This is how Rush Limbaugh [mis]characterized the above comments yesterday on his show...
It's obvious that El Rushbo sees a golden opportunity to drive a wedge between police unions and the man they heartily supported for President last year. He's playing it up to the max.
Moving on, this is what local blogger Some Cranky Guy had to say....
The fact that the President of the United States, who was not at the scene, immediately assumes the police are wrong and racists because they are white, makes the President a racists. Without a doubt. But then again, after 20 years in Rev Wright’s Black Liberation Theology Church, this should not surprise anyone but the most stubborned liberal nut job.SCG is no doubt expecting the Kenyan President of the United States to end future pressers by thrusting his gloved fist into the air in salute to his Blank Panther brothers.
[...]
I am outraged that my preident is acting like a racist and undermining the lawful legal system.
Predictably, Carlos Miller sides with Gates and says that police arrested the professor "for disorderly conduct after he asked the cop for his name and badge number." Which is sorta like saying Tyler Weinman was arrested for conducting biology experiments outside of class. It's more of the same stuff you've come to expect from Miller and his blog.
At Discourse you'll find links to the actual arrest report and a legal synopsis of what went on that day. I have to admit that I find the analysis a little too biased in favor of the professor but it's worth a visit anyway. And then make sure you read Professor Gates' side of things because, quite frankly, it appears as thought the police officer and Gates were on two different planets. Someone definitely isn't telling the truth.
Having said that, I agree with Limbaugh [*gulp*] and don't think the President had any business giving his opinion on a local matter like this one, especially one as sensitive as this is. Politically, it's a no-win situation for him. He should have taken a pass if for no other reason than yahoos like Rush are going to crucify him for whatever he has to say.
Regarding the arrest itself, I think the officer simply let the belligerent and agitated professor get on his nerves. The professor was probably miffed about having to break the front door and then having to deal with the police to top it off. However, no matter what Gates said to him, the officer should have handled it like a professional and just let it go. There are too many people out there who hate cops and what they represent to let everything they say get the best of an officer's emotions. No matter what Professor Gates and Random Pixels may think, I tend to believe that race played no part in this matter during the event. Unfortunately, it appears that it is now being used by the professor and a strange brew of civil libertarians and right wing bigots like Limbaugh to make this something it isn't.
And all of them have their own distinct reasons for doing so.
*****
President Obama said today that it was an "unfortunate" use of words on his part and adds more [video]...
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama said Friday he spoke with the police officer who arrested a Harvard professor and told the officer he did not mean to malign the Cambridge Police Department when he said police acted stupidly.
The president acknowledged that his words "helped to contribute to ratcheting" up the situation when he criticized the manner in which Sgt. James Crowley arrested professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.
"I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department or Sgt. Crowley specifically," Obama told reporters. "I could have calibrated those words differently, and I told this to Sgt. Crowley."
[...]
But during his Friday remarks, Obama said he hoped the controversy surrounding Gates' arrest provides Americans with "a teachable moment" on how they can improve "relations between police officers and minority communities."
And to save you a little legwork, here's a link [.pdf] to the police report.
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42 comments:
There was an article a couple of days ago stating that rather than race, egos played a huge part in this...both the professor's and the cop's. The professor should have calmly offered proof that he lived ther and left it at that, and the cop should have seen it and left it at that.
Rather, it looks like both may have been ruffled, the professor may have gone into "preeminent holier than thou Hah-vad professor shouting rant" and the cop into "I'm just doing my job,which includes investigating, and belligerent Hah-vad professors are not above the law" modes.
That said, our President - a Harvard-trained lawyer - should have abstained from referring to the cop's behavior as "stupid" after acknowledging he did not have all the facts. Way to lose a case..
I'm with you. Obama should not have said anything. He already had to back out, because the police in Cambridge is standing by Crowley and because the grandstanding of those who are crying "race!" doesn't benefit Obama the least. And that grandstanding started with Gates himself, by his own account.
Obama should not have answered the questions.
However, he didn't say it was race related. He didn't say cops are stupid. He simply said they acted stupidly. Black or White or Red or Brown: Cops investigating a break-in are shown proof that it's the residence of the suspect should have just let it go.
Predictably, Carlos Miller also sides with president because he appreciates the fact that he is not afraid to state his honest opinion, which was all it was.
Why are all of us entitled to an opinion but not the most powerful man in the country?
To avoid the question would have been typical and expected and lame.
You can agree or not agree with his opinion, but you should respect the fact that he has one.
And it's really going to hurt him politically. If it were the election season, maybe.
But by the time that rolls around, this will be history.
I'm in Boston right now. My brother in law is a Boston police officer. The story he gave me last night (the first i'd heard of this incident before investigating more today) was almost identical to the police report. Had Gates simply produced his identification and remained calm, the situation wouldve been avoided entirely. Instead he acted in a brash manner, yelling racial accusations and becoming disorderly. Could he have been baited into the arrest by being asked to come outside? Possibly. But again, there were many chances for him to avoid the situation, all of which he chose to ignore.
In a somewhat funny related incident, this same situation happened to me after I first moved into my condo 6 years ago. I locked myself out and didn't want to pay a locksmith nor wait for one so, knowing that only the handle lock was set, I shouldered the door until it opened. My neighbor, not knowing who I was because I wa new to the bldg, called the cops. They came, I laughed in embarrassment and showed identification, and they left.
Carlos, that's plainly ridiculous. Ever heard of a bully pulpit? A statement from the President in his official functions -which a press conference is- is not a simple opinion. It carries a lot more weight than anybody else's. In this context it amounted to a condemnation of the Cambridge police, which is something he should have avoided because his office is not and should not be involved. Especially because it's far from being clear cut.
What does "you should respect the fact that he has one" even means? Since when is saying someone was wrong disrespectful?
Rick,
As "predictable" as I am, you're even more predictable. You will side with the cops even if it means agreeing with Rush.
You forget that cops are our public servants. It's arrogant of you to think otherwise. But it's not surprising considering certain circumstances.
I fail to see your comparison between my opinion and your Tyler Weinman simile.
Gates was arrested on his property for asking the cop's and name and badge number.
Even the cop said he would not have been arrested had he just gone back in his house.
Are you saying that Gates doesn't even have the right to stand on his front porch because the cops don't want him there?
I swear, you people are really out of touch with basic human rights and the actual law.
Disorderly conduct means that he would have been creating a public nuisance.
A public nuisance usually means disturbing the public. In public, Rick.
Not on your own lawn to a bunch of cops who are ordering you back into your house.
Your arrogance is disgusting.
Alex,
We just had a shoot at the hip president who was glorified for it, the whole "bring 'em on" mentality.
And it got him reelected despite his inability to run this country.
So who cares if Obama doesn't toe the line on this case?
Even those who don't agree with him should appreciate that he is not afraid to state his opinion.
Rule #1, don't piss off the man, even though it's your right to do it.
Rule #2, if you do exercise your rights, bear the consequences like a grown up.
The cop could have and should have let it go as soon as he was satisfied that no criminal action was involved. The prof should have just shut the hell up too, and understand how fortunate he is that the cops were on the scene, if this had been an actual emergency...
I call it a draw. Whoever said this was an unfortunate clash of egos is probably right on.
As for the President, I think he tried to say up front that he was biased in favor of an old friend, and well acknowledged his lack of information on the matter. His intent clearly was to have the pulpit be one that merely played well with others. All the same, a rookie mistake. Live and learn.
I count three who should have just STFU, so far. But I feel ike I'm missing some more...
So, Rick, what did you wash that bitter pill down with?
Carlos...you obviously didn't read my post. It's a measured response that lays blame on both sides.
"...the officer should have handled it like a professional and just let it go."
See?
"I fail to see your comparison between my opinion and your Tyler Weinman simile."
Doesn't surprise me.
Keep up the hate, Carlos.
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Nonee: I call them as I see them. If anyone has a valid point, I'll acknowledge it, but it doesn't make them any less the prick or blowhard.
And you're spot on with the rest of your analysis.
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Keep up the hate, Carlos.
Are you this ironic on purpose or does it just come naturally with your ignorance?
Wow. I can say this really is the new prez's first major gaff. as many have said he should have dodged the question like so many other that a president has to sometimes.
Carlos, if you play with fire you're bound to get burned. Gates got burned. He turned it into a race thing. The irony of it all is that the arresting officer teaches classes on racial profiling with another black officer. He was also the officer who performed mouth to mouth resuccitation on Celtics great Reggie Lewis, a black man, when he went down with heart failure.
Wow. Giving mouth-to-mouth to a black man. Doesn't that give you a lifetime "Not Racist" pass?
Just sayin'.
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Wow! Rick great post. I agree with you. I thought I would never say that!
Blind Mind,
I disagree with Gates' assertion that this was a race thing.
I believe it was a clash of egos, as Nonee points out.
But the fact is, you have a man who was arrested on his own property.
Even the cop said all he had to do was shut up and go back inside his house.
Well all the cops had to do was get in their cars and leave.
They already knew he lived there so what other purpose did they have for being there?
But if they're going to be there, then Gates has the right to ask them questions.
He has the right to stand on his own front porch.
And he has the right to speak his mind, even if he is accusing them of being racist.
A professional cop would have advised Gates to file a formal complaint and just move on.
A professional cop would have provided his name and badge number, even if the other guy was acting like an ass.
But as you say, you should only be seen and not heard around cops. It's even better if you're not even seen.
Otherwise, you're playing with fire, right?
Well despite as much power as you would like to give these cops and as much power as they believe they have, they were wrong in this case, which is why the charges were dropped.
As I said in my post, disorderly conduct is usually used when they can't think of an actual crime being committed. It's one of the most abused charges.
Gates got arrested for speaking his mind on his own property and people actually support this arrest?
I'm flabbergasted.
This is about Constitutional rights. Not race.
Automatically assuming that the cop is racist is as ignorant as Rick accusing me of hating cops because I insist that they abide by the law.
He was asked a question about his friend. Avoiding the question would have caused a uproar as well.
I'd be pissed if I was handcuffed on the porch of my own house too. He was a well dressed guy with a cab parked out front, not exactly the uniform of a cat burglar.
The cop should have shot first then sprinkled crack on him. Done!
I think all three of them - Gates, the cop and Obama - acted "stupidly".
I know Obama didn't mean to imply "ops were stupid" and I'm glad he went out of his way to say he didn't know whether this was race-related - but the minute I heard the statement I told my husband "this is going to hit the fan". He should've said sonething along the lines of "Gates is my friend, I can understand his frustration, but I don't have all the facts so I'd rather not comment."
Like someone said - Rookie mistakee.
In plain Cuban "la cago".
FYI - President Obama just called the arresting officer and apologized for his comments.
Blind Mind writes:
"FYI - President Obama just called the arresting officer and apologized for his comments."
I'm not surprised in the least.
Rick,
I tend to disagree with you and matters regarding the police. I think so much of this disagreement relies on who we'd be partial to in the re-telling of the cases faced by police and the citizens they serve and protect. So, what about a policy-approach intended to remove such areas of disagreement?
Would you support the use of black-box helmet cameras and Citizen Review Boards as a means of public accountability for police officers?
-g
Deception is a greater evil than racism.
Lets face it, alot more blacks commit crimes than whites. Thats not racist, its
FBI empirical data. Your many times as likely to experience a crime by a black guy. If it is racist its still true. Your much more likely to get mugged or shot on MLK drive than on Elm street. Even blacks know this.
Its the white mans punishment for buying slaves from other blacks. I wish this country hated falsehood as much as racism.
-g.: I do know what the answer is. Cameras. Nah. With the different angles and the lighting, they're questionable a lot of the time anyway.
Look, we have a world filled with imperfect people. Some of them wear uniforms and we call them the police and some of them do other things. As long as cops are human, that uniform isn't going to prevent them from making mistakes. They should be held accountable for their mistakes like we all are but we have to consider that they are tested day in and day out by the worst dregs of society and those who despise authority and everything it represents. It's not an excuse, it's a consideration that needs to be taken into account by those "purveyors of justice" who do nothing but obsess over the bad in law enforcement and totally and completely ignore the good.
By all means, let's get rid of bad cops. But let's also not lose sight of the fact that they're out there doing a job that sucks. It's a job that most of us don't have the courage or stomach for.
"Automatically assuming that the cop is racist is as ignorant as Rick accusing me of hating cops because I insist that they abide by the law."
"...I insist that they abide by the law." Me, too, Carlos. Actually, I expect that from everyone, Carlos. Everyone.
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There is only one real stupid person in this case: the President.
By commenting on a case he knew nothing about, he became the fool.
It's almost as bad as passing 1000 page bills no one read. This government is pathetic to say the least. There is a total lack of intelligence and leadership.
It's an obvious divide between the dominant group and the marginalized group.
Although it is great the debate has sparked the nation's interest; it seems as if both sides are as arrogant as the cop and the civilian.
Both sides were wrong: 1) Gates for being immature (no law against that but just generally being a jerk); and 2) cop lost all legitamacy using his badge to solve a pi##### contest.
In my opinion the cop was not arresting him for being black but for being a jerk and used a trumped up charge--thereby abusing his authority on a black person and here is where the assumption of racism may be--the cop assumed no one would care because it was a black man--boy was he wrong.
i just want to say that this has been bothering me to no end. this should no way shape or form be a race matter. if the police ask you for your id you give it to them. when the police are responding to this burglary call not only should Gates have shown his id when asked the first time but he should have been happy that their are people in his community that are watching over each other and call the police when something doesnt seem right. I mean what do you think is going to happen when you give the police a hard time when they are investigating a potential felony? This shouldnt be a race issue or a law issue for that matter. The police where right.
The president is new to this job and made a mistake in judgment. He isn't the first and won't be the last. He just has to remember that his words now resonate with the power of a Howitzer, for better or for worse. He's a cool guy and he handled the aftermath well. Rush is a nationally syndicated a-hole who couldn't shut up with visegrips on his lips and I usually vote conservatively. Let's get off this crap and back on onto something constructive.
Wow!! I never thought that this will be such a big news. It went from Gates arrest to Obama apalogy. This has become more interesting than what I thought. So, I collected all the sites or articles (more than 250 sites or articles) related to this hot topic "Cambridge Police Unit Demands Apology from Obama". If you are interested take a look at news, video coverage, people views and reviews on this topic at the below link.
http://markthispage.blogspot.com/2009/07/all-about-cambridge-police-unit-demands.html
You have to understand that our police officers are in the line of fire everyday and don't know what a person will do when they get angry. Mr Gates should have gotten his ID and be done. He should have respected the police officer regardless of his race. He should be glad that someone was looking out for his place. What if it had been an intruder?
There is an unspoken problem in the US today. Reverse racism. I have had this happen to me. Don't get me wrong...I do believe racism still occurs. I have some in my own family that have tendencies towards that. But I wasn't brought up like that personally. I am a pharmacist and I was filling 2 prescriptions for a black lady and there was a drug interaction. I chose to call the Dr. The Dr. who wrote the RX wasn't available and the Dr on call agreed w/me and told me to hold one of the RXs. She was so angry w/me that she called my boss, my home office and told them I was racist! This went on for months. It was embarrasing.
However, the moral is that I think we both should learn from this. I think some black people are sensitive and think everything is b/c they are black. It is probably b/c of their upbringing. I also think there are white people who are racist.I believe that is HORRIBLE--we all came from Africa. It has been proven. BUT a black person should not ASSUME someone is racist b/c they are doing their job. They should respect the police unless they cross the line. The police have a dangerous job and I do not believe they crossed the line in this instance. They have the right to ask for ID. He should get it and the matter would have been done with.
Exactly. Reverse racism does exist. I was driving a friend's Corvette and was pulled over by a black officer. He said I did not stop -- not only DID I stop, I actually waited for another vehicle at the intersection to my right to get through the intersection. Lucky for me, another officer shows up. I was pleasant but asked the black officer if he saw the car to my right? After about five minutes, he admitted, "OK, MAYBE you did stop". Yeah.
Did I throw a temper tantrum? Call him a racist? Tell him he is using his authority to keep the white man down? No.
Carlos,
I think it is you that is out of touch with human rights or reality. In your crazy liberal state of mind I don't expect you to know what you're talking about. The fact is that a "BLACK" officer who was on the scene clearly stated that race was not involved. And that had Gates simply stayed inside of his home and not followed the officer outside he would not have been arrested. Also on your porch yelling disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace. What if I was blasting my music on my back deck and someone called the police and I just turned up the music and laughed in the cops face..what would have happend? I would have been arrested not based on my race..simply because I was being disorderly. The officer did nothing wrong as long period...which is backed up by his boss and everyone else in the police department. So all you liberals who simply want to complain about issues such as race can get over it there's nothing here but an over reacting outspoken professor who thinks he can say whatever he wants to police.
Bad move by the President - he should not have interfered. Because of his position's power he cannot come down on either side, even if it's a member of his family. What puzzles me is the person who called the police about a possible break-in would've had to be right across the street to see it - one of the professor's neighbors. It was broad daylight, didn't they recognize him as the home-owner? My neighbor's all know me by sight as I do them. The police showed up at his house due to that call and it was established he was the owner. But police are required to conduct a complete investigation or be held liable. They can't just walk away. There are forms to be filled out with information from the owner, identities to be checked, etc. After a long trip maybe the professor was tired and cranky and irritated he couldn't get into the house. It sounds like he lost it and mouthed off to the police. To prevent escalation they had to restrain him, they aren't mind readers. The white cop didn't enslave the professor's ancestors - don't take 300 years of rage out on him. At some point blacks in this country need to put slavery and discrimination woes behind them, see them recede in the rearview mirror. We can move forward on this subject together, but not with that huge chip on the shoulder.
Open Letter to President Obama,
I’m a teacher who voted for you, donated money to your campaign, supported your campaign through a sign in my yard, bumper stickers on our family cars, blogging, handing out Obama stickers, making calls, and recruiting as many Obama voters as possible amongst my friends and family members. I don’t know if I will be able to do any of this next time.
I supported you because I thought you would lead the country to a post-racial future. I guess I was wrong.
By your words, and even some of your follow-up comments, you not only have made every cops job harder, you have also made every teachers job harder. From now on, if I approach an incident on campus and ask an African-American student questions, that student now has permission from you to go into a temper tantrum like the “distinguished” Dr. Gates.
When I approach students to do a mild investigation of a possible transgression, they understand that I have a job to do and they politely and respectfully answer my questions. If a student acts defiant and refuses to cooperate, then I have a whole new problem on my hands. If I allow that student to act that way, without consequences, from that point onward I will have a very difficult time with the entire class, not just in terms of discipline, but also in terms of getting the students through the high academic rigor that I need to.
A Teacher
There is a question here that has not been answered and that is why pass any judgment on who is right or wrong before all the evidence is in?
President Obama should refrain from making any comments that can be taken as judgemental, before he has viewed the evidence from all angles. Otherwise he can be accused of being prejudiced and that is no way for him to re-act, under the circumstances.
All of this tells me that we live in a police society (I left Communism, I know what I am talking about). The arogance of a police in this country is out of control.
Nice to see that the majority of the last dozen commenters are using some common sense. The blasting loud music analogy is a good one too. I've been up in MA the whole time this has gone on and I don't know one person, black, latin, or white who thinks the cop did anything wrong. Gates cries racism but uses reverse racism himself. He became disorderly and, after being warned that his actions could lead to his arrest, continued on his rant and left the officer with no alternative but to arrest him. The tapes from the officer's calls to dispatch should be interesting to hear if they are made available to the public.
The President's apology speech was 95% good. He almost had a winner but then had to comment that he feels he should be able to publicly state his opinion on issues such as this one. That I where I feel he is wrong. I also hope that when he said that racism is clearly still something that is a hard topic in this country that he wasn't alluding to white people being racist towards black people. The door swings both ways.
Blind Mind,
Why are you taking the cop's side of the story as the truth?
Gates is claiming he wasn't ranting and insists he could hardly speak because he had lost his voice.
And what exactly do you mean by "he became disorderly"?
In the legal sense in Massachusetts, he would have had to been disturbing the public for a disorderly conduct charge to stick.
So even if he was ranting and raving, that is not necessarily grounds for arrest.
What may be ranting and raving to you or to the cop, may very well be protected speech.
I do think the claims of racism are baseless. And I do think the prof is probably used to getting his ass kissed and maybe getting in a huff when people don't do it.
But I still don't see any valid grounds for arresting him.
And why are you taking gates' side as the truth, miller?
oh, that's right.
Pete,
I didn't say I was.
It's my experience with these types of incidents that the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.
But even if he was ranting and raving, I still don't see any grounds for arrest. And I have yet to see a single blawger (attorney blogger) who disagrees with me.
Even a cop blogger admits that this was mostly a contempt of cop arrest, not necessarily a legal arrest.
http://law-chronicles.blogspot.com/2009/07/dont-tread-on-me.html
pete,
If you read my post, you would see where I say I believe the claims of racism are baseless, therefore I am not taking Gates' side of the story as truth.
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