<p>Not racial profiling. If you read the attached police report, the officer claims that he repeatedly tried to give Gates his name and information, but Gates was yelling at him and harassing him so much that his replies could not be heard. Read the police report. Even if the truth lies somewhere in between Gates’s account and the officer’s account, the public scene Gates caused was witnessed by others, and I suspect the officer’s account would be more fully supported.</p>
<p>Sounds like there are two stories. The police and a Harvard professor of Black studies. </p>
<p>Neighbors should call if someone is “prying a door open.” If that man happened to be black, then so what? He still needs to deal with police, who are there to protect him and his house. </p>
<p>I bet they had an accusing tone on their voice like “Sir, please come over here with your hands in plain sight” and the professor took this bad since he probably teaches about black discrimination everyday in class. </p>
<p>Now, we don’t have the facts yet, but I am just taking a stab at it… it sounds like the professor played the race card at first sight of the police officer. Is it just a coincidence that he teaches black studies? Most normal people cooperate fully with the police and don’t create a scene even if they feel uncomfortable or exploited. There is a way to report this and you know as well as I do that the ACLU would promptly expose this story to the media and pursue justice.</p>
<p>From “The Root” (HLG’s website)</p>
<p>Statement on Behalf of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. – by Charles Ogletree</p>
<p>This brief statement is being submitted on behalf of my client, friend, and colleague, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. This is a statement concerning the arrest of Professor Gates. On July 16, 2009, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 58, the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor of Harvard University, was headed from Logan airport to his home [in] Cambridge after spending a week in China, where he was filming his new PBS documentary entitled “Faces of America.” Professor Gates was driven to his home by a driver for a local car company. Professor Gates attempted to enter his front door, but the door was damaged. Professor Gates then entered his rear door with his key, turned off his alarm, and again attempted to open the front door. With the help of his driver they were able to force the front door open, and then the driver carried Professor Gates’ luggage into his home.</p>
<p>Professor Gates immediately called the Harvard Real Estate office to report the damage to his door and requested that it be repaired immediately. As he was talking to the Harvard Real Estate office on his portable phone in his house, he observed a uniformed officer on his front porch. When Professor Gates opened the door, the officer immediately asked him to step outside. Professor Gates remained inside his home and asked the officer why he was there. The officer indicated that he was responding to a 911 call about a breaking and entering in progress at this address. Professor Gates informed the officer that he lived there and was a faculty member at Harvard University. The officer then asked Professor Gates whether he could prove that he lived there and taught at Harvard. Professor Gates said that he could, and turned to walk into his kitchen, where he had left his wallet. The officer followed him. Professor Gates handed both his Harvard University identification and his valid Massachusetts driver’s license to the officer. Both include Professor Gates’ photograph, and the license includes his address.</p>
<p>Professor Gates then asked the police officer if he would give him his name and his badge number. He made this request several times. The officer did not produce any identification nor did he respond to Professor Gates’ request for this information. After an additional request by Professor Gates for the officer’s name and badge number, the officer then turned and left the kitchen of Professor Gates’ home without ever acknowledging who he was or if there were charges against Professor Gates. As Professor Gates followed the officer to his own front door, he was astonished to see several police officers gathered on his front porch. Professor Gates asked the officer’s colleagues for his name and badge number. As Professor Gates stepped onto his front porch, the officer who had been inside and who had examined his identification, said to him, “Thank you for accommodating my earlier request,” and then placed Professor Gates under arrest. He was handcuffed on his own front porch.</p>
<p>Professor Gates was taken to the Cambridge Police Station where he remained for approximately 4 hours before being released that evening. Professor Gates’ counsel has been cooperating with the Middlesex District Attorneys Office, and the City of Cambridge, and is hopeful that this matter will be resolved promptly. Professor Gates will not be making any other statements concerning this matter at this time.</p>
<p>Once the cop knew that the perp was the homeowner, he should have apologized. I don’t get the “raucous” part. The guy was in front of his house trying to get in and was stopped by the cops. Even if it was only because he was startled, a person who gets ticked in that type of situation does not deserve to be handcuffed. Was the officer threatened or in any danger? I don’t think so. Still, cops are not in the role of regular people like you and me. You cannot judge a cop unless you walk a mile in his shoes. </p>
<p>A lot goes on in moments such as these in the course of a cop’s day. Sometimes officers of the law are scared, and are rude because they fear for their lives (and for good reason). Sometimes they are rude because they are on an arrogant head trip. Some speak harshly to maintain control.</p>
<p>One thing is for sure - you don’t yell at cops, no matter what is happening. Even if the individual cop is a @$#%&. This is because he or she represents the law. If you have a problem with an officer, take care of it with a complaint later on. It is NEVER OK to confront a cop. To think otherwise is just not getting the way the world needs to work in order for us all to stay safe.</p>
<p>A concerning theme here is that the community seems to feel that there is some unfairness going on. That needs to be addressed, as there has to be trust between cops and the community as a whole. When that breaks down, it is a big problem (even just the appearance of being less than fair).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>There’s no such thing as a justifiably *<strong><em>ed off cop. If the officer is incapable of doing his job without becoming *</em></strong>ed off - a job that presumably involves dealing with angry and potentially violent people every single day - he should seek a different line of work. Officers are trained to be calm in every situation, no matter how difficult. This officer’s overreaction to a very minor situation shows that he cannot be relied upon in more difficult situations. He needs to be seriously reprimanded.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Disrespect is not a arrestable offense. Nothing requires an individual to be nice to people who are interrogating him in his own house. </p>
<p>My favorite line from the police report:</p>
<p>“While I was led to believe that Gates was lawfully in the residence, I was quite surprised and confused with the behavior he exhibited toward me.”</p>
<p>Really? You’re inside an man’s house asking him why he was trying to get into his own home and you’re surprised he’s not enjoying it? Shocking. I wonder what else the officer would be surprised at.</p>
<p>I should also point out that according to the police report, the officer never showed a badge or any other form of ID to Gates, despite being asked for this repeatedly. I believe this is not legal - though I’m not sure of the details. Furthermore, the officer claims that each time he tried to provide his name to Gates, his words were drowned out by Gates yelling. Highly believable…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Good thing it was in the middle of the day then. But let’s not let facts get in the way. The important thing was this “pompous ass” got his comeuppance.</p>
<p>I mistook the time for evening, my error. However, Ogletree’s statement on behalf of Gates is completely ludicrous. Does anyone really believe that Gates was taken into custody because he merely followed the police out the door? And yes, cops are human and get ticked off when they are trying to do their jobs and are screamed at and given the “do you know who you’re dealing with” malarkey. So they were kinda jerky and took the man into custody–that doesn’t make them racists. Gates can certainly criticize for police for overreacting to his blustering and carrying on, but to cry racism and then drag a prominent black Harvard law professor into the fray as his spokesman is just tedious posturing. I’m sure before long he’ll be demanding an investigation of the entire Cambridge police department and calling for the mayor’s resignation, while basking in the hero worship of his students.</p>
<p>mommaJ, really?
The officer should have been professional enough to ID himself. The person has a right to know who the officer is. Sorry, but I’m a nurse and I cannot react to every jerk that walks thru my ER.
We are all public servants and we have to be respectful of all, Harvard professor or the local drunk.
It people like that who give policemen a bad name.
My father in law was a police officer andf I personally am not a big fan of law enforcement and their entitlements.</p>
<p>Sounds like there are multiple sides of this story.</p>
<p>According to CNN:
</p>
<p>Let’s play Devil’s advocate here - what if the neighbor never called the police and the house was being broken into?</p>
<p>How about this - Gates, opens the door, greets the police with relief that someone is watching out for his house, explains that he just returned home from a trip etc.; they all have a good laugh about it and go on their merry way.</p>
<p>Does being a Professor at Harvard put one on such a high pedestal that a civilized conversation with a lowly police officer is out of the question?
If I was on the Cambridge police force I would not go knocking on any doors inquiring about suspicious activity unless I had called for back up first, or maybe the SWAT team.</p>
<p>Today’s Boston Globe:
[Racial</a> talk swirls with Gates arrest - The Boston Globe](<a href=“http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2009/07/21/racial_talk_swirls_with_gates_arrest/]Racial”>http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2009/07/21/racial_talk_swirls_with_gates_arrest/)</p>
<p>Looks like both Gates and the cop were having ego trips. Either of them could have defused the situation, neither did. </p>
<p>Wait for Gates to try to sue the city for some imagined malady caused by the arrest.</p>
<p>Of course it was a racial incident. I am surprised that Cambridge cops aren’t a little more sophisticated or better trained though. As far as a neighbor calling about a “break in”–hard to believe she didn’t know who he was. (I know what Professor Gates looks like from having seen him on TV, and I live 200 miles away. And if he lived in my neighborhood I am pretty sure I would know it–if someone famous lives nearby it is the kind of thing you usually know in a single-family residential area.) If she was close enough to observe the break in she might also have noticed that at least one of the men was not exactly young and lithe, and that he had arrived in what was either a taxi or a livery car, which would also suggest stability and residency. And if the other man was a car service employee he may even have been wearing a coat and tie, also not exactly housebreaking clothes.</p>
<p>As a middle-aged, middle-class white women I may not perceive acts as racism the same way or as often as a person of color does but this case really seems pretty blatant. Of course we all know you have to be very respectful to police officers and that they have a tendency to react negatively if you even look at them cross-eyed. (I am not a fan of my local suburban police force, who I believe do not enforce the local laws and ordinances fairly or consistently–but I am incredibly law abiding.) Probably Gates was not interested in behaving ingratiatingly toward the officer and allowed his mood of the moment to overcome his awareness of that widely understood rule about treating the police better than they treat you–imagine how tired Gates must have been after flying home from China. Even if it was a great trip and he flew first class it is a long flight. Annoying enough to have trouble getting into your house without having to deal with a police officer who can’t see beyond the color of your skin and/or the color of his own uniform and badge.</p>
<p>A taxi driving up doesn’t imply anything. How are criminals going to break in in broad daylight, by running up dressed in skimasks and smashing the windows out? It says the house was burglarized before, doesn’t take a leap of faith to assume other houses in the neighborhood had been targeted as well, making the locals a bit nervous about doors getting pushed or smashed in.</p>
<p>Stupid behavior on both sides.
I absolve the neighbor of racism. If someone sees two men trying to open a door that won’t open, it’s fair to be suspicious and call police. Both Gates and the policeman had grounds for being ticked off, Gates for being hassled in his own home, the policeman for Gates’ attitude. Both could have diffused the situation by some graciousness, but both were probably grumpy. Gates was apparently just back from China–a long trip. The policeman probably had had a long day.</p>
<p>I agree with Spideygirl’s general point. I also know personally know some African-Americans affiliated with Harvard (some members of the faculty, some students) who have been hassled on their own grounds by the Cambridge or campus police. Still, I would not classify this as racial profiling.</p>
<p>“If you read the attached police report, the officer claims that he repeatedly tried to give Gates his name and information, but Gates was yelling at him and harassing him so much that his replies could not be heard.”</p>
<p>Police reports may not be true.</p>
<p>I’ve had the opportunity to work with Skip Gates, who is a very calm, genial man. I don’t believe the police report.</p>
<p>While the neighbor was right to call police when she thought she was witnessing a burglary and police were right to investigate, I can’t think of any reason why police would not apologize and leave after getting 2 forms of ID from Gates, who was in his own home.</p>
<p>“Saying things like “you don’t know who you are dealing with” doesn’t exactly endear him to the officer white or not.”</p>
<p>I suspect that if Gates said that, it was in response to something the officer did. As is the case with most black people in this country, the men in my life have been ill treated by cops when the men were doing nothing wrong. There are polite ways that police can act, and there are ways in which they act in which they basically act like racist thugs. </p>
<p>I anticipate that more stories are going to come out in response to this incident that will demonstrate that there have been pervasive problems between Cambridge cops and innocent black males in that city.</p>
<p>Two very different sides to this story. I am certain the truth is somewhere in between. I think the question here is did Gates respect the fact that the officer was at his home because he was responding to a specific call involving his residence and did the officer respect the fact that maybe, just maybe Gates was telling the truth. We live in a cynical society. I am sure the officer felt Gates didn’t belong there and Gates certainly felt the officer didn’t belong there.</p>
<p>“As far as a neighbor calling about a “break in”–hard to believe she didn’t know who he was. (I know what Professor Gates looks like from having seen him on TV, and I live 200 miles away.”</p>
<p>I live even farther away. The first time I met him, I saw him on the street in Cambridge, and both my husband and I recognized him. </p>
<p>I do think, though, the neighbor was right to call police if the neighbor thought a burglary was taking place, and I can understand not recognizing Gates under the circumstance.</p>
<p>“Does being a Professor at Harvard put one on such a high pedestal that a civilized conversation with a lowly police officer is out of the question?”</p>
<p>I don’t believe the police report, and I do think police were being racist to arrest Gates in his own home after he showed ID. I also question whether the police were being civil to Gates. Not only do the police in Cambridge have a reputation of being racist, they also have a reputation of disliking Harvard, its students and faculty. The policeman may have been reveling in being able to have a power trip over a black Harvard prof.</p>
<p>Northstarmom - you are calling the two police officers who responded to the scene liars?
They just made up this stuff? It was somehow a consipiracy? </p>
<p>they did not arrest him in his home. They arrested him outside his home for disorderly conduct. There were witnesses out on the street.
Read the entire police report - from both officers who were at the scene.
<a href=“http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/gates_incident_report_redacted.pdf[/url]”>http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/gates_incident_report_redacted.pdf</a></p>
<p>Apparently, Gates was uncooperative from the outset. Clearly, he thinks he is above the law and so important the he doesn’t have to obey a lawful police officer.</p>
<p>Maybe because I live in a community that has lost two police officers in the line of duty in the past couple of years or maybe I was brought up to repect a uniformed police officer but the disdain people are showing toward men who put their lives on the line eveyrday that they go to work is surprising (to me at least).</p>
<p>“We live in a cynical society.”</p>
<p>That is true.</p>
<p>This is a sad story. What an irony - the distinguished professor of Harvard arrested for “breaking into his own residence” - actually for disorderly conduct, but nevertheless…</p>
<p>I have called the police on a potential break in that I witnessed, and the alleged perps were white… Turned out that the were trying to get in because they lost their key, and it also was the wrong apartment ( they lived upstairs). Not exactly genius material… No arrest.</p>
<p>Many times our business alarm goes off because someone has put in the wrong code by accident. If we can not avert a police visit, the police do ask for ID to note in the report, even if the people say they are employees etc., so that in case they are not, they do have the info.</p>
<p>Was it bias that the neighbor called the police? Maybe so - we can never really know. I know of Gates, and have read columns of his in the NYT, but I would not know him on sight. How anyone would react without knowing the person seems to be more for a psychological study on bias than anything else.</p>
<p>I do think that the police generally can get up-itty if people yell at them, and even to white folks in suburbia this is possible. Here, the policeman probably never heard of Gates, and he should have just walked on even if he was yelling - what exactly was his point? He’ll show Gates for yelling at him? Understandably Gates was upset. Shouldn’t the law enforcement professional be the one to have the cooler head when he is on duty?</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>and when did he know that. Was that before or after all the verbal abuse? Oh, right, he never knew it.</p>