A Mathematics postdoctoral fellow who alleges he was detained by the Harvard University Police Department last week said the terminology HUPD used in its police log to describe his stop — a "field interview" — inaccurately understates the officers’ actions and misleads the public about how the department, which frequently describes its operations using the same language, conducts itself.
Arnav Tripathy ’11 said he was crossing through the Radcliffe Quadrangle on his way home from his office around 10:30 p.m. on March 29 when a HUPD officer approached him and asked him questions, such as what he was doing in the area, in relation to an ongoing incident. A second officer then arrived who asked Tripathy to stay to answer further questions, according to Tripathy.