Black harvard prof arrest Fiasco

[dmarc117]

He was in his own house.

 

How many threads here do we talk about popping unwelcome intruders into houses with your guns? Are any of these same people with their pro-self-defense positions going to lock yourself out of your home, break back inside somehow and then stand there while a cop challenges your right to be present in your own home after providing identification?

 

I don't know what it's like to be a black man in America. None of the rest of you commenting have an idea of what it's like to be a black man in America. Not that that automatically makes Dr. Gates correct in his behavior or the Cambridge cop from being automatically wrong, but we have a fairly long and significant history dealing with these kinds of incidents.

 

If he was a 59-yr old white man seen trying to break down a door to his home, would the police have been called to an affluent suburban neighborhood in an area with a long and sordid racial divide?

 

The cop is right in that the President should not have commented on what is a very local matter involving a friend of his, however make no mistake that the police created this issue by making their decision to arrest Gates, not the other way around. They didn't even charge him with a crime, which says to me that the arresting officer was more interested in using his power than anything else.

 

 

like i said, comply with the cop and then file a complaint after.

[gbpfan1231]

He was in his own house.

 

How many threads here do we talk about popping unwelcome intruders into houses with your guns? Are any of these same people with their pro-self-defense positions going to lock yourself out of your home, break back inside somehow and then stand there while a cop challenges your right to be present in your own home after providing identification?

 

I don't know what it's like to be a black man in America. None of the rest of you commenting have an idea of what it's like to be a black man in America. Not that that automatically makes Dr. Gates correct in his behavior or the Cambridge cop from being automatically wrong, but we have a fairly long and significant history dealing with these kinds of incidents.

 

If he was a 59-yr old white man seen trying to break down a door to his home, would the police have been called to an affluent suburban neighborhood in an area with a long and sordid racial divide?

 

The cop is right in that the President should not have commented on what is a very local matter involving a friend of his, however make no mistake that the police created this issue by making their decision to arrest Gates, not the other way around. They didn't even charge him with a crime, which says to me that the arresting officer was more interested in using his power than anything else.

I disagaree with this 1000%. It is also my opinion but I believe what the cop is saying and based on his past and credentials I say it is a safe bet.

 

All this prof needed to do was be calm and show ID and not throw out the so often used race card. It sure sounds like the first thing that popped out of his mouth was the race card which in my opinion makes this dude racist.

 

The fact that they did not charge him does not mean that that the officer was "using" his power. It probably meant that the situation was already bad and would create a circus that charging him would make it even more of a circus and was not worth it. The cop even said that he knew what it would look like but the guy was not cooperating and he then decided to arrest him.

 

If the cop was black and acted the same way the white cop did I am guessing that the professor would have acted differently.

Edited July 24, 2009 by gbpfan1231

[Jackass]

Me thinks this was a power struggle between two people used to wielding a lot of power and having people listen to them and do what they're told. Race played a role (how could it not), but not sure it was the primary cause of this. I don't think the cop was/is racist based on what i've read. But just because he's not racist doesn't mean he didn't have preconceived thoughts when he arrived and saw a black man breaking into a home in an affluent neighborhood. Likewise, Gates had his own preconceived thoughts when he was approached by a white cop and was accused of breaking into his home.

[tazinib1]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama has called the white policeman who arrested black Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. The president says he believes the sergeant to be an outstanding police officer.

 

The president said Friday that he continues to think both the officer, Sgt. James Crowley, and Gates overreacted during the incident - but Obama also faulted his own comments.

 

Making an impromptu appearance at the daily White House briefing, Obama told reporters: "I could've calibrated those words differently."

 

The president caused a stir when he said at a prime-time news conference earlier this week that police in Cambridge, Mass., had "acted stupidly" by arresting Gates.

 

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House says the media's "obsessions" are keeping alive President Barack Obama's comments about the arrest of a Harvard scholar seen trying to get into his own house.

 

Asked whether Obama regretted commenting on the matter, spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that the president probably would regret distracting the media with "obsessions."

 

Gibbs says Obama has "great respect" for police officers and understands what a hard job they have.

 

He also says Obama has said most of what he's going to say on the matter.

 

When questioned Wednesday night about the incident, Obama said the Cambridge, Mass., police had "acted stupidly."

 

In an interview a day later, he said "cooler heads should have prevailed."

 

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_...EMPLATE=DEFAULT

 

 

Finally a Prez that can stand back, assess the situation and apologize for being out of line.

[wiegie]

Obama's best strategy at this point is to come out himself - personally - and say he flapped his mouth without engaging his brain.

I agree. Of course then all we will hear about is how he threw another one of his friends under the bus.

[whomper]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_...EMPLATE=DEFAULT

 

 

Finally a Prez that can stand back, assess the situation and apologize for being out of line. Yo George W....you dumbass!! Ya see? It isn't really all that bad to admit when your wrong. Retard.

 

 

Meh. This was more like his people doing damage control.

[billay]

Another viewpoint

Gates-gate: What's the Law Say?

 

As if the controversy surrounding the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates wasn't sufficiently swirling through the media and the blogsophere, the president of the United States had to weigh in, saying during a press conference last night that Cambridge police "acted stupidly" when they put Gates in handcuffs even after he showed proof that he lived in the home where police had come to investigate a report of a burglary.

 

Of course, Gates was arrested not for suspicion of breaking and entering, but for disorderly conduct after he and a police officer engaged in a confrontation at his home. The district attorney later agreed to drop the charges against Gates after the city of Cambridge, Mass., and its police department jointly recommended the DA not pursue the matter.

 

Clearly, dropping the charges was the right move politically. But was it the right move legally? David E. Frank, a former prosecutor who is now a reporter for Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, says it was, given that the charge against Gates was unlikely to hold up under the Massachusetts disorderly conduct statute.

 

In a 1976 decision, Commonwealth v. Richards, 369 Mass. 443, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that the First Amendment prevents application of the disorderly conduct law to language and expressive conduct, even when it is offensive and abusive. The one exception would be language that falls outside the protection of the First Amendment, "fighting words which by their very utterance tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace."

 

Jury instructions used by the Massachusetts courts spell out three elements that must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt to convict someone of disorderly conduct:

 

1. The defendant engaged in fighting or threatening, or engaged in violent or tumultuous behavior, or created a hazardous or physically offensive condition by an act that served no legitimate purpose.

 

2. The defendant’s actions were reasonably likely to affect the public.

 

3. The defendant either intended to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly created a risk of public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm.

 

There are at least two different versions of what happened at Gates' house -- his and that of the arresting officer. But even if one were to assume the accuracy of the police version -- that Gates called the officer a racist and warned him that he had no idea who he was dealing with -- there is no basis for prosecution, Frank concludes.

 

While the report refers to Gates’ conduct as "loud and tumultuous," there does not appear to be anything there that would allow for a conclusion that they were "fighting words."

 

The SJC has also said that for a defendant in Gates’ situation to be found guilty, his actions must have been reasonably likely to affect the public in a place to which the public had access. Where much, if not all, of the alleged conduct occurred on Gates’ property, it appears that legal requirement would prove fatal to the DA’s case.

 

The controversy over Gates' arrest is unlikely to die down anytime soon. But one conclusion seems clear -- the legal ground for his arrest was shaky from the start.

LINK

[wiegie]

Meh. This was more like his people doing damage control.

I agree--but better to choose damage control than to stick to your guns when your guns are pointing in the wrong direction.

[BeeR]

The President is correct: race does remain a factor in society. It's how he landed his office, in fact. Talk about a double-standard.

racist. You jus the man oppressin again. Reparations dammit, reparations!!

 

GB Obama - glad the President has nothing better to do than stick his nose into something he knew little about (and really isn't any of his business) just because the guy is his friend.

 

 

This was more like his people doing damage control.

Exactly.

 

lol - gotta love it. He can say/do just about anything and if it turns out to be wrong or politically damaging or stupid he can just go "oops I change my mind" and it's instantly forgotten.

[whomper]

I agree--but better to choose damage control than to stick to your guns when your guns are pointing in the wrong direction.

 

 

I agree 100%. I just think Taz misdirected his applause. This wasnt sincere it was politics. But I do think you are right for sure.

[Duchess Jack]

racist. You jus the man oppressin again. Reparations dammit, reparations!!

 

GB Obama - glad the President has nothing better to do than stick his nose into something he knew little about

 

I tend not to like the "But Bush Did It" argument - but better this then some cowboy who doesn't know a Suni from a Athenae sticking his nose into another part of the world (and tearing it up). It doesn't make Obama's reaction right - but we all react like this - he just has a camera on him at all times to catch him when he does and talk radio looking to capitalize off every mistake. What we have here is a brief lapse of judgement and all-in-all a non-issue.

Edited July 24, 2009 by Duchess Jack

[posty]

Regardless handcuffing an old man with a cane is pretty stupid.

 

How old was the guy that shot up the Holocaust museum?

 

Just because they are old does not mean they are not dangerous...

[boat_hacked]

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama backed down on Friday from a statement that police had "acted stupidly" in arresting a black scholar in a racially charged case that was rapidly becoming a distraction for Obama.The president made a surprise appearance in the White House press briefing room shortly after he spoke by phone to Cambridge, Massachusetts, police Sgt. James Crowley, who had arrested Henry Louis Gates, a prominent scholar of African-American studies at Harvard, last week.

 

"Because this has been ratcheting up and I obviously helped to contribute ratcheting it up, I wanted to make clear in my choice of words I think I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department or Sgt. Crowley specifically," Obama said. "And I could have calibrated those words differently."

 

Crowley suggested Obama invite him and Gates, to the White House for a peace-making beer, and a plan was in the works to do so, Obama said.

 

Obama later called Gates, had a positive discussion, told him about his phone call with Crowley and invited him to join Crowley at the White House in the near future, the White House said.

 

The case quickly became a media frenzy, with Cambridge police in an uproar, Gates accusing Crowley of racist behavior and threatening a lawsuit.

 

For Obama, who took office as the first U.S. black president in January. the incident was a distraction when his signature legislative priority, a healthcare overhaul, was stalling in the U.S. Congress.

 

Obama said he hoped the event would end up being a "teachable moment, where all of us instead of pumping up the volume spend a little more time listening to each other" and improve race relations "instead of flinging accusations."

 

"Lord knows we need it right now -- because over the last two days as we've discussed this issue, I don't know if you've noticed, but nobody has been paying much attention to health care," he said.

 

DAMAGE CONTROL

 

The incident began last week when police received a call from a neighbor that a man appeared to be breaking into the Gates' house.

 

Gates, who returned home from a week in China to discover his front door jammed, entered his house through the back door. Police say Gates became belligerent when they went to the house and spoke with him inside.

 

At a news conference on Wednesday night, Obama weighed in on the case, saying the Cambridge, Massachusetts, police had "acted stupidly."

 

Obama pointed out that blacks and members of other minority groups tend to be stopped more frequently by U.S. police officers than whites.

 

Until Friday, Obama and the White House had defended Obama's remarks. The police union stoked tensions further, firing back at Obama.

 

"President Obama said that the actions of the Cambridge Police Department were stupid and linked the event to a history of racial profiling in America," Sgt. Dennis O'Connor, president of the Cambridge Police Superior Officers Association, said at a news conference in Cambridge.

 

"The facts of this case suggest that the president used the right adjective but directed it at the wrong party," he said.

 

With the incident threatening to escalate, Obama chose to engage in some damage control.

 

He did not say he had apologized to Crowley, but his words were regretful. Obama said his impression of Crowley was that he was an "outstanding police officer and a good man, and that was confirmed in the phone conversation. And I told him that."

 

He said his choice of words had unfortunately given an impression "that I was maligning the Cambridge police department or Sergeant Crowley specifically. And I could have calibrated those words differently. And I told this to Sergeant Crowley."

 

Obama said he continued to believe that there was an overreaction in arresting Gates and that he also believed that Gates "probably overreacted as well."

[Azazello1313]

 

and the fawning obamanauts are now reduced to praising his disaster recovery and spin control. gotta find something to latch onto, I guess.

[Jackass]

Obama invites Crowley and Gates to the white house for a beer. Pretty cool IMO.

 

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_..._calls_cam.html

[Ursa Majoris]

and the fawning obamanauts are now reduced to praising his disaster recovery and spin control. gotta find something to latch onto, I guess.

Ability to admit a mistake is a refreshing change. At least this one didn't cost tens of thousands of lives and hundreds of billions.

[yo mama]

like i said, comply with the cop and then file a complaint after.

He complied with the cops by showing his ID. Nothing more should have been required of Mr. Gates. I understand what you're saying, but we should all shudder at the idea of the cops arresting anyone for exercising free speech in their own homes. The cops arrested him to put him in his place. Nothing more.

 

That said, I don't think this was a race thing: just law enforcement thumping a guy who was mouthing off to them.

Edited July 25, 2009 by yo mama

[tazinib1]

He complied with the cops by showing his ID. Nothing more should have been required of Mr. Gates. I understand what you're saying, but we should all shudder at the idea of the cops arresting anyone for exercising free speech in their own homes. The cops arrested him to put him in his place. Nothing more.

 

Sorry I don't agree. Just because you have an ID with your address on it, does not prove residency or the right to enter such residence. He could have sold his house the week before, he could be an estranged husband...who knows? The fact is that a neighbor witnessed unidentified men with a crow bar breaking into a house. The police man was called to the house on a burglary call and when he arrived, the house had been entered. He was on the phone with his property manager. lol....is everybody naive enough to think a police officer will take the word of a complete stranger over the phone? That scares the crap out of me to think that. Cooler heads could and should have prevailed.

[Clubfoothead]

Really?

[tazinib1]

Really?

 

Really

Edited July 25, 2009 by tazinib1

[yo mama]

Sorry I don't agree. Just because you have an ID with your address on it, does not prove residency or the right to enter such residence.

What, people should have to carry original, notarized copies of their leases/deeds around in their wallets? Pfft.

 

That's not even the point. He was arrested, not because he'd done anything illegal, but because he wasn't polite enough to the cops. That's bull regardless of the skin anyone was in.

Edited July 25, 2009 by yo mama

[dmarc117]

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — A black police officer who was at Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s home when the black Harvard scholar was arrested says he fully supports how his white fellow officer handled the situation.

 

Sgt. Leon Lashley says Gates was probably tired and surprised when Sgt. James Crowley demanded identification from him as officers investigated a report of a burglary. Lashley says Gates' reaction to Crowley was "a little bit stranger than it should have been."

 

Asked if Gates should have been arrested, Lashley said supported Crowley "100 percent."

[yo mama]

Like I said Dmarc: its not a race thing, so I'm not surprised a black cop backs up another cop. This was about how the cops reacted to someone who did not respect their o-thor-a-tie

Edited July 25, 2009 by yo mama

[tazinib1]

If anything, this entire mess will create a new dialog on racial profiling and stereotyping within police departments and the public in general. And thats always a good thing.

[yo mama]

If anything, this entire mess will create a new dialog on racial profiling and stereotyping within police departments and the public in general. And thats always a good thing.

Maybe. I still don't know how this was about racial profiling. It's not like it was a traffic stop in the ghetto. It was a legit call to the police about a possible break in, and the caller gave an accurate description of the people involved. Unless the suggestion is that the cops would *not* have responded to the call if the perps were white, then this wasn't racial profiling. But obviously some people will be motivated to label it as such for ulterior motives, including Mr. Gates.