The Cambridge Police Department view of a Black scholar
Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation’s pre-eminent African-American scholars, was arrested at his home by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in. The incident raised concerns among some Harvard faculty that Gates was a victim of racial profiling.
Police arrived at Gates’ Ware Street home near Harvard Square at 12:44 p.m. to question him. Gates, director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard, had trouble unlocking his door after it became jammed.
He was booked for disorderly conduct after “exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior,” according to a police report. Gates accused the investigating officer of being a racist.
Friends of Gates said he was already in his home when police arrived. He showed his driver’s license and Harvard identification card, but was handcuffed and taken into police custody…
The Cambridge Police will no doubt come up with whatever they feel is justification for arresting a man standing on his own property – telling the coppers to get off that property – when it’s already been established there is no crime in progress.
It’s obvious that the racists involved in this situation (here and there) think that people can’t see their words and actions for what they really are. All the obfuscation is just hand-waving.
Without knowing all the details of this incident, I’m led to believe that the police could have just walked away while the man was ranting about racial profiling. In this case, the police should have behaved like a baseball umpire when confronted by an irate manager. Let him have his say and when he begins to repeat himself, just walk away which defuses the situation. Sounds like the police couldn’t let it drop. They wanted the last word.
#58–Fusion==everything you post is absolutely correct, yet ironically irrelevant.
All charges were dropped. So, yes, this incident supports the notion that it is not illegal to be an asshole. Course, that is with reference to the homeowner on his own property. Subtle, but the live question NOW is can the cops legally be assholes? That right now is still a live question—facts to be created.
I will repeat for those slow on the uptake. There are two perspectives from which to discuss this case:
A. The way things should be.
B. The way things are.
You don’t piss on Superman’s Cape, blow the Long Rangers Horse, or mess around with Jim.
If the story was about a man with cash in plain view stuffed in his pockets getting robbed while walking in skid row, would you all be talking about how robbery is illegal? NO. You would relevantly be talking about how stupid it is to walk around in skid row with money hanging off your bod.
Same with cops. Its stupid to confront them.
Dolts.
Who’s Jim?
Jim is some tough guy that lives on the South Side of Chicago according to Jim Croce in his song I paraphrased. Got the tune, can’t remember the name.
Bobbo — if you had been in Germany in the 30s, you would be telling those who complained about the fascists: “Hey! You can either accept the reality of fascism or talk about how things ‘should be’! Get with the Nazi program, you dolts!”
Wretched, I take your point. Not bad. I think direct confrontation with the SS was not too smart either. Better to show deference while planning the underground attack on the weapons factory. But wasted self defeating effort does have its symbollic appeal.
Heres an article with only slightly more info. Seems to me the term “racial profiling” is being used pretty loosely.
Wretched–I’ll check back if you’d like to continue.
Reality vs Symbolism.
http://huffingtonpost.com/brandon-m-terry/a-stranger-in-mine-own-ho_b_242392.html
#58
Forgotten, was that the professor was on the phone when the police arrived, insisting that he finish his call before he be bothered with pissant questions.
A reasonable response from a homeowner who is minding his own business and gets his evening interrupted.
An unreasonable expectation for someone who is suspected of being a burglar.
Once the ID was cleared up, the police left. In hot pursuit from an assh-le who has a chip on his shoulder.
Situation could have been better, but could have been a lot worse.
Wonder how quickly police will want to respond to a suspected burglary at that address in the future. Maybe a Dale Carnegie course would be in order for next semester?
#46
Didn’t know you were elected god…hope my comment lives up to your high expectations – or maybe it’s just been a long day.
#63, Bobbo the dialogue driver,
I will repeat for those slow on the uptake. There are two perspectives from which to discuss this case:
A. The way things should be.
B. The way things are.
Your first premise suggests things weren’t perfect and your second suggests things aren’t perfect.
When things aren’t perfect then the only thing to do is correct the things that are wrong. In this case the police stepped over the line. A person was injured in that he was arrested and needlessly humiliated. Unless the cause of that situation is corrected it will happen again and again.
Above I said the police don’t work for some overlord. They work for us. Gates had no need to apologize for being in his own house, the cop did.
#70–thanks Fusion. Hard sometimes to put down the rocks and actually “talk?”
Did you work thru to any hypothetical that would have justified Gates arrest?
Seems to me the general discussion is that Gates was in his own house therefore – – – – BUT that was not known when the police first entered the house. People are assuming facts that pretty obviously are not true.
But ok, by the time of the arrest, Gates was known to be the owner of the house. I can readily accept the notion that he was extremely verbally abusive to the cops.
Should cops be required to take any and all abuse short of physical contact as part of their daily duties? Thats an easy rule to have passed, yet it is the rule NO WHERE.
Maybe it should be.
Bobbo, the inquisitive,
I saw on TV last night where a journalist who knows Gates well and had been in his home pointed out that Gates has many framed photos, prominently displayed, in the hallway and living room of his home of himself and other famous people, including President Bill Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder. The cop had to pass several of these photos to get to the kitchen.
If the cop didn’t notice that Gates was in those photos something is wrong with the cop. That the cop insisted upon Gates providing photo ID even after the framed photos is overkill and harassment.
Even a few pictures of nobodies and you would convince any sane person that that was your house. Burglars don’t hang up pictures of themselves while ransacking a house.
When the cop first arrived Gates was already on the house phone. That he didn’t jump for the cop only points out that the cop was the one being too aggressive.
That Gates spoke words the cop didn’t like is irrelevant. He had every right to say what he wished. Accusing the cop(s) of racial discrimination might not sound pleasant BUT IS NOT ILLEGAL. That I call some on this blog “right wing nuts” is similar. They might disagree but in my opinion they exhibit traits I associate with those deserving of the label “right wing nuts”. The cop did something Gates associates with being a racist cop.
So should cops accept and tolerate “crap” from civilians? Of course. If they can’t they should find a new line of work. Yes there is a lot of noise about this case and the Police Chief is going to tell us what a good cop the Sargent is. What he isn’t going to tell us is how many times this cop has busted other blacks and Hispanics on trumped up charges.
#72–Fusion==in this conversation, we are passing each other, not connecting.
You are repeating your points already made to which I posed questions. You have added a little detail but much more progress would be made if you answered my questions, or posed new ones of your own.
I think a cop responding to a burglary call would be incompetent to stop and “look” at photos on a wall. I doubt they do that during the initial response. If they are doing that, they should stop and keep their eye out for the unknown suspects.
Actually, it was not a burglary call because those only take place at night. As an additional “fact”, I would not that “breaking and entering” at high noon on a sunny day with a chauffer in uniform on the front porch certainly frames this situation in a pro-Gates way.
I can certainly “imagine” Gates becoming righteously outraged. I’ll ask again: should a home owner in his house be allowed to say anything he wants to to a cop short of physical contact with absolute immunity? You say its not illegal to do so, and that implies a yes. Short of it being illegal, is getting arrested for it, which I assume is why charges were dropped.
REALITY TEACHES that if you climb a cops back, you are likely to get arrested for disorderly conduct and having the charges dropped later. If you want to spend your time suing City Hall==have at it.
I further think it is pretty STUPID for anyone to think that a homeowner should become outraged at having to show ID when a cop is responding to a burglary complaint. Next time, Gates can complain when his house is burgled and the cops don’t respond. The notion that cops should have perfect knowledge on first contact is beyond naive.
At the end of the day, we all choose how to spend our time and our emotions.
#73, Bobbo, of infinite wisdom and at least 8″,
I’ll ask again: should a home owner in his house be allowed to say anything he wants to to a cop short of physical contact with absolute immunity?
Almost. If the person is threatening to shoot the cop or kill the President, even with no gun in sight, of course he would be arrested. Telling the cop he is a no good s-o-b who doesn’t deserve to breathe oxygen is immune, legally.
Being arrested on a phony charge is false arrest. While police do have some immunity, they do not have total immunity.
it is pretty STUPID for anyone to think that a homeowner should become outraged at having to show ID when a cop is responding to a burglary complaint.
And how was the question asked? Gates was on the phone, the cop wanted him to step outside, the cop was more than likely becoming indignant and upset. Cops do not like to be told NO, regardless of how big an asshole they might be.
Next time, Gates can complain when his house is burgled and the cops don’t respond. The notion that cops should have perfect knowledge on first contact is beyond naive.
The very suggestion that Gates would not get protection his taxes pay for because the police have a hard on is too repugnant to use polite language on. The police are hired to protect ALL citizens, not just those they like.
When a middle aged man answers the door talking on a house phone and says he lives there, there is a very good likelihood he does. That is a first impression. Only, a cop made demands on Gates and when Gates asked him to identify himself with ID, the cop refused. The cop wasn’t satisfied with only one photo ID, he insisted on two. The cop didn’t thank Gates for cooperating and apologize for the inconvenience, he, in turn, refused to cooperate with Gates.
The cop was an asshole to an irritable black man of very high standing in the community. That this happens all the time to minorities is a shame upon our society.
Hey Fusion==who knows?
Absent racism/bias of some kind you (whether black or white) pretty much get back what you put out. Pass that thru the prism of a cop responding to what he does not know, and we citizens help the situation for both sides by being somewhat compliant.
When we as citizens are more that reasonable, then any bad behavior by the cops really stick out. Terrible to muddy the water and let a miscreant get away with bad behavior===even when both parties are “experts” of a sort in the interaction they just shared.
It would be fun to “know the truth?” We could still disagree with one another, but then at least we would be operating with the same assumed facts?
Keep it hard, keep it loose.
I was referring to the thickness of my Oxford Standard Reference Dictionary. I could have been more clear about that.
Look this guy had no ID on him and now this is being turned into a Hate Crime against the white guy who was just doing his job , If it was a case of a white guy looking like he was breaking into a home in a Black neighborhood , would have anyone cared about this ( nope ) But a Black Professer with no ID on him and thats the white guys fault ? I dont like Cops anymore than anyone else dose , But now the cops haveing a Hate Crime done against him from the President to the Teacher , and a Black professer that spends his time makeing $90000.00 a year working in the white world now want everyone to send there hard erned money to what ??? Smells like another OJ deal remember him he lived in a white neighborhood , married to a white wife and had nothing but white friends and turned his back on his own people , this smells the same ! ! !