Rutgers Chancellor Apologizes After Body-Cam Footage Shows Her Berating Campus Police Officers
By Grace Elletson
June 24, 2019
Rutgers University at Newark’s chancellor, Nancy E. Cantor, has apologized for berating campus police officers when the vehicle she was in was stopped after a minor car accident. The encounter was caught on the officers’ body cameras, and the video was published on Monday by NJ.com.
Cantor was on her way to Newark Liberty International Airport in March when her driver, who was picking her up, hit a parked police car. Cantor entered the vehicle immediately after the collision, according to the police report. After the officers asked Cantor to wait at the scene, she yelled, “I’m the chancellor!” She also told them, “If I miss my plane, you folks are in trouble!”
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Rutgers University at Newark’s chancellor, Nancy E. Cantor, has apologized for berating campus police officers when the vehicle she was in was stopped after a minor car accident. The encounter was caught on the officers’ body cameras, and the video was published on Monday by NJ.com.
Cantor was on her way to Newark Liberty International Airport in March when her driver, who was picking her up, hit a parked police car. Cantor entered the vehicle immediately after the collision, according to the police report. After the officers asked Cantor to wait at the scene, she yelled, “I’m the chancellor!” She also told them, “If I miss my plane, you folks are in trouble!”
Cantor apologized to the officers involved, according to a statement provided to NJ.com.
“The chancellor just recently saw the video of the incident from several months ago and reached out to the officers with an apology,” the university said. “They have responded with appreciation for her sentiments.”
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The video picks up in the direct aftermath of the fender bender. When the driver attempts to pull away from the curb, the car clips the back of a parked police car, according to a police report obtained by NJ.com. There was no visible damage to either vehicle.
According to the footage, when another officer arrived at the scene and greeted Cantor, she responded, irately, “I am not well! I am being held from going to the airport. If I miss my plane, you folks are in big trouble!” The officer responds, “I’m sorry, who are you?” Cantor yells back: “I’m the chancellor!”
Two of Cantor’s staff members are seen in the video as well, attempting to persuade an officer to let Cantor take another car to the airport. The officer explains that Cantor can’t leave the scene. One staff member says, “Take her picture and let her go. She’s on university business. Would you do this if she was the president of the United States? No, no you wouldn’t.”
At another point in the video, Cantor says, “I’d like to see them do this to President Barchi,” referring to Robert L. Barchi, the president of Rutgers University.
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The Rutgers-Newark police chief, Carmelo (John) Huertas, said in a statement quoted by NJ.com that the campus police appreciated and accepted Cantor’s apology.
“I appreciate Chancellor Cantor taking the time to review the video. I along with the RUPD are appreciative of her kind words and support,” Huertas said. “The sentiment is extremely appreciated, and we look forward to continuing a positive working relationship with the Rutgers-Newark chancellor’s office.”
Before taking office at Rutgers-Newark, Cantor was chancellor and president of Syracuse University. She also previously served as chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
Clarification (6/24/2019, 4:08 p.m.): This article originally did not say when Nancy Cantor entered the vehicle that was involved in the accident. According to the police report, Cantor’s driver was involved in the collision before Cantor entered the vehicle, and Cantor entered the vehicle immediately after that. The article has been updated to clarify that timeline.