The arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Just when we think racism may be on it’s way out in this country, it seems like it has to raise it’s ugly head. With the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. by Cambridge, Massachusetts police Sergeant James Crowley, it appears it has done just that. Gates is evidently a well known scholar from Harvard University and a friend of President Obama. Personally, this news story represents the first time I have ever heard of him, but that just tells you what circles I do not get around in. Sergeant Crowley is a well respected officer who has been teaching recruits at the police academy for the last five years. Incidentally, he was asked to teach a racial profiling course at the academy by an African-American police commissioner.
Gates was arriving home last week from a trip to China and for some reason, had to pry open the door to his home. That action was witnessed by someone and reported to the police, resulting in Sergeant Crowley responding to the call to check out the situation. The police report says Crowley asked him to step outside because he was investigating a possible break-in, Gates opened the door and said “Why, because I’m a black man in America?” One thing led to another and Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct.
It didn’t take long for Gates to start declaring the arrest had racial undertones, claiming the only reason he was arrested was
because he was a black man. Those are his words, not mine. Even though the charges have been dropped, he is making sure the incident is staying in the news and may very well be considering legal action. For his part, Sergeant Crowley is saying the arrest had nothing to do with the color of Mr. Gates’ skin and everything to do with the way he was acting. His partner during the arrest, Sergeant Leon Lashley, is backing him up and he is African-American as well. From The Associated Press:
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.”
As if this incident didn’t stir up enough trouble to start with, President Obama stepped into the fray and said the arresting officer “acted stupidly” by arresting Gates. That really got things stirred up and the President had to call Sergeant Crowley today and try to calm things down. Not to jump on Obama’s back, but he probably spoke before he gave the situation much thought. For once, his control over his emotions may have cracked.
To be honest, the only people that really know what happened that night are the people who were involved in it. So far, Crowley has been corroborated and Gates has not. Maybe Sergeant Lashley is right and Gates was just been tired and worn out and may have overreacted. From where I am sitting, it seems odd that the first thing coming out of Gates’ mouth is something about racism in America. It makes me wonder what he really thinks of white Americans. He was very quick to claim to be a victim, but his actions give me pause to wonder if he isn’t a perpetrator of racism, rather than a victim.
Professor Gates has gone about this all wrong. Crying racism where it doesn’t exist is like crying wolf when a wolf cannot be found. This damages race relations because the next time a valid incident takes place, most of the public won’t believe the charges.
Of course, Al Sharpton has weighed in with as little information as Barack Obama had when he uttered the unfortunate words that the police acted stupidly. Sharpton’s reputation as a race divider is legendary (Google Tawana Brawley) while Obama’s position is simply curious. Why did he step into a local debate?
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Larry, Good call on that one!
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Both men OVERREACTED. Sgt Lashley said in interview with Anderson Cooper 360 that if Lashley had been on the scene first Gates probably would NOT have been arrested.
However we must remember Sgt Crowley went into house ALONE with Gates. We have no idea what was said unless the Cambridge Police choose to release the radio tapes since Crowley claims he radioed inside Gates home.
Do I believe that Sgt Crowley was frustrated by Gates initial refusal to produce ID… yes.. But something must have happened AFTER GATES produced 2 Photo IDS.. one was a MAS D/L with his picture & address and other was Harvard ID with his picture and address. Perhaps Sgt Crowley did not like being talked down to by an intelligent Black Man ? Why once Sgt Crowley had seen both ID’s did Crowley then NOT excuse himself and leave? Why was Gates continued to be treated as a suspect in his own Home?
These are questions Sgt Crowley has NOT answered yet… perhaps Sgt Crowley needs some REFRESHER RETRAINING when dealing wi th people… Since Gates is legal in his own house Why is it not legal fro Gates to ask to see Sgt Crowley’s ID? In these days of Identity theft & home invasion who is to say that Sgt Crowley was legit? Sgt Crowley arrived in an UNMARKED POLICE CAR !!!
Are any of you thinking that perhaps Sgt Crowley could have looked suspicious to Gates????
Since that Property is Harvard University Property .. Gates is used to dealing with Harvard University Police … why were no Harvard University Police on the scene when Sgt Crowley goes in there?
Harvard University has its own Police Department & Criminal Investigation unit.. I believe they would have also had staff who instantly recognized who Professor Gates was….
Thats my 2 cents… I am retired Law Enforcement and a BU alumni…I have lived in both Boston and Cambridge..
First of all, thanks for taking time to comment, WoodinVirginia.
From what I understand, the Harvard University Police were not called, thus explaining why the Cambridge Police responded to the call. That would explain Sgt. Crowley’s presence on the scene. As for Sgt. Crowley needing to show identification, was he not in uniform? Unmarked police cars are not uncommon, even here in Oklahoma and Arkansas. I don’t see the problem with that. It’s a bit of a stretch to say Gates may have had a legitimate concern as to Sgt. Crowley’s actually being a police officer.
Well, the tapes have been released and I haven’t heard anything remotely racial towards Gate yet. However, in this youtube video, Gates has much to say.
http://www.youtube.com/lmtcgrad?gl=GB&hl=en-GB
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Gates is a brilliant scholar and most definitely not a radical racial firebrand (I’m sure his white wife would corroborate that). I certainly agree that he overreacted and if I had to lay blame based on the facts I’ve heard I’d put 60% with Gates and 40% with Crowley. That said, it’s Crowley’s job to understand how to handle this type of situation. He has certainly faced much more difficult situations in his police career and it strikes me that he handled this one badly. A guy whose reaction is “a little bit stranger than it should have been” is not acting in a way an experienced cop should have difficulty handling. Obama’s initial reaction was inexcusable and reflected terribly on his judgement; but he managed a decent recovery with the “beer.” I’d give them all a grade of C- on the incident.
The youtube clip of Gates is a terrible misrepresentation created by cherry-picking snippets from a longer speech. I’m willing to lay a significant wager that if you saw the entirety of that speech you would come away with a completely different impression of the man than the 3 minute clip gives us.
I haven’t seen the YouTube clip of Gates yet, but I would wager you are right. It’s hard to get an accurate feel for what anyone is like from a 3 minute clip. The same kind of tactic was used against Mike Huckabee to misrepresent his stand on higher taxes.
Mike – I totally disagree with you. After the release of the tapes, I would lay the complete blame on Gates. His behavior was way off and disrespectful. In addition, with the danger our officers endure on a daily basis, Gates behavior was not just inappropriate but alarming. In addition, it is illegal in Cambridge to create a situation where creates a disorderly situation even on their own property. Not allowed to do that. Add to all that, and Crowley”s Black partner backs him up 100%. That says a lot to me.
As for the video, you would never find me on video saying what Gates said nor would you ever catch me using the N word. That is not my world view and I think you can make a safe assumption of what his worldview is. He is very clear that “white” people have prevented the Black people from achieving. THAT is racial in an of itself.
This whole thing is so sad to me. In the 21st century and we still have people yelling “racism.”
Here is an article by a black man and his point of view is great. He sees both sides and puts this into perspective.
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jphillips/2009/07/27/other-than-that-professor-gates-how-was-your-trip/
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Starting to wonder about just what did Crowley see..or what he “intepreted” ???
After hearing the Tapes Now why does Crowley say in his Police report that ot was reported as 2 Black men with Backpacks if the lady said that it was one Hispanic man & one man she could NOT see!
The other revelation. Sgt Leon Lashley on Anderson Cooper 360 said that even though he back Crowley’s decision; he probably would have handled the situation differently and Gates probably would NOT ; you heard me would NOT have been arrested. It was also Lashley who insisted that the cuffs on Gates be moved to the front because Gates Walks with a cane. Crowley & the others had Gates cuffed from the rear at first. The picture you see in the media is the second time Gates
is drug through the door Not the first time!
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0907/24/acd.01.html
So just what version does the Media want to put out? …
Thanks for commenting, Chester.
From the reports I have seen, it appears the woman who originally witnessed the possible break in was an elderly woman. She evidently let her concerns be made known to another woman, who made the actual 911 call. By the time Sgt. Crowley received the information, it had gone through at least three different people. All he knew was that there was a possible burglary in progress and he responded accordingly. If Professor Gates responded as we have been told, by becoming angry and uncooperative as soon as he was asked for identification, then what conclusion was Sgt. Crowley supposed to come to?
The entire incident was unfortunate, but as Mike stated above, most of the blame rests on Gates. All he had to do was cooperate, show ID and explain the situation and it would have been over. He chose not to do that and then wants to complain about how he was treated.
Larry ; Surely you have got to have blinders on or Not know that in New England Area “impersonating a Police Officer” is a fairly “common occurrence” suggest you Google it & here are 3 instances in just the month of July 2009…
http://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-hartford-man-impersonates-officer-0728,0,6825157.story
http://www.projo.com/news/content/ex_cop_arrested_07-29-09_GGF74LF_v25.38ae66d.html
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/06/man_allegedly_p.html
People have to have their guard up for Home INVASIONS too.. just because a guy shows up in some kind of uniform doesn’t mean a thing in big cities.. Cambridge is part of the Boston Metropolis.. People pull scams all the time. Google Home Invasion while your at it. In this area it is very rare for a single police officer to show up, they generally travel in pairs. When they do show up solo they should be traveling in a marked police car . I agree with WoodinVirginia; Gates could have and should have been suspicious of Crowley if he didn’t or wouldn’t produce ID..
Chester,
Thanks for taking time to comment.
I was under the impression that Sergeant Crowley was not alone, ie. had a partner with him. Is that not the case?
I wonder if Professor Gates had questions about Crowley’s identity or did he just not like being questioned by a police officer in his own home? I believe there are a lot of unanswered questions in this situation.
Crowley didn’t have a partner with him, he showed up on that front porch alone, Other officers arrived later because they arrives with the other Sgt Lashley who sent them into the house.
Colin Powell said last night on Larry King Live that an Adult supervisor should have intervened & taken the cuffs off Gates and not escalated the situation any further..Ask any Police officer when is it alright to go into a Braking and entering when you suspect that it is 2 people involved and you are the first one on the scene….you don’t any rookie knows to wait for backup. Why didn’t Sgt Cowboy wait for backup?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/29/gates.arrest/index.html
So where are the 2 blacks with backpacks that Sgt Cowboy made up in his police report.. Here is the callers account to CNN she did not speak to Sgt Crowley.. she spoke to dispatch. Sgt Crowley appears to making up part of his filed and sworn police report…..