Harvard, Police, Racism

More on Gatesgate: Charles Ogletree Responds (and Prosecutors Drop Charges)

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Last week, prominent African-American studies scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was arrested for disorderly conduct after police confronted him for trying to break into his own home. There are accusations of racial profiling. Harvard Law School professor Charles Olgetree is representing Gates. The media are all over the story; even TMZ is covering it (and picking up on “yo’ mama” jokes from the police report). We’ve dubbed it Gatesgate,.and we gave you a full write-up of the incident this morning.
Charles Ogletree has prepared a statement about the incident and released it to The Root, a website co-founded by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Not surprisingly, his account sounds a bit different from the police report. Here’s an excerpt:

As Professor Gates followed the officer to his own front door, he was astonished to see several police officers gathered on his front porch. Professor Gates asked the officer’s colleagues for his name and badge number. As Professor Gates stepped onto his front porch, the officer who had been inside and who had examined his identification, said to him, “Thank you for accommodating my earlier request,” and then placed Professor Gates under arrest. He was handcuffed on his own front porch.
Professor Gates was taken to the Cambridge Police Station where he remained for approximately 4 hours before being released that evening.

No overt aggression, but apparently plenty of passive aggression from the officer.
Read in full at The Root.
UPDATE (12:30 p.m.): The AP reports that the disorderly conduct charge against Gates has been dropped:

The city of Cambridge issued a statement saying the arrest “was regrettable and unfortunate” and police and Gates agreed that dropping the charge was a just resolution.
“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,” the statement said.

Too late for that.
Lawyer’s Statement on the Arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. [The Root]
Charges dropped against black Harvard scholar [Associated Press]
WORD OF THE DAY: Gatesgate [Transracial]
Earlier: The Gatesgate Arrest Scandal: Harvard Law Prof Charles Ogletree to Represent

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