911 caller in Henry Gates case says she feared for her safety

(NECN: Cambridge, Mass.) – Lucia Whalen, the 911 caller in the Henry Louis Gates, Jr. controversy, this afternoon spoke to the media. Whalen reported a possible break-in at the home of the black Harvard professor. Whalen said today that she’s been hurt by the racial controversy that followed the scholar’s arrest. She says she respects Gates and police and is glad the truth about her call is out. Click here to listen to the raw 911 tapes. Whalen was vilified as a racist on blogs after a police report said she described the possible burglars as black. “Now that the tapes are out, I hope that people will see that I tried to be careful and honest,” said Whalen. Whalen said at some point she feared for her safety. Tapes of the call revealed that Whalen did not mention race. Gates has said he was the victim of racial profiling. *Material from The Associated Press used in this report*