Commentary: Why didn't conservatives support professor Gates?

[RedGoneWILD]

Then he should sue the Cambridge Police Department and let it be decided by a jury of his peers.

that's most likely exactly what would've happened if Obama didn't open his mouth and then have to make it up over beer at the White House....

agreed right?

[Titantron]

The stories are biased and flat out wrong. He told Gates who he was twice. he was on a B&E call, until it was determined to be safe, he had every right to enter his house. Whats he gonna do? Knock? There is a big gap in the stories that we hear. He asked him to step outside when he got there. Then he entered the house and all of this happened. He didnt invite Gates outside when it was over. A lot of these news stories are implying that crowley baited gates into following him outside when he was leaving. Thats not true. The audio tapes also show that officer crowley was under the impression that the owner of the house was the one who called police to report someone breaking into it. It is very possible that he was approaching Gates as the caller. This story will never escape the false cries of racism. It never would have been a story to begin with, without the false cries of racism. You cant argue the merits of the incident and leave race out of it like this writer suggests. gates' actions and words forced it to be a racial issue. It is now impossible to seperate the two.

[daniel3417]

that's most likely exactly what would've happened if Obama didn't open his mouth and then have to make it up over beer at the White House....

agreed right?

I don't see why that would deter Gates from suing. Obama was on his side initially, I believe. If he has flipped sides or become neutral, then that would indicate that Gates was in the wrong.

edit:
We can agree that Obooma should shut his mouth, though.

[gsj68]

what was the professor charged with?

it doesnt matter what he said or who he insulted...freedom of speech is guaranteed by the constitution. You can't be arrested for insulting a police officer....at least, the charges 99.9% of the time won't stick. It sounds like he never threatened the officer physically, so what would he have to arrest him for?

why would his neighbors call the cops on him? did they not recognize him? was this during the day or at night?

unless your a white guy talking to a black guy then you best mind your p's and q's or youll be hit up with a hate crime,look at this officer he just did his job never said anything racial but earned the label racist,also can you explain this to me

"I understand your point earlier about two guys walking around a house trying to get in, especially in a white (meaning rich) neighborhood...."

[RedGoneWILD]

I have watched two interviews of Officer Crowley and he seems like a decent person...something I just stumbled upon which is unrelated was that he tried to perform CPR on Celtics player Reggie Lewis when he collapsed and died in 1993...Even Gates admitted that "when he's not arresting you, he's a likeable guy"...I also believe that Gates acted like a complete jerk towards the officer (I would be agitated too if I just got off a 20 hour flight, I couldn't get in my home, and then the police showed up)....however, my point is that his actions still did not warrant an arrest

He told Gates who he was twice.

not quite good enough.....according to Massachusetts state law

Each city or town shall issue to every full time police officer employed by it an identification card bearing his photograph and the municipal seal. Such card shall be carried on the officer’s person, and shall be exhibited upon lawful request for purposes of identification.

all he had to do was hand him a card...

The audio tapes also show that officer crowley was under the impression that the owner of the house was the one who called police to report someone breaking into it. It is very possible that he was approaching Gates as the caller.

from the police report filed by Officer Crowley...

When I arrived at 17 Ware Street I radioed ECC and asked that they have the caller meet me at the front door to this residence. I was told that the caller was already outside. As I was getting this information, I climbed the porch stairs toward the front door. As I reached the door, a female voice called out to me. I turned and looked in the direction of the voice and observed a white female, later identified as Lucia Whalen. Whalen, who was standing on the sidewalk in front of the residence, held a wireless telephone in her hand and told me it was she who called. She went on to tell me that she observed what appeared to be two black males with backpacks on the porch of 17 Ware Street.

According to HIS police report, this all occured before he ever saw Gates...so no, he was not under the impression that the owner of the house was the 911 caller.

There's also the question of why he documented that she told him two black males with backpacks prior to confronting Gates, when she claims she never said anything like that. Her 911 call would seem to confirm this, since she repeatedly stated she wasn't sure what was going on or what the men looked like. She only said one man was possibly hispanic, and even said that it's possible they worked or lived there since there were suitcases on the porch.

he was on a B&E call, until it was determined to be safe, he had every right to enter his house.

that's not completely true...

there must be exigent circumstances in order for a police officer to enter a residence without a warrant or without being invited in. Specifically, the officer must have witnessed an event that gave him probable cause to enter. The officer must conclude that there is imminent danger to a person or property in this situation. It's possible that a damaged door or a broken window might've been enough probable cause for the officer to enter, but once it was determined that the person in the home lived there, he should've removed himself immediately if the resident didn't want him inside.

more from Crowley's police report...

While I was lead to believe that Gates was lawfully in the residence, I was quite surprised and confused with the behavior he exhibited towards me.

The officer right here is establishing that he did NOT have probable cause to enter the residence under exigent circumstances.

This story will never escape the false cries of racism. It never would have been a story to begin with, without the false cries of racism. You cant argue the merits of the incident and leave race out of it like this writer suggests. gates' actions and words forced it to be a racial issue. It is now impossible to seperate the two.

Unfortunately, you are correct. Gates made it a racial issue, but maybe he truly felt like he was being racially profiled. Thanks to Rodney King's beating, O.J. Simpson detective Mark Fuhrman, NYPD officers shooting Amadou Diallo 41 times while reaching for his ID, the cop who refused to let Ryan Moats see his dying mother-in-law, and many other examples of a white cop and black man, the media is going to overreact...plain & simple. If you think that we live in a world where police officers don't lie, don't racially profile, and don't fabricate evidence, then you are being naive.

While I can not conclude that Officer Crowley is a racist, I can conclude that he should not have arrested Mr. Gates. Would he have arrested a white man in the same situation....who knows? Maybe if he was a white man, the cops would have never been called in the first place!

unless your a white guy talking to a black guy then you best mind your p's and q's or youll be hit up with a hate crime,look at this officer he just did his job never said anything racial but earned the label racist,also can you explain this to me

"I understand your point earlier about two guys walking around a house trying to get in, especially in a white (meaning rich) neighborhood...."

what you are missing, and what i've been trying to explain, is that NO, this officer did not just simply do his job. If he had simply done his job, there would never have been an arrest.

[dfr52]

I have watched two interviews of Officer Crowley and he seems like a decent person...something I just stumbled upon which is unrelated was that he tried to perform CPR on Celtics player Reggie Lewis when he collapsed and died in 1993...Even Gates admitted that "when he's not arresting you, he's a likeable guy"...I also believe that Gates acted like a complete jerk towards the officer (I would be agitated too if I just got off a 20 hour flight, I couldn't get in my home, and then the police showed up)....however, my point is that his actions still did not warrant an arrest



not quite good enough.....according to Massachusetts state law

Each city or town shall issue to every full time police officer employed by it an identification card bearing his photograph and the municipal seal. Such card shall be carried on the officer’s person, and shall be exhibited upon lawful request for purposes of identification.

all he had to do was hand him a card...



from the police report filed by Officer Crowley...

When I arrived at 17 Ware Street I radioed ECC and asked that they have the caller meet me at the front door to this residence. I was told that the caller was already outside. As I was getting this information, I climbed the porch stairs toward the front door. As I reached the door, a female voice called out to me. I turned and looked in the direction of the voice and observed a white female, later identified as Lucia Whalen. Whalen, who was standing on the sidewalk in front of the residence, held a wireless telephone in her hand and told me it was she who called. She went on to tell me that she observed what appeared to be two black males with backpacks on the porch of 17 Ware Street.

According to HIS police report, this all occured before he ever saw Gates...so no, he was not under the impression that the owner of the house was the 911 caller.

There's also the question of why he documented that she told him two black males with backpacks prior to confronting Gates, when she claims she never said anything like that. Her 911 call would seem to confirm this, since she repeatedly stated she wasn't sure what was going on or what the men looked like. She only said one man was possibly hispanic, and even said that it's possible they worked or lived there since there were suitcases on the porch.

that's not completely true...

there must be exigent circumstances in order for a police officer to enter a residence without a warrant or without being invited in. Specifically, the officer must have witnessed an event that gave him probable cause to enter. The officer must conclude that there is imminent danger to a person or property in this situation. It's possible that a damaged door or a broken window might've been enough probable cause for the officer to enter, but once it was determined that the person in the home lived there, he should've removed himself immediately if the resident didn't want him inside.

more from Crowley's police report...

While I was lead to believe that Gates was lawfully in the residence, I was quite surprised and confused with the behavior he exhibited towards me.

The officer right here is establishing that he did NOT have probable cause to enter the residence under exigent circumstances.

I disagree, he took Gates behavior as a possible sign that something was possibly wrong.

"According to the police report and interviews with Sgt. Crowley, the officer asked Gates to step outside, and he refused, saying "Why, because I'm a black man in America?" and "I'll speak with your mama outside".[13] Sgt. Crowley has stated that it was an unusual response for a resident in the home legally.[14] The police also said that Gates initially refused to provide ID, instead called someone to complain about a "Racist police officer", and ultimately showed his Harvard ID. Sgt. Crowley has stated that as he tried to radio in the name on the ID, Gates shouted so loudly he couldn't hear his own voice. The police report states that "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".[15] "


Unfortunately, you are correct. Gates made it a racial issue, but maybe he truly felt like he was being racially profiled. Thanks to Rodney King's beating, O.J. Simpson detective Mark Fuhrman, NYPD officers shooting Amadou Diallo 41 times while reaching for his ID, the cop who refused to let Ryan Moats see his dying mother-in-law, and many other examples of a white cop and black man, the media is going to overreact...plain & simple. If you think that we live in a world where police officers don't lie, don't racially profile, and don't fabricate evidence, then you are being naive.

While I can not conclude that Officer Crowley is a racist, I can conclude that he should not have arrested Mr. Gates. Would he have arrested a white man in the same situation....who knows? Maybe if he was a white man, the cops would have never been called in the first place!

The witness saw people messing w/ door, I don't believe color had anything to do with it.


what you are missing, and what i've been trying to explain, is that NO, this officer did not just simply do his job. If he had simply done his job, there would never have been an arrest.

What she said in her call and what she told the officers upon arrival could be two different things.

[Yanksfan396]

Alright, let's just throw out the whole "arrested because he's black" thing. Even then, the officer had no reason to arrest Gates. He should have apologized for the misunderstanding, and left. This is only news because he's a minority--period.

[gsj68]

Unfortunately, you are correct. Gates made it a racial issue, but maybe he truly felt like he was being racially profiled. Thanks to Rodney King's beating, O.J. Simpson detective Mark Fuhrman, NYPD officers shooting Amadou Diallo 41 times while reaching for his ID, the cop who refused to let Ryan Moats see his dying mother-in-law, and many other examples of a white cop and black man, the media is going to overreact...plain & simple. If you think that we live in a world where police officers don't lie, don't racially profile, and don't fabricate evidence, then you are being naive.

While I can not conclude that Officer Crowley is a racist, I can conclude that he should not have arrested Mr. Gates. Would he have arrested a white man in the same situation....who knows? Maybe if he was a white man, the cops would have never been called in the first place!





what you are missing, and what i've been trying to explain, is that NO, this officer did not just simply do his job. If he had simply done his job, there would never have been an arrest.

i say he did the exact right thing,and yes,if i started screaming at an cop i would be arrested
what you are missing is that im trying to raise two half black boys and jokes like Gates and the whatever you want to call them defending him playing the race card are not making it easier
so ill tell you what i told them
you dont disrespect a police officer period.
how many time do you think an officer has been called to a possible breakin and been shot in the head?

[RedGoneWILD]

i say he did the exact right thing,and yes,if i started screaming at an cop i would be arrested
what you are missing is that im trying to raise two half black boys and jokes like Gates and the whatever you want to call them defending him playing the race card are not making it easier
so ill tell you what i told them
you dont disrespect a police officer period.
how many time do you think an officer has been called to a possible breakin and been shot in the head?

i tell my kids don't disrespect anybody who has not disrespected you...i dont care if its a police officer or not....police officers aren't above being disrespectful, therefore they aren't above being disrespected

if you started screaming at a cop, without threatening to harm him, you should not be arrested, because there is a thing called the constitution that allows you to speak however you please...if you were to be arrested, and chose to fight it, there's a 99.9% chance that you would be cleared

i honestly have no idea how many times a police officer has been shot in the head while responding to a breakin, but if you provide some figures, i'd be happy to look at them. it's easy to assume that happens all the time.

what i dont get is why is everybody so convinced that race didn't play a role in his arrest? if somebody feels that they were discriminated against because of their race, religion, sex, etc....then it should be fully investigated! you cant just dismiss it outright because you think everybody is quick to pull the race card.

everybody's ignoring what im really saying....he had absolutely no reason to arrest gates! none!!! this is why his case was dismissed...not because obama made a phone call, or because of media pressure....because he did not commit the crime he was charged with...it's really as simple as that.

[GrimUSMC]

Officers version of events: According to the police report and interviews with Sgt. Crowley, the officer asked Gates to step outside

Gates version of events: Gates informed the officer that Gates intended to file a complaint against him, repeatedly asking the officer for his name and badge number which the officer would not provide. Sgt. Crowley instead told Gates to step outside his home. Gates followed him outside, onto his front porch, where Sgt. Crowley arrested him.

It seems that both men pretty much agree that he was not stepping outside to leave.

I also don't think many people are making Gates out to be a saint. In fact, the article in the OP you called ridiculous doesn't make him out to be a saint.

Another thing....Officer Crowley asked Gates to provide ID, which legally Gates did not have to produce but did, and Gates asked Crowley to provide identification (full name and badge number), which legally Crowley did have to produce but didn't.

Also, when Crowley arrived at the home, Gates was already inside. Crowley had no business opening the door and walking inside unless explicitly allowed by Gates.

Officer Crowley wrote in the police report that "possibly two black males" were trying to enter the house, and that he obtained this information from a brief encounter with the 911 caller outside the home. The 911 caller says the officer said nothing to her other than "Stay right here"

okay, let me just be clear on this...Gates obviously could've made this situation a lot easier on himself, but LEGALLY, he did absolutely nothing wrong!

The article in the OP I think is far from ridiculous and actually makes some pretty good points.

Lets clear this up here Red.

1. Gates was required to produce ID. They responded for a posibble B&E, and found him in the home. He is absilutely required to provide ID when he is the subject ofan Investigatory Detention.

2. And yes, they were permitted to enter the home, they were investigating a possible B&E, thats all they knew.

3. I think following the police outside and screamign at them woudl be an act wich serves no legitimate purpose.

4. Under what law are the police required to tell you there name and information? It may be a department policy, but its nto law. Thatss one of those, "You have to let me make a phone call" rules. Its not true.

EDIT: I just saw that post about MA state law. Im gonna truly believe here that screaming at the police officer whiel he is tryign to figure things out is nit a lawful request.