From Reason:
Last night President Obama said he didn’t know “what role race played” in last week’s arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates at his home in Cambridge. But it’s clear that race played an important role, if only because Gates was convinced that Sgt. James Crowley, who came to his house in response to an erroneous burglary report, would have treated a white man less suspiciously and more respectfully. By Gates’ account, what really angered him is that Crowley continued to question him even after he explained that he had been forcing open a jammed door to his own house and showed identification confirming that he lived there. The main difference between the two men’s versions of events is that Crowley, who ended up handcuffing Gates and arresting him for disorderly conduct (a charge that was dropped on Tuesday), portrays Gates as more belligerent and louder than Gates portrays himself. But even if we accept the facts as presented by Crowley, it’s clear he abused his authority, whether or not the color of Gates’ skin had anything to do with it.
Let’s say Gates did initially refuse to show his ID (an unsurprising response from an innocent man confronted by police in his own home). Let’s say he immediately accused Crowley of racism, raised his voice, and behaved in a “tumultuous” fashion. Let’s say he overreacted. So what? By Crowley’s own account, he arrested Gates for dissing him. That’s not a crime, or at least it shouldn’t be. Instead of admitting that he “acted stupidly” (as Obama put it) in the heat of the moment by deciding to punish Gates for hurting his feelings, Crowley continues to defend his conduct, refusing to apologize.
Comments
33 Comments so far. Leave a comment below.If you read the police report, Crowley’s actions seem even worse. He states that, because of the poor acoustics in Gates’ house, he asks Gates to step outside to talk with him, so that Crowley can give him his name and badge number (again). When Gates steps onto public property, Crowley arrests him for disturbing the peace. While Gates was in his house, he could say what he wanted to Crowley, pretty much at whatever volume he wanted… so Crowley got hinm outside, so he could be arrested.
I’m with you: I don’t know if it’s racial or not. But it seems pretty likely that there’s a cop with an air of superiority who didn’t like his authority being questioned… and he abused his authority by arresting Gates.
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here is the police report:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0723092gates1.html
Police response:
“The actions of the Cambridge Police Department, and in particular, Sgt. Joseph Crowley, were 100 percent correct,” said Hugh Cameron, president of the Massachusetts Coalition of Police… “Let’s face it,” the official said. “This case has nothing to do with race. This is a man who has made some phone calls and the case went away. They treated him with kid gloves. Harvard University executives rushed to the police station to monitor the entire situation.” “They let him off the hook,” the official added. “The mayor threw the department under the bus. She might as well open the city’s checkbook. … If Professor Gates was poor, he’d be in a jail cell.”…”
Poor or white, that is.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=8148986&page=1
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Wow. The head of the police union backs the police officer. That’s astonishing!
He’d be in jail for what? Yelling at a police officer? BWB — Breathing While Black?
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Hey droth,
What law did Gates break exactly? The excerpt you provided made it seem like they were covering it up. It was ridiculous that they arrested him after finding out that he did indeed live there.
“Poor or white, that is.” Yes, whites have suffered under racial profiling for far too long now :rolls eyes:
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Why not just show your ID and clear things up quick and easy?
“Sure officer, I appreciate you looking into the robbery call, but I live here. See?”
When asked by Crowley to speak with him outside the residence, Gates replied, “ya, I’ll speak with your mama outside.”
Is this how upstanding gentlemen act?
Sounds like Gates barked up the wrong tree.
He brought this on himself.
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The officer shouldn’t have arrested him, but if his story is true Gates was out of line himself. He doesn’t know Gates from Adam and since there was a report of a break in he was obligated to check it out (why hasn’t the neighbor who reported this come under scrutiny). All Gates had to do at that point was step out, tell him he lived there, and present ID if asked.
The officer should not have arrested him and the bullshit “disorderly conduct” laws are far too overreaching, but it seems like Gates could have taken the high road and then reported the incident to the Police Chief (you don’t need a badge number for that, either).
Of course that’s assuming the officer’s story is true.
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Paperss pliss…
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“Assuming the officer’s story is true…” so effin’ what? Nobody likes an asshole, but it’s still not a crime to be one.
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Eloquently and accurately summarized, damnedyankee!
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However it should be a crime to be an asshole in a position of authority…
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The cop is 100 percent in the wrong, as per usual. The founding fathers would be rolling in their graves, but there’s probably a law against that now, too.
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The question here seems to be: What exactly should the cop have done? He’s been dispatched on a breaking and entering call and he sees someone at the address moving about the house. He requests identification and is essentially told to get lost.
Many of the people posting here seem to think the proper course of action would be for the cop to say something like, “Well, I don’t have ANY idea who you are but you say you live here. Good enough for me! Have a nice day!”
Images of Erich von Stroheim in full Gestapo get up hissing “paperss pliss” is ridiculous. If a cop, in the course of investigating a report of a crime in progress, asks someone on the scene for I.D., they must provide it. That is the law here (and if anyone can fill me in on where on the planet this is NOT the case, please do).
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This officer responded to a burglary call and Gates met the description of the suspect. The officer had a responsibility to investigate the case. Gates knew his behavior might have looked suspicious to an neutral observer, yet he decided to play the race card and act like an ass. Obama’s response if amusing, as he has gone from calling the cop stupid to praising him as a good cop.
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TDavis, the Supreme Court has ruled that you have no obligation to provide identification to police unless you are engaging in a regulated activity that requires a license, like driving. That said, in many cases, providing identification keeps you from being arrested, as it doesn’t take much probable cause justify arrest.
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Once Gates was in his kitchen and he showed the policeman his identification THE POLICEMAN SHOULD HAVE LEFT.
Instead he lured Gates outside so he could arrest him for insulting him. Stupid.
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Damron,
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=03-5554
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TDavis, Thanks for the link. The Supreme Court has ruled that police can’t randomly ask for identification without “reasonable suspicion” or “probable cause”. Of course, the police have the discretion to establish that threshold – reasonable suspicion is a very low threshold. I am looking for the Supreme Court case, it involved a Rastafarian in California that was just standing around and police demanded him provide identification.
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Being a long haired young white man, I can tell you that in the small hick town (don’t get me wrong it’s Michigan, not Tennessee) my parents call home, I have experienced an unfair share of unwarranted police contact. In no way am I trying to equate my experiences to those of someone of color, as I most certainly do not pretend to know… However, as I tell the kids I work with, you have to play the “game”. Perhaps I am losing my ideals, but that is just the sad state of affairs. Use common sense… This event sounds like both men were in the wrong and Gates definitely should not have been arrested. But, why give the officer an excuse? Unless you are a person of stature and/or have tens of thousands of dollars to spend on litigating something of this nature, you are not gonna change diddly talking shit to a cop, even if you are/were initially in the “right”. Essentially, Gates “poked the bear”.
Furthermore, this incident sounds like two men acting like 11 year old’s; each one using their resources to try and maintain their pride. I cannot say I would have acted differently than any of the two men if I were them at that particular time and place. But, this is certainly an interesting conversation piece.
Obama should have have been all about the “no comment” on this one.
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He did.
It is when they are accusd of breaking into their own house, prove that it is their house, and are still being treated with suspicion of wrongdoing
I am sure that the next time he will remember NOT to make his door get stuck before he leaves his house.
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When I’m in the wrong and have treated cops with respect, my efforts have been rewarded. My perfect driving record is evidence to that. I do stand up for my rights in some instances. I do not cooperate with sobriety checkpoints. I roll the window down an inch, provide my license, registration, and proof of insurance. I do not engage in any conversation. After giving them adequate time to check my documents, I ask if I am free to go. If they say no, I ask if I am being detained. If they say no, I tell them I am leaving. If they say I can’t leave, I tell them they can arrest me based on reasonable suspicion or I am leaving.
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It’s disappointing that the President made a racist assumption about the cop. He seems to have assumed that a white cop arresting a black man must therefore be a racist cop. To publicly (and very officially – it’s the PRESIDENT) accuse someone of racism (and stupidity) like that is irresponsible in my opinion.
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@Burk
Do you have his quote on this or are you making an assumption. The quote I saw from Obama was not about race but about it being a stupid arrest. He did not call the cop a racist or accuse him of racism.
Once again, Obama did not accuse anyone of racism.
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Burk, it’s irresponsible to publicly accuse an idiot cop who abuses his power of being an idiot cop who abuses his power?
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“sigh”
I suppose my opinion is colored by the fact that over the years I’ve dealt with the police in official and civilian capacities many, many times. Most, and I mean the overwhelming majority, of police officers are dedicated people doing a hard, dangerous job. When a cop gets a breaking and entering call he or she has NO idea whether they’re going to deal with a home owner that’s locked himself out of the house or a nutcase with a Glock. Asking someone on the scene to identify themselves is hardly tantamount to trampling on their civil rights, it’s merely the cop trying to assess the situation and decide what to do next.
If you’re shouting and being uncooperative you’re not exercising your rights, you’re exercising your ego.
As Damron pointed out above, a little respect goes a long, long way.
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Absolutely correct, TDavis: a little respect goes a long, long way. And Gates quite likely wasn’t respectful of Crowley. But being disrespectful of a police officer is not criminal behavior.
Did Crowley have every reason to ask Gates for ID? Absolutely! And he got the ID, sooner or later. And at that point he should have left, with a curt “Sorry for the inconvenience, have a good evening, sir” that a PUBLIC SERVANT should give. Instead, Crowley invited Gates to “step outside” (with all the baggage that phrase entails!) and arrested him. Maybe that’s a very human reaction for a layperson to have, but Crowley is a police sergeant; he should know better than that and perform his job better than that.
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Diogenes,
You’re right. Once Gates had shown he indeed lived there, Crowley should have split. Police, however, do not have the luxury of “sooner or later”. “Later” often results in a lot of cops wearing black ribbons on their badges. That being said, again, you’re right.
I guess I’m just getting a little cranky in my old age and get a little steamed when everyone assumes that the cop is always the bad guy.
i.e. mrclam “The cop is 100 percent in the wrong, as per usual.”
Both parties acted wrongly.
But I’ll bet what happens next is that Officer Crowley will be a new whipping boy for the Left while Professor Gates will be a new whipping, er, guy for the right.
Officer Crowley will probably receive a letter of reprimand (appropriate) which will hamper any hopes he has for promotion.
Professor Gates will receive any number lucrative offers to appear on the speaking circuit.
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@Chris
The President said that this incident shows that race still plays a role in our society – which means he apparently believes that the officer made his decision based on the Gates’s race. So far I haven’t seen any evidence that the officer is a racist.
Other articles and commentary say things like “…clearly race played a role,” when the only thing that suggests racism seems to be the fact that the officer was white and the person he arrested was black.
To me an accusation of racism is much more troubling than saying that he did something stupid. And accusations like this can damage a person in ways that are difficult and sometimes impossible to recover from.
And even calling him “an idiot cop who abuses his power” seems a bit over the top until we know more. Are people only Innocent Until Proven Guilty when it’s convenient or appealing to our gut feelings and assumptions? Have we concluded that this cop is indeed a racist?
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To all of Crowly’s apologists, again, the same question: What crime did Gates commit?
Even giving it the best spin possible, calling the arrest stupid, is charitable for officer Crowly’s actions. How was the public served and protected? What law was he enforcing?
I’m willing to bet that many of the same people who think it is OK for a policeman to arrest somebody for being disrespectful also consider themselves to be “Libertarians”.
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Now this will all be settled by a good beer.
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To all those who think it is right to kiss cop ass: no, it is not right. We pay their salaries and they serve us. It is like taking shit from a waitress or something. Most people wouldn’t act like Gates only because they know that cops are not interested in justice or upholding the peace.They are polite exactly because cops are so quick to abuse their power. By acting like sheep, people give these clowns even more power. Acting polite to someone who is trampling your rights is nothing more than cowardice. I admit that I have acted in such a cowardly way in the past, but it is something I have been ashamed of, not something I think is “right.” Cops are all about power-tripping. As for the cliche that most cops are hard-working, dedicated, etc: I don’t buy it. Almost all are stupid, lazy, corrupt abusers of power, throwing their weight around because they were picked on in high school or something. Sadly, stories like that ass working the 911 lines (who arrested the girl for “cussing”) are the norm, and it is our fault.
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“Sadly, stories like that ass working the 911 lines (who arrested the girl for “cussingâ€) are the norm, and it is our fault.â€
How can you say that incidents like this are the “norm?†Of course there are cops who abuse their power. There are also stupid cops (I know some). There are also corrupt cops (I know some of these, too). No big surprise there. There are people at the Library, the DMV and the post office who are stupid, abuse their power and lie, too. Those are human traits unfortunately. But can every member of a specific group be classified that way? All cops are X? All DMV employees are X? All white cops are X? That sounds a little like another type of generalization that we all claim to dislike.
Do you really think those kinds of evil, racist cops outnumber the honest, non-racist type? If that were the case, don’t you think we’d see this kind of thing happening all the time instead of so rarely that it becomes an anomaly that everyone is talking about? If it were â€the norm“ then this incident wouldn’t be a huge INTERNATIONAL NEWS story with the involvement of the President of the United States. The only reason this particular case is such a huge issue is because Gates is relatively wealthy. When it happens to someone in a “bad neighborhood†how come we don’t care as much? Why isn’t it international news when a desperately poor person with a severe but undiagnosed mental disorder is thrown in general population and knifed for being â€crazy?“ That’s unfair, and it’s the result of a broken system that doesn’t treat a maligned group of human beings with respect or dignity. Some people think it’s bizarre to even suggest that we treat these â€crazy“ people with dignity and respect. Some people even describe them as being â€less than animals.“ Are we outraged more about Gates’s relatively mild encounter with the police because he’s not one of those disgusting, crazy people?
Yes, there are disproportionate amounts of arrests of certain racial groups. But is the problem that all cops are racist white people? That’s such a simplified, TV show way to answer that difficult question. If you look deeper into it there’s an even bigger problem that’s not nearly as easy or as comfortable to address. Those disproportionately arrested people live under the burden of a disproportionate level of poverty. Why is that? There are poor people, and then there are desperately poor people. And isn’t it glaringly obvious to every rational person that the justice system doesn’t work for those who can’t afford to purchase justice? Th more justice you can buy, the more likely you are to be released. That’s a fact, and you can check it. Why don’t we care about that twisted and broken aspect of our American system of justice? Because the people who are abused by it don’t pass our likability tests. They’re gross, disgusting and â€crazy.“ We don’t take care of desperately poor people in ways that will actually help them. We hand them a dollar on the street and walk away feeling like we’re covered for the week.
And we care even less for our mentally disabled people here in this country. And in addition to their mental problems with functioning in our society, they also tend to be desperately poor for obvious reasons. We tend to look at them as a burden and ignore them when we see them struggling to survive in a world that must be unimaginably difficult for them. And then we condemn them when they break our rules. We toss them an inexperienced public defender and then when they’re convicted (and they usually are) we conveniently forget about them. Some people actually enjoy executions because it gives them a sense of security. Getting rid of the Bad Guys. We don’t think of our prison systems as rehabilitation, we think of them as revenge. And it’s a way to get the crazies off the street so we don’t have to look at them.
Look past the easy answers about Good Guys vs. Bad Guys and realize how those desperate situations that cause crime are created in the first place. A guy on death row once told me, “It ain’t about black and white, it’s about GREEN.â€
Blaming that desperate and very sad state of society on racism every time doesn’t help matters. Of course it happens, but it’s too easy to jump to that conclusion every single time. We should try to understand that simplistic explanations involving this group being Bad Guys and that group being Good Guys often hide the real causes. We don’t take care of people like we should. We tend to think that poor people, homeless people and those with mental disorders are “gross†and “disgusting.“ But we rarely ask ourselves how our loving and caring society allowed them to get that way. Why are more minorities in situations like that? Why do poor kids grow up with so few options besides crime? Why isn’t the situation getting better? Various religious groups claim to be trying to spread love and peace and acceptance. They raise money and build bigger buildings and TV studios, but do they make any effort to do any real good? Nope. Of course not. It’s not popular or attractive to care about THOSE people. How does our government provide for these people? Sadly we put it all in the hands of the police who aren’t trained to deal adequately with mental illness, and then we tend to let the justice system sort it out. Go into any prison in the USA and see if you can find even one inmate who reminds you of the financially and/or mentally stable people you encounter every day functioning outside of the justice/prison system. You won’t, because they don’t end up there.
If Gates had been a guy (white or black or anything else) who was mentally unstable living in a slum apartment he’d very likely still be in jail somewhere instead of being invited to have a beer with the President.
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WTF does that have to do with anything? What Gates did IS NOT A FUCKING CRIME you moron.
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An Editorial Opinion,
This case against Professor Gates isn’t about a racial issue. I’m a middle aged white male & the same thing would have happen to me as well. Thanks to the cops being an arrogant, my way or the highway mentality, combined with authority issues!!!!
This arrest is about out of control police officers throughout the country. Once it was established that this house was Professor Gates residence this Officer Crowley should’ve had enough sense to leave IMMEDIATELY, PERIOD. This is just another example of rogue cops and how they don’t follow the law!!!! A judge would’ve have thrown this case out of court and in favor of Professor Gates.
The only exception would be if an verbal or physical threat was imminent.(which was NOT THE CASE).
This case is however about our “Constituitonal rights” under the first ammendment and “freedom of speech”. You have the right to voice anything you desire except verbally saying fire in a crowed building where there is NO FIRE, & telling a judge to F _ _ _ off or even a police officer.
Anything short of that is our God given rights provided by our founding fathers and our CONSTITUITION. NO EXCEPTIONS!!!
My sincere hope is that Professor Gates sues this police force because that is the ONLY WAY to stop this CONTINUOUS BAD BEHAVIOR!!!
This last paragraph is for the moderators of this website. Thanks for erasing my previous post. It’s another indication that you are just like the cops and don’t believe in free speech. What a fine example of the right to speak freely. So go ahead and do EXACTLY what the cops do and DENY ME MY CONSTITUTIONAL rights!
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