Police responding to a call about "two black males" breaking into a home near Harvard University ended up arresting the man who lives there - Henry Louis Gates Jr., the nation's pre-eminent black scholar.
Gates had forced his way through the front door because it was jammed, his lawyer said. Colleagues call the arrest last Thursday afternoon a clear case of racial profiling.
Cambridge police say they responded to the well-maintained two-story home after a woman reported seeing "two black males with backpacks on the porch," with one "wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry."
By the time police arrived, Gates was already inside. Police say he refused to come outside to speak with an officer, who told him he was investigating a report of a break-in.
"Why, because I'm a black man in America?" Gates said, according to a police report.
Gates - the director of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research - initially refused to show the officer his identification, but then gave him a Harvard University ID card, according to police.
"Gates continued to yell at me, accusing me of racial bias and continued to tell me that I had not heard the last of him," the officer wrote.
He was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge after police said he "exhibited loud and tumultuous behavior." He was released later that day on his own recognizance. An arraignment was scheduled for Aug. 26. Police refused to comment on the arrest Monday.
Gates, 58, also refused to speak publicly Monday, referring calls to his attorney, fellow Harvard scholar Charles Ogletree.
Ogletree said Gates gave the officer his driver's license and Harvard identification, but became upset when the officer continued to question him.
"He was shocked to find himself being questioned and shocked that the conversation continued after he showed his identification," Ogletree said.
Ogletree declined to say whether he believed the incident was racially motivated, saying "I think the incident speaks for itself."
Some of Gates' African-American colleagues say the arrest is part of a pattern of racial profiling in Cambridge.
Allen Counter, who has taught neuroscience at Harvard for 25 years, said he was stopped on campus by two Harvard police officers in 2004 after being mistaken for a robbery suspect. They threatened to arrest him when he could not produce identification.
"We do not believe that this arrest would have happened if professor Gates was white," Counter said. "It really has been very unsettling for African-Americans throughout Harvard and throughout Cambridge that this happened."
Ogletree said Gates had returned from a trip to China on Thursday with a driver, when he found his front door jammed. He went through the back door into the home - which he leases from Harvard - shut off an alarm and worked with the driver to get the door open. The driver left, and Gates was on the phone with the property's management company when police first arrived.
Ogletree also disputed the claim that Gates, who was wearing slacks and a polo shirt and carrying a cane, was yelling at the officer.
"He has an infection that has impacted his breathing since he came back from China, so he's been in a very delicate physical state," Ogletree said.
Lawrence D. Bobo, the W.E.B Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard, said he met with Gates at the police station and described his colleague as feeling humiliated and "emotionally devastated."
"It's just deeply disappointing but also a pointed reminder that there are serious problems that we have to wrestle with," he said.
Bobo said he hoped Cambridge police would drop the charges and called on the department to use the incident to review training and screening procedures it has in place.
The Middlesex district attorney's office said it could not do so until after Gates' arraignment. The woman who reported the apparent break-in did not return a message Monday.
Gates joined the Harvard faculty in 1991 and holds one of 20 prestigious "university professors" positions at the school. He also was host of "African American Lives," a PBS show about the family histories of prominent U.S. blacks, and was named by Time magazine as one of the 25 most influential Americans in 1997.
If anyone is interested in the police account of the incident, here is a PDF of the two incident reports. One is by the officer who talked to Gates. The other is by the backup officer who was standing outside. Apparently, Gates's shouting at the police attracted about seven witnesses to the professor's meltdown.
Cambridge officials announced today in a joint press release that a disorderly conduct charge against Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. will be dropped.
Gates was arrested last week at his home in an incident that has stoked claims of police racism.
The statement, issued by the city and Cambridge police, describes the July 16 arrest of Gates as “regrettable and unfortunate.” It states that the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office has agreed to enter a nolle prosequi in this matter, which stands for not to pursue.
“This incident should not be viewed as one that demeans the character and reputation of Professor Gates or the character of the Cambridge Police Department. All parties agree that this is a just resolution to an unfortunate set of circumstances,” the statement read.
Last week, a witness, 40-year-old Lucia Whalen of Malden, had alerted the cops that a man was wedging his shoulder into the front door at Gates house as to pry the door open, police reported.
A law enforcement source said Gates apparently had locked himself out. When Sgt. James Crowley arrived, he said Gates already was inside. But when he was asked to provide identification, Gates allegedly snapped, “No, I will not,” according to a police report.
Police said Gates front-porch tirade about racism alarmed passers-by drawn to the uproar outside his Cambridge home.
As Crowley tried to question him, police said Gates bellowed, “This is what happens to black men in America!”
Crowley claimed in his report he tried to calm Gates, but wrote that Gates shouted, “You don’t know who your (sic) messing with!”
After calling Crowley a racist, according to police reports, the professor was charged with disorderly conduct and released for a $40 fee.
Who were the two guys who tried to break into his house? Anyone know?
They were Gates himself, who had apparently locked himself out, and his taxi driver from the airport, who helped force the door open. Like the witness said, two Black guys breaking in, and Gates matched the description to a "T". (It really was he who broke in, after all.)
Someone will probably suggest that from now on, the Cambridge police, if called to a burglary in progress and finding breakers matching the witness' description, should ask if they are residents. If the breakers say "yes," then the police should take their word for it and leave without demanding ID.
This case is stupid, dude should have showed his ID, that is not racist.
The thing is he showed his driver's license AND his Harvard ID. At that point the police officer should have tipped his cap and left. What is the point of arresting someone for acting disorderly in their own living room?
The thing is he showed his driver's license AND his Harvard ID. At that point the police officer should have tipped his cap and left. What is the point of arresting someone for acting disorderly in their own living room?
He was not arrested in his home. He was in the street. Read the two officers' reports. According to both officers' reports, when Gates finally showed his ID the investigating officer did precisely that (tipped his cap and left).
But then Gates followed him outside and began shouting at the police. Once outside in the street, he became increasingly agitated and loud, causing police and citizens to become alarmed. Only then, and after several warnings, was he arrested for disturbing the peace. The police could still have walked away despite his conduct, but I can see their side of it as well. I guess it comes down to judgement and maturity. What do you do if someone is publicly screaming to a gathering crowd that you are a racist oppressor, when in fact all you were trying to do was investigate a reported burglary?
Since he was in fact the person seen breaking in, had I been the officer, I would have arrested him for obstruction the moment that he refused to identify himself.
The thing is he showed his driver's license AND his Harvard ID. At that point the police officer should have tipped his cap and left. What is the point of arresting someone for acting disorderly in their own living room?
He was not arrested in his home. He was in the street. Read the two officers' reports. According to both officers' reports, when Gates finally showed his ID the investigating officer did precisely that (tipped his cap and left).
But then Gates followed him outside and began shouting at the police. Once outside in the street, he became increasingly agitated and loud, causing police and citizens to become alarmed. Only then, and after several warnings, was he arrested for disturbing the peace. The police could still have walked away despite his conduct, but I can see their side of it as well. I guess it comes down to judgement and maturity. What do you do if someone is publicly screaming to a gathering crowd that you are a racist oppressor, when in fact all you were trying to do was investigate a reported burglary?
Since he was in fact the person seen breaking in, had I been the officer, I would have arrested him for obstruction the moment that he refused to identify himself.
Actually the officer was inside the house and asked Gates to go outside because of the acoustics of the kitchen and teh foyer made it hard for him to talk on his radio (the officer made the incident a public spectacle by asking him to go outside). By this time an irate (for whatever reason) gates and already been identified as the owner of the house. According to the report gates was on his porch and not on the street. So we have an older bespecled man with a cane, luggage and harvard ID. The officer should have just left.
My observations:
1. When gates arrived at home he found that his front door was stuck he went around to the back door, opened it, turned off the alarm and then asked the taxi driver to help him open the front door. I'm not too familiar with the Cambridge area but it seems that it must be extremely close to the university if not on university gounds, especially since the police officer called university police. gates is not new to the area and I assume his neighbours know him. As far as gates knew, he came home from a trip and had trouble opening his front door. All of the sudden a police officer showed up and demanded that he to identify himslef as he is standing inside his own house. This would piss off many people but to someone who is hypersensitive to police misconduct it amounts to a slap in the face.
2. Gates identified himself before the officer even entered the house and the officer even acknowledged that gates belonged there before he was shown his ID.
3. It is not illegal to be upset or yell, even at a police officer. I highly doubt the officer felt he or the general public was in danger from an old man with a cane. Many black men have been abused (verbally or by action) by police officers. I once read a passage in a book by Studds Terkel (Race I think) that when police arrive many whites tend to be relieved while blacks tend to get on guard for the eventual harrassment
4. I suspect the lady who called the police may have interjected her own opinions of the "suspects" which may have influenced the officer's attitude and/or actions.
5. I read another article where gates was being interviewed from his Martha's Vineyard home. Even if one had never heard of Skip Gates, that fact alone should tell you he is an accomplished man and probably not accustomed to being treated like a common street thug.
6. In all I think Gates could have handled himself better. But he doesn't and shouldn't have to be on his best Sunday behaviour while standing in his own home.
7. I also think that the actions of the cop showed poor judgement, especially in light of the fact that the charges were dropped. One thing is is true: he did not know who he was messing with and he has not heard the end of it.
Joined: 07 Feb 2007 {Posts: 1829 } Location: Lookin DC Metro, Feelin Geneva
Posted: Thu 23 Jul 2009 13:07 Post subject:
The more I look at this the more suspect it is. At first I thought it was clear Gates was in the wrong, now I don't think so, not really.
I watch America's funniest videos some time and I have seen videos of people getting tickets screaming and yelling at cops, cursing and they don't get arrested, usually just a ticket or nothing at all.
I even saw a video of a woman who had a meltdown, got out of her car and threw the ticket at a high way patrolman because she thought the speeding ticket was too expensive, I assume that is "assault", he just gave her another fine for cursing and left.
I see it all the time, people yelling and making a scene in the street, cops all around and no one get's arrested.
I've even called the cops myself when there are situations when people are being very disturbing in my neighborhood and the cops just talk to the person or just do nothing much about it.
I strongly believe if it was an older white woman she would not have been treated like that. (an I too have seen police video shows where the cop is verbally assaulted) and the person doesn't get arrested.
Actually the officer was inside the house and asked Gates to go outside because of the acoustics of the kitchen and teh foyer made it hard for him to talk on his radio (the officer made the incident a public spectacle by asking him to go outside). By this time an irate (for whatever reason) gates and already been identified as the owner of the house. According to the report gates was on his porch and not on the street. So we have an older bespecled man with a cane, luggage and harvard ID. The officer should have just left.
According to the pdf file of the officer's report Gates was asked to talk with the officer outside after Gates demanded to know his name. The officer gave it, but Gates incensed and yelling either didn't hear or didn't care to.
The radio call was made from within the house.
At the time of the officer's arrival Gates was bespecled, but he wasn’t holding any luggage.
anonymouse wrote:
1. When gates arrived at home he found that his front door was stuck he went around to the back door, opened it, turned off the alarm and then asked the taxi driver to help him open the front door. I'm not too familiar with the Cambridge area but it seems that it must be extremely close to the university if not on university gounds, especially since the police officer called university police. gates is not new to the area and I assume his neighbours know him. As far as gates knew, he came home from a trip and had trouble opening his front door. All of the sudden a police officer showed up and demanded that he to identify himslef as he is standing inside his own house. This would piss off many people but to someone who is hypersensitive to police misconduct it amounts to a slap in the face.
2. Gates identified himself before the officer even entered the house and the officer even acknowledged that gates belonged there before he was shown his ID.
This isn't entirely accurate based on the pdf of the police report. Gates was resistant to identifying himself to the police officer, even after the police officer explained his reasons for being there and declared the officer racist for asking to identify himself.
From Officer Sgt. Carlos Figueroa's report who was also at the scene:
Quote:
Narrative
On July 16, 2009 at approximately 12:44 PM, I Officer Figuaroa #509 responded to an ECC broadcast for a possible break at __ Ware St. When I arrived, I stepped into the residence and Sgt. Crowley had already entered and was speaking to a black male.
As I stepped in, I heard Sgt. Crowley ask for the gentleman’s information which he stated “NO I WILL NOT!” The gentleman was shouting out to the Sgt. that the Sgt. was a racist and yelled that “THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO BLACK MEN IN America!” As the Sgt. was trying to calm the gentleman, the gentleman shouted “You don’t know who your messing with!”
I stepped out to the gather the information from the reporting person, WHALEN, LUCIA. Ms. Whalen stated to me that she saw a man wedging hi shoulder into the front door as to pry the door open. As I returned to the residence, a group of onlookers were now on scene. The Sgt., along with the gentleman, were now on the porch of __ Ware Street and again he was shouting, now to the onlookers (about seven), “THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO BLACK MEN IN AMERICA!” The gentleman refused to listen to as to why the Cambridge Police were there. While on the porch, the gentleman refused to be cooperative and continued shouting that the Sgt. is racist police officer.
anonymouse wrote:
4. I suspect the lady who called the police may have interjected her own opinions of the "suspects" which may have influenced the officer's attitude and/or actions.
Maybe or it is possible the woman simply describe them as two black males with backpacks.
anonymouse wrote:
5. I read another article where gates was being interviewed from his Martha's Vineyard home. Even if one had never heard of Skip Gates, that fact alone should tell you he is an accomplished man and probably not accustomed to being treated like a common street thug.
No doubt this is how Gates sees it, and how was the police officer to know that “Skip” Gates has a home in Martha’s Vineyard?
Assuming the police report is true, Gates raised the stakes initially by refusing to furnish ID, hurling the charge of racist at the officer for responding to a breaking and entering call, and calling his attorney in front of the officer.
anonymouse wrote:
6. In all I think Gates could have handled himself better. But he doesn't and shouldn't have to be on his best Sunday behaviour while standing in his own home.
Being upset is one thing, being hysterical, refusing a simple request, and accusing an officer of racism is much more than not being on one’s best Sunday behavior.
anonymouse wrote:
7. I also think that the actions of the cop showed poor judgement, especially in light of the fact that the charges were dropped. One thing is is true: he did not know who he was messing with and he has not heard the end of it.
Poor judgement on both their parts, but I doubt we will get full, truthful disclosure of Gates’s own behavior. The die is cast and the narrative is set. This event, or Gates’s version of the event, will resonate with many because it confirms their beliefs that (white) police officers are incorrigibly racist, and ANY black man-even a Harvard professor-can be treated badly for simply being in his own house. Since cases of racially-motivated police misconduct do happen to people who are simply minding their own business, this must be clearly one of those cases.
From what I understand, the police report is no longer available for viewing on line, so we are left with Gates’s accounts of what happened, which will be accepted as gospel truth. We will be exposed to one-sided media saturation, which won’t mention Gates’s own behavior. No doubt some will proclaim him the 21st Century’s Rodney King in the age of Obama. Maybe when the smoke clears he'll get a book deal and a PBS special out of this.
Last edited by G-Man on Thu 23 Jul 2009 14:56; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 02 May 2006 {Posts: 444 } Location: Île-de-France
Posted: Thu 23 Jul 2009 14:50 Post subject:
The only racism I see in any of this is the original call to police. Based on my own experience and judgment, I think it is less likely that the cops would have been called if it was an older "white" man jimmying the door. I think the cops actions once he got there are perfectly in line with normal treatment of citizens by cops in the US. Where I grew up, you start yelling and screaming at the cops, you are very likely to get arrested, whatever your appearance.
When my younger brother was in college, he came home drunk one night, realized he lost his key, and broke his own door in. He crawled into bed, but was woken up 10 minutes later by flashlights and calls of "police." He awoke to find four officers in his room with guns drawn. His downstairs neighbors had heard someone break in the door and called them. When my brother said he lived there, they demanded ID. Since his drivers license had my parents address, they then demanded a copy of a lease or a utility bill to match up the name. My brother-even though stumbling drunk-was apologetic the whole time, and after he proved he belonged there they told him to call his landlord in the morning and left. I have no doubt if he would have been belligerent or argued with them for any reason, he would have been going to jail.
I may be totally wrong, but I think Professor Gates likes the attention. I don't know if he reacted to the cops in a manner consistent with his world view and mentality at the time or if he actually thought about how he could manipulate the situation when the cop showed up. He has already got an apology from the Mayor and had Obama comment on it calling the cops behavior stupid, if I recall, so I think that in all the incident is already a net positive for him.
Maybe when the smoke clears he'll get a book deal and a PBS special out of this.
I saw a local news broadcast yesterday about the Gates incident. I believe it was noted that Gates might do a documentary on racial profiling in the future.
Responding to a burglary call the officer arrives on the scene, speaks with the initiator of the call who identifies the suspect. Officer approaches the house, sees someone inside of the house and requests that the person identify himself. Th suspect angrily replies in an imperious tone and initially balks. The suspect's tone leads the officer to believe the suspect is a legal resident of the premises but again requests identification as confirmation. identification is provided and determined to be valid. The suspect turned resident continues to shoot his mouth off so the officer invites him to come outside. Resident complies but keeps on talking smack so officer decides to arrest him
Gates' perspective
After getting in from a long trip he found that his front door was stuck. He went in the back door and then asked the driver to help him with the front door. Next thing he knows a police officer is outside of his house asking who he was and demanding his identification (remember Gates had no way of knowing the police had been called). So when the officer asked him to identify himself he responded no. but after thinking the better of it he showed his driver's license as well as his Harvard ID, whilst making a telephone call to his lawyer. Keeping in mind that a man's home is his castle he felt confident that he could say what he liked as long as he did not threaten the officer. He is mistaken.
observations: There was no mention made of the taxi driver so one must assume he had already left by the time the officer arrived. Yet the caller greeted the officer as he arrived so she must have witnessed the second "burglar" leave. Now I am not a burglary expert but I would gather that the getaway man usually doesn't leave BEFORE the burglary is over. Additionally burglars normally remove objects from houses and are not in the habit of delivering full bags to the house they are breaking into. The only person I know who does that is Santa Claws . The caller surely noticed this but evidently made no effort to tell the responding officer.
If the caller was his neighbour, surely she knew Gates or at least knew that a black person lived on the block.
I do believe that gates could have reacted better but that is not the issue here. This case, IMHO, is not about racism but racial sensitivity or in this case racial insensitivity. To someone who probably has been harassed by the police in the past while in the public it must have been the straw that broke the camel's back to have it happen in his own home. And I suspect Gates is not the only black man in America who would become enraged by being questioned by police while standing in his own home.
BTW: this is 2nd time I've read that the Sgt. invloved is an expert on racial profiling and was hired by the Black Commissioner to train cops on anti-profiling measures....
The academic blogs are alive about this-- half the communities are accusing Gates of "pulling the race card" or using a situation to further an agenda, and the other half is pointing the unfairness of the situation.
Quite frankly, you can yell anything you like at an officer-- as long as you're not inciting a riot, threatening bodliy harm, or interfering with an ongoing ivestistgation (and that rises to a level of INTERFERENCE--ie, you're blocking them from getting to a crime scene, etc.)
Local laws vary (In NY it is agaginst some local laws to tie a girafee to a phone pole... No, I'm not kidding...) but usually a "disturabnce" or "tumultuous behavior" will rise to a level where it shocks the conscience-- the person is phyically swiping at the officers, spitting on them, or throewing things.
Because I usually avoid being arrested, my usual tactic is to speak slowly and comly. I keep my hands where they can be seen. I explain that I have a JD. I also (if my son, w/ a disability) is in the car and has his SmartPen with him, explain that an Assistive Technology device used by a PWD (Person with a Disability) is acivated, and is recording every word.
Darn. They get so damned nice when their actual words are being recorded by what the Federal Rules of Evidence consider to be above reproach.
CHICAGO — Ralph Medley, a retired professor of philosophy and English who is black, remembers the day he was arrested on his own property, a rental building here in Hyde Park where he was doing some repair work for tenants.
A concerned neighbor had called the police to report a suspicious character. And that was not the first time Mr. Medley said he had been wrongly apprehended. A call Mr. Medley placed to 911 several years ago about a burglary resulted with the police showing up to frisk him.
“But I’m the one who called you!” he said he remembers pleading with the officers.
Like countless other blacks around the country, Mr. Medley was revisiting his encounters with the police as a national discussion about race and law enforcement unfolded after the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr., Harvard’s prominent scholar of African-American history. Professor Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct July 16 at his home in Cambridge, Mass., as the police investigated a report of a possible break-in there. The charge was later dropped, and the Cambridge Police Department said the incident was “regrettable and unfortunate.”
In interviews here and in Atlanta, in Web postings and on television talk shows, blacks and others said that what happened to Professor Gates was a common, if unacknowledged, reality for many people of color. They also said that beyond race, the ego of the police officer probably played a role.
But more deeply, many said that the incident was a disappointing reminder that for all the racial progress the country seemed to have made with the election of President Obama, little had changed in the everyday lives of most people in terms of race relations.
“No matter how much education you have as a person of color, you still can’t escape institutional racism,” said Keith E. Horton, a sports and entertainment lawyer in Chicago who is black. “That’s what the issue is to me.”
To be sure, people have found fault with how Professor Gates responded to the arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley, who said he was simply fulfilling his duty in investigating the report of a burglary in progress.
The police and Professor Gates offered differing accounts of what happened after officers arrived. The police said Professor Gates initially refused to show identification and repeatedly shouted at officers. Professor Gates said that he had shown photo identification to Sergeant Crowley but that the sergeant had not appeared to believe that he lived there. He also said he had brought up race during the confrontation but was not disorderly.
Many comments posted online suggested that Professor Gates, 58, had made a tricky situation worse by not easily cooperating. Even some blacks acknowledged that he did not help himself by refusing to show deference to a police officer.
“It is unwise for anyone of any race to raise their voice to a law enforcement officer,” said Al Vivian, a diversity consultant in Atlanta who is black. “But the result at the end of the day is this was a man who violated no law, was in his own house, who is the top academic star at the top academic school in the nation, and he was still taken away and arrested.”
At a news conference on Wednesday night, President Obama said he thought the Cambridge police had “acted stupidly” in the arrest of Professor Gates.
“I think it’s worse than stupid,” said Mr. Medley, 65, the retired Chicago professor. “I think it was mean-spirited and ill-intended.”
In interviews, blacks and whites of various ages and experiences with law enforcement showed a tendency to give a benefit of the doubt to Professor Gates over the police.
“It seems to me that Dr. Gates was simply arrested for being upset, and he was arrested for being upset because he’s a black man,” said Wayne Martin, 25, an official at the Atlanta Housing Authority, who is also black.
The way Mr. Martin described himself, he could be the very definition of a “post-racial” American. “I have children I’m trying to raise not to see race,” he said. “I’m beyond the whole black-white thing. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Yet Mr. Martin could not think of any other way than racism to explain what had happened to Professor Gates. He is fascinated by the story. On Wednesday, he changed his Facebook status to: “Wayne Martin is wondering when it became illegal to be angry at a law enforcement official.”
Mr. Martin said that he was heartened to see Mr. Obama — who said he was a friend of Professor Gates — address the issue, and that while he agreed with Mr. Obama’s interpretation of the incident, he thought the word “stupidly” had been poorly chosen.
“That choice of the word was something that I don’t agree with,” Mr. Martin said. “To use such a common offensive term, it almost lowers him down to the level of the folks he’s wagging his finger at.”
Sabine Charles, 37, a white cardiologist who lives in Hyde Park, is married to a black man and said that she could not count how many times people had interrupted the two over the years to ask her, quietly, “Is this man bothering you?”
“I say, ‘Guess what? He’s not! We’re actually on a romantic date, can’t you tell?’ ” she said. “Even here in this diverse area I’ve heard people say, ‘Look at those black guys coming toward us.’ I say, ‘Yes, but they’re wearing lacrosse shorts and Calvin Klein jeans. They’re probably the kids of the professor down the street.’ ”
“You have to be able to discern differences between people,” she said, criticizing the practice of racial profiling. “It’s very frustrating.”
Mr. Vivian, the diversity trainer in Atlanta, said that what happened to Professor Gates was “age old” in America, but that what was different this time was that it happened in a so-called post-racial America.
Mr. Vivian, 47, said that he had been unfairly stopped by the police in the past, but that he lived by “an unwritten code” for dealing with these incidents. And Dr. Gates certainly did not obey the code, he said.
Quiet politeness is Rule No. 1 in surviving an incident of racial profiling, he said. So is the frequent use of the word “sir.”
“People used to say, ‘Look, there’s a Colin Powell. There’s an Oprah Winfrey.’ Now they say, ‘There’s a black president.’ I say, I’m happy to see the exceptions. There’s always an exception. But I’m interested in how society treats the average person.”
That there is a well-known code of behavior familiar to most minorities who are stopped by the police, Mr. Vivian said, is testament enough of a problem.
“It clearly says that we have a lot of work to do,” he said.
The bottom line for me is that Gates may have behaved poorly, but he did not break any laws. Therefore, the choice to arrest him was based an ego-driven power trip that cops on American streets are notorious for. I am much more concerned with the ability of armed cops to "feed the beast" and illegitimately arrest innocent people than I am of an elderly unarmed man throwing a temper tantrum in his own house.
I suspect that law enforcement units across the country are filled with the types of people who feed off of the power that comes with being a police officer, making these incidents more likely (and escalations to violence more likely as well). Why should our society call thuggery by another name because the police are the culprits? I certainly understand that cops see things day in and day out that make them jaded and jumpy, but if citizens are expected to control themselves then so should the "peace officers" that are supposed to protect them.
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. The caller surely noticed this but evidently made no effort to tell the responding officer.
