corner,” attorney Kane said those two officers did not plan to arrest Menafee. She said they discussed having Menafee pay the $2,500 to replace the panel. Menafee, who regretted breaking the panel, was amenable to that suggestion.

Then Sgt. Dan Rainville showed up. Kane said he insisted on having Menafee arrested on a first-degree felony charge of criminal mischief and a second-degree misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment, a point supported by the police report.

“It was the third officer who escalated the situation. He wanted to take him out in handcuffs, even though he wasn’t resisting arrest,” Kane said. Kane said a representative from UNITE HERE Local 35, Tyisha Walker, intervened, and Menafee was not handcuffed until he was placed in a police car. (Menafee is prohibited from discussing the incident anymore under a gag provision Yale inserted into an agreement to rehire him.)

Rainville is white; the first two officers are not. A review of Rainville’s personnel file, made available under a Freedom of Information Act request, shows a history of commendations for good work and no reported instances of misbehavior.

Kane put the arrest in the broader context of how the criminal justice system deals with African-Americans.

“Law enforcement overreacts when people of color are involved. It stems from their own guilt. They project for a level of violence they know they are somewhat responsible for,” she argued.

GoFundHim

The story of Menafee’s arrest remained out of the public eye for a month after it happened. Then, within an hour of the publication of this report in the Independent, the incident sparked international media coverage as well as an outpouring of outrage from Yale alumni and local activists. By the next day, demonstrators converged on the Elm Street courthouse seeking the dismissal of criminal charges and Menafee’s rehiring at Yale. A local philanthropist, Wendy Hamilton, paid to have Kane represent Menafee.

Hundreds of alumni signed petitions or wrote letters or sent money in support of Menafee. Kane said that more than $25,000 came in through online campaigns to help Menafee, who lost six weeks of wages before Yale rehired him.

A GoFundMe campaign also elicited comments from donors, like this one from Claudia McCormack: ​“THANK YOU! I was born in New Haven and grew up working class in the shadow of that elite institution, Yale. You have educated all of us more than they ever did. I wish you peace as you move forward. The gag order is immaterial — your actions have spoken louder than words ever could. Things happen for a reason. I saw you on Democracy Now! and you were eloquent. Nobody can ever take that away from you. Your dignity is intact and you are inspiring so any others to fight for and maintain their own. Again, thank you.”

“This broad coalition of community support persuaded Yale to change its position. Yale overreacted to begin with. They took too long to reverse their position,” Kane said. ​“When your client is on Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman, and the press from all over the world is covering this news item, that’s a lot of pressure on an institution.

She noted that Menafee, who majored in communications in college, needed no coaching or preparation to make his case in the media. He expressed his regret at his actions but also condemned the placement of the windows in Calhoun, named after a leading slavery advocate.

“People didn’t expect that someone who works in a dining hall would have a college degree. He worked as a reporter when he was a college student.” This is a man who’s been through a lot,” Kane said.

“People have been wanted to get rid of those windows for 30 years, and were thrilled that someone took action.”

Facing that pressure and bad press, Yale eventually made good on a promise to ask the state prosecutor to seek dismissal of charges against Menafee. And it has since agreed to remove more of the slavery-themed artwork at Calhoun and reopen the debate over renaming Calhoun College.

Gag Rule

However,Will Menafee — whose case made that happen — be permitted to participate in that debate without losing his job again?

Yale required Menafee to sign a gag provision in order to get his job back, meaning he can’t publicly comment any more on the case.

The gag provision is remarkably vague and open-ended. It reads: ​“The parties agree that neither Mr. Menafee, the Union, nor the University, nor counsel for any of these, will make any further statements to the public.” It doesn’t specify what kinds of statements he may not make.

Kane said she could ​“never be a party” to such an arrangement. But she respected Menafee’s desire to get his job back; he had cashed in on his retirement savings to keep paying the rent while out of work. So while she continued to represent Menafee in his criminal case, she said, she left it to UNITE HERE Local 35, which signed on to the gag provision, to handle the rehiring arrangement.

“That was the only way he could ever get his job back,” Kane noted.

She faulted Yale for insisting on the provision, and called it contrary to a university’s mission.

“The whole point of a democracy is that we need to know things to make intelligent decisions,” Kane argued. ​“People didn’t know the whole picture of how he get his job back. Yale wanted to present itself as having made this grand gesture. There really is nothing noble in what they did. To keep the whole truth away from people is totally contrary to what educational institutions are supposed to be about. Not a partial truth. Not a sound bite.”

Yale spokeswoman Eileen O’Connor said the provision does not limit Menafee’s free speech on matters beyond the specific June 13 incident.

“As with any employment matter that involves personal information and private discussions, it is standard for individuals, unions, and institutions like Yale to agree that the terms of the agreement and the matter it addresses will remain confidential, for the benefit of all parties. The parties — Mr Menafee, his union and Yale — mutually agreed not to discuss this personnel matter, but they are all free to participate in discussions on renaming and other topics,” she said.

In the process of representing Menafee, Kane said, she discovered ​“a huge disconnect between the Yale management and the extended Yale community. The alums, the professors, the students overwhelmingly were in Mr. Menafee’s corner.”

She sees that disconnect in the decision by Yale President Peter Salovey and the Yale Corporation earlier this year not to change the name of Calhoun College, a decision now under reconsideration in the wake of the Menafee case.

“What would [former Yale President] Kingman Brewster have done?” Kane asked. ​“He would have changed the name. We have had presidents of Yale University who had a clear moral compass, who didn’t require a committee to make a decision. … These are not difficult issues.”

Click on or download the above sound file to hear the full ​“Kica’s Corner” interview with Kane on WNHH radio.

Above is a clip from an appearance by Menafee and Kane on the Democracy Now! program.

Daniela Brighenti contributed research to this story.