We mentioned Gatesgate yesterday in Non-Sequiturs. Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a prominent African-American studies scholar, was arrested on Thursday after a neighbor called police to report that Gates was trying to break into his own home.
The New York Times says Gates was returning from a trip to China, and that his door was jammed. He forced the door open with the help of a cab driver.
According to the police report [pdf], this led a woman passing by to call the police because she saw “two black males with backpacks… trying to force entry” into Gates’s home. At least the woman was a vigilant neighbor, even if she can’t recognize Henry Louis Gates.
When a police officer arrived, said he was investigating a break-in, and asked Gates to step outside, Gates was understandably offended. From the NYT:
Gates accused the investigating officer of being a racist and told him he had “no idea who he was messing with,” the report said.
Gates told the officer that he was being targeted because “I’m a black man in America.”
Frustrated, Gates initially refused to hand over his ID, but eventually relented, providing his Massachusetts driver’s license and his Harvard identification card. Gates had a few choice comments for the officers, including a yo’ mama joke.
TMZ pulled this yo’ mama joke out of the police report:
According to the police report, 58-year old Gates got into it pretty good with Sgt. Crowley, and that’s when …
“As I began walking through the foyer toward the front door, I could hear Gates again demanding my name. I again told Gates that I would speak with him outside. His reply was “ya, I’ll speak with your mama outside.”
As you can imagine, the argument got more heated after that and Gates was taken into custody.
Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct. Harvard Law prof Charles J. Ogletree (pictured at right), an expert on race and criminal justice, will represent him.
Harvard Professor Jailed; Officer Is Accused of Bias [New York Times]
Harvard professor Gates arrested at Cambridge home [Boston Globe]
Busted Harvard Prof Drops ‘Yo Mama’ Joke on Cop [TMZ]
Wow, I imagine this is going to get ugly.
First to profile this as an unremarkable, everyday occurrence, except for the fact that this guy has “Prof.” in front of his name.
There is never a reason to disrespect the police. How can this jackass think he should be respected when he is clearly unable to respect those around them. The cops come, investigate the burglary report, and leave. Simple as that. But this jackass got combatitive and that probably had more to do with the arrest than anything. Surmising that the officers were probably white, why does this law professor not like white people. Is this kind of disrespect from blacks something that just comes from being white in america?
impressive… the brother kept it real. “I’ll talk to your mama outside.” I have to work this into my convo today.
“…and told him he had ‘no idea who he was messing with’…”
Threatening a cop is not a good way for anybody to avoid being arrested.
And neither is insulting his mama.
Kind of like the movie Amos and Andrew.
“Ya, I’ll talk to yo mama outide.”
Right after Yo! MTV Raps is over!
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&split=0&gl=us&ei=mKplStK2PMiQtgeroYTsDw&layer=xc&g=ware+street+cambridge+ma&ll=42.373114,-71.111305&spn=0.003709,0.009645&t=h&z=17&iwloc=A&cbll=42.373041,-71.112837&panoid=0K1mqJ0q6oHU4yDrnwhPiw&cbp=12,307.94,,0,5.5
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Harvard Sucks. At other Ivy schools, for example the University of Pennsylvania, they just discreetly pepper-spray their Professors of Color when they get uppity.
maybe Gates was drunk? that might explain his reaction to the police. or maybe he just relishes bullying authority figures.
Well, it looked like some people were trying to break into the house. The woman was just trying to help and the cops were just doing their job. It was a misunderstanding.
Should the cops not investigate possible burglaries because they don’t want to offend black people?
In Mass are you required to show ID upon request?
Maybe if he hadnt spent all of his teaching money on OE 800, he could have afforded a working door.
Dude it was OBVIOUS that a 70 year old crippled black man was trying a B and E.
The cops did the right thing. Those handicap are crafty.
Just like I said yesterday, the cops did not just eneter the home, the asked him who he was and this douchebag refused.
Elie, why don’t you do a story on the 5 cops shot in Jersey City last week by two drug dealing black muslims, 3 of the officers were white? I suppose that one wouldn’t satisfy your bloodlust to uncover white on black racism wherever you can drum it up.
13 – I’m sure the woman who called didn’t get a great look at the people up close. She just reported what she saw (better safe than sorry). The police were just acting on that tip. That is their job.
And yes, old people can commit crimes, too. Please don’t be so ageist.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1044117/Grandad-Larceny-Britains-oldest-career-criminal-76-jailed-68th-conviction-1943.html
I’m OH-SO-HORNY!
-CWT NY ‘05 FEMALE ASSOCIATE
BOOBY LOVE!
Yeah, this guy is right. If I ever see 2 black guys with backpacks trying to break open the door to my neighbor’s house, I will just assume the guy is a Harvard professor who forgot his keys, and a nice cab driver helping him. What was that racist cop thinking when he asked the guy for identification???
sorry 16- im saving myself for kash
I mean, why not present your damn ID? White cops ask white people for ID too ya know.
Lets see if this bogus story gets legs because I predict a backlash from people who are sick of these concocted atrocities.
Sure, we live in a racist country, where an underachieving black nerd can become President, get on the Supreme Court or write for a mildly read legal blog. I’m sure that the people who live in truly racist countries would absolutely love to experience that sort of treatment. Black americans=whiny complaining pussies.
All he had to do was politely show the cops his ID so they could verify he was the homeowner and then thank them for checking on his home. What a jerk.
I think we should institute apartheid in the us. at least then all of these bullshit racism stories on atl would be true. it is sad when apartheid could bolster your credibility. I think i will just stick to true/slant from now on.
Kash is a compounding machine.
And Gates and his coconspirator were in possession of a bucket of fried chicken and some grape soda.
What should the cop have done? What would black people like for cops to do in this situation? Not go to the house? Not ask for ID? Take everyone at the scene for their word without any verification?
Why would he be arrested if he were cooperative with the police, particularly in a nice neighborhood. It strains credulity. Undoubtedly, this ascerbic ass provoked the arrest to put on his resume.
wait…there are black people in boston???
of course if the cops did anything other than what they did this would be a story about the system not working for black people, and the police refusing to respond to black people in trouble.
25–You get the best fried chicken and Nehi in black neighborhoods. Fact. I don’t know why saying blacks love fried chicken is considered racist. They do. Own it. And you know what, everybody loves fried chicken. Deal with it.
26, sadly enough, the answer is yes the cops should have done nothing. See all the black complaints about the number of blacks in prison for selling drugs. I guess they would rather the cops not stop blacks criminals from selling drugs to other blacks (most drug possession charges are actually plea bargains from more severe crimes).
Change we can believe in.
Blacks complain when cops arrrest them and they complain when cops don’t police them. You cannot win.
I sorely wish that successful blacks would disassociate themselves of the dregs of the black community. For instance, I feel no kinship to Appalachia.
Think about it. You just literally broke into your own home. I know, you live there, no big deal. Then when a cop does what a cop is supposed to do, and respond to a break in (they don’t know you live there), do you think it’s the best idea to say “why because I’m black in America?” Seems to me like he has some not quite so suppressed ill-feelings about his heritage. Funny because he gets paid a crapload of money, and lives in a nicer house in Cambridge than the cop does I’m sure.
Always funny when racists cry racism.
The defense of racism on this board is despicable.
“There is never a reason to disrespect the police.” – yeah because when a racist storm trooper is arresting you for breaking and entering your own home, no reason to get angry at all right?.
Would the cops have demanded the ID of an old white man with a cane?
Would that woman have called the cops if it had been an old white man at the door?
Would you be annoyed if some cop knocked on your door and asked you for your ID because a neighbor thought it looked suspicious that you were trying to open a jammed door into your own house?
Is it OK for a cop to come knocking on your door at any time and demand that you leave your own house?
Both of these guys were just cranky because they live in MA and were sick of the ladies farting all the time. Why do you think the guy went to China to begin with?
Since when is it a crime to talk back to a cop? The cop told him to come outside to talk & he did – the cop just didn’t like what he was saying, or how he was saying it. I guess you just have to be a good N—-r and say yassa.
After Gates showed his photo ID, why did the cop deem it necessary to call Harvard police? Why didn’t he just leave?
I would not have invited the cop into my house until he explained why he was there. I would have cooperated at the beginning and showed my ID but only after he explained why he wanted it.
If after that the cop didn’t leave – and in fact called other cops to my house, I would be upset as well and would not hesitate to call it like I see it – even if that meant following the cop outside (at his request) and giving him a piece of my mind in front of “startled” onlookers.
White Middle Aged Male.
35 represents typical liberal thought. Police asking you for ID just to make sure = “racist storm trooper is arresting you.”
Change we can believe in.
35 = Roxana
Based on the reported circumstances, I fail to see the racial profiling.
The leo was being diligent in protecting Gates’ property. Gates, who was probably tired after flying and agitated because of problems with the door, was probably a tad bit sensitive about his skin color.
This is what happens when you go the “you don’t know who you’re messing with” route. You come off looking like a douchebag and the cops always arrest you for disorderly conduct or some equivalent charge. THAT’S the interesting part of this story – the fact that the guy was black is secondary.
“Would the cops have demanded the ID of an old white man with a cane?”
So the problem is not that the cops asked THIS man for ID, but that you think they would not have asked an old white man for ID? So the answer is to have the cops ask everyone for ID, not for the cops to not ask anyone (or black people) for ID.
Gates is a dumbass, but arresting him for mouthing off is ridiculous. I should be able to make a hobby of approaching random cops, telling that I’d like to skull-fuck their wives while their daughters watch and their own tiny erections wave in the wind, and walking away with impunity.
38–Its not a crime “to talk back to a cop” however, when the cop is responding to a discernable possibly criminal situation and is confronted with an uncooperative actor, the cop may well be justified, imho, in exercising his discretion to arrest the individual.
Again, if Gates had simply been cooperative do you honestly believe that we would have been arrested? Its amazing to me that Gates has the temerity to ascribe to Cambridge police, his town police, where he pays property taxes (one would think) the same level of perceived racism as that of a New York City cop. Not only does that elucidate my belief that Gates is a schmuck but that he is also not nearly as intelligent as his profession would dictate.
Do not shit where you live. These are townie cops. All you have to do is play nice with them. Gates is a jackass and deserves a smack.
30, grape soda is grape soda. I’ll defer to your opinion of where to find the best fried chicken. But I have had excellent fried chicken in upscale white establishments.
46–You clearly have not experienced Kennedy’s, Church’s or Nehi.
some of the comments on here are fucking disgusting. That said, if the police reports are correct, they really did nothing wrong.
Sure if the neighbor saw a white older man/woman trying to pry a door open, maybe she wouldn’t call the cops. But what if she saw a white kid, or a white hippy trustafarian attempting to pry the door open? She’s not a state actor – so who the fuck cares. It is the job of the police to investigate, and Gates should be ashamed of himself for carrying himself like that and then claiming racism – it desensitizes America to the real problems minorities face.
People can argue all they want about Harvard and its Ivory Tower, but there is no denying that the school is full of some immensely intelligent individuals. And while the trial skills may be a little rusty, I feel bad for the prosecutor who gets this case.
Prosecutor= bottom 50% TTT
Defense = world-renowned legal scholar
It’s going to be like a train wreck. I hope they televise the trial.
Reminds me of this other Harvard guy who tried to pull the “do you know who I am” spiel on the cops:
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=512260
I guess there was anti-white racism in that case.
Y0 post 39, he did show his ID. It proved he lived there. And he still got arrested. The cop asked him to come outside, why? Because you can’t arrest someone in their own home when they have done nothing illegal. Outisde in public though, trumped up disorderly conduct charges.
And would the woman have called the police if it was two white males? No. Boston racism, at its finest.
36 – We aren’t talking about an old white man with a cane, nor are we talking about the police coming for no reason. A fully capable man, and his driver were seen trying to budge the door open to the front door of a house. The police came because well, someone was trying to budge the door open to the front door of a house. Are we going to just sit back and let robberies goes in the projects, just because we don’t want to piss off the poor black people who get locked out of their homes? No. A woman saw a perceived robbery and called the police. The police asked for ID. The old white man with the cane probably would have said “yes sir” and gotten it. But somehow Gates, with his dislike for the police, decides to get irate and yell about being black in America. With a temper like that, he probably challenged the cop to arrest him.
Classic case. Blacks presume racism and whites presume nothing wrong.
Me: Who gives a shit about this guy. Worry about yourselves. Effective unemployment is hitting 20% and you worry about this privileged fuck? Pathetic.
44 – arresting someone for mouthing off happens *everyone*. Happens to black people; happens to white people; happens all the time to kids especially – including me.
Do the cops usually have complexes? Probably – that’s why they sign up for the job – for the badge (“respect”) and the gun (“power”), not the 28k salary. Think about the people you know in your high school that went on to become police officers.
54–Cops make alot more than that in nice towns. A lot more. You’d know that if you owned a house.
53 – dead on balls accurate
I once set my house alarm off. When the cop arrived, he said he had to treat me as a suspicious person until he could verify that I actually lived there.
I understood, and thanked him for his service.
By the way, I’m white. . . and I love grape soda.
Dat prof jes be lookin’ fo’ street cred, yo.
57–Same thing happened to me. When the black and hispanic town cops arrived, I was overly nice to them because I did not have my identification on me. A neighbor verified who I was and we even called my wife to verify. The cops then helped me break into my home. But then my tact was to be nice. This asshole’s tact was to create confrontation. Bad move.
I seriously doubt there is any boston cop that would be friendly and respectful to a harvard professor. There are bigger differences than race between the two.
To all those who say the neighbor wouldn’t have called the police if it had been two white males: You have clearly never been to Cambridge.
Lesson: Hide a spare key.
awesome.
53 is completely right.
There was a slight element of racism in this, but maybe Gates shouldn’t have let his anger get the better of him. Honestly, this probably happens to influential whites all the time, it just doesn’t make news.
To piggyback 53, this overprivileged troll was returning from a junket to China, likely paid for by PBS. I don’t know about you but I won’t be taking any trips to China anytime soon with the state of the job market. and you and ATL worry about this?
Every story on this blog should be devoted tot he state (or lack) of the job market in the legal profession, not some “bring back to 60s” effort to drum up racism, particularly as it relates to an overpaid academic who I assure you could not be bothered with the likes of you unless it furthered his resume.
45 = Fail
You admit it is not a crime to talk back , but say that if you do, the cop has “discretion” to arrest you.
I say he does not have discretion to arrest you absence reasonable suspicion of a crime.
Regardless of anyone’s race or color.
Al Sharpton will be attending the arraignment.
It’s not breaking or entering if it’s your own home.
BarBri told me so…
As an ex-prosecutor, I’d say it looks like an easy case to prove. However, I wouldn’t actually file charges and I’ll be surprised if prosecutor’s office actually files anything.
Where is Ed D. when you need him
You know, i think the wisest thing is to say we don’t know. It sounds very possible the police were acting reasonably and this harvard prof was just high strung. or maybe there is something you would have had to be there to see that justifies this prof’s charges. i won’t assume he is right or wrong based on this scant info.
Where is Ed D. when you need him
Can you believe it, Hank? This thug broke into the house and put his pictures up all over the walls. We better charge him with vandalism also. He also forged his state-issued ID with the victim’s address. He’s going away for a while.
When I was in undergrad, there were a series of car break-ins so they started increasing security. Around the same time, I accidentally locked my keys in the trunk. In order to pop the trunk, we rigged a system to hook the battery directly to the trunk release to pop it open. Only took 15 feet of wire and access to the glove compartment (the main part of the car was still open).
Well, you can imagine what happens next. Cops (w/ K-9 unit) show up. Cop 1 is ready to pull his gun, Cop 2 is holding back the dog. Cops 3 and 4 are in the car pulling up behind us.
Do you think my reaction was “why do these cops need to stereotype me?” No, it was “God, I’m an idiot for effectively breaking into my own car without calling someone first.” I simply raised my hands, told him I would get my ID for him and explain what all happened. If anything, I was quite happy that the cops did show up as it showed that the increased security was working and that if I really was breaking into a car, someone would be there to stop it.
Same thing – break into your own stuff and cops show up? Be glad, not pissed at the cops.
Okay so…..
* Woman sees two people who look like they’re breaking into a house, calls cops
* Police come, check up to see if there’s a burglary in progress
* Man trying to break into home, gets belligerent to cop (probably because he is tired)
* Policeman gets upset at being hassled, arrests man
Now, while the arrest may not have been necessary, depending on the level the argument reached he was probably well within his rights to arrest him. That being said, if he’s like most cops I know, discretion and talking things over in a calm manner isn’t their strongest trait.
Perhaps there was racial profiling here, but the cop still acted within his duties. Bringing undue attention to this hurts his cause, when there are far more inappropriate cases than this out there.
That cop and his department are damn lucky that law professors don’t know how to practice law.
Otherwise, this suit could get ugly.
Sounds like it went down like this. The police are called to investigate a break-in. They did not do the profiling in that instance. They arrive and the guy becomes indignant and perhaps rightly so. Once they clear the guy’s identity though he gets arrested anyway for being furious. The rule he broke was not being the wrong color but mouthing off to police officers. For some reason cops everywhere arrest people for breaking this rule. 9 times out of 10 it is bs. Like Cartman in South Park. Don’t question my authoritay. These guys need to get a grip sometimes. The professor also sounds like he needed to get a grip since it seems the police were there for a legitimate reason. Whether the 911 caller was a racist is frankly irrelevant to the equation. If the officers erred it was not having the ability to recognize the situation and realize they should just let it go.
Some of the comments on here are pretty rough people…that being said, this guy is a complete idiot.
-Black male who would have called the locksmith
There are two real issues here:
1) As a former MP, I can tell you a cop’s number one job, nomatter the situation, is to maintain control of the situation. This cop failed at that. Now, it is true that many cops are ridiculous meatheads and few are Harvard material, but we are trained to have a good sense of situational awareness–that’s what will save your life. Point being, this cop knew what was going on here–he knew this guy lived in this house. He could have (should have) deflated the situation by explaining that the crazy old nosy neighbor reported a B&E, that obviously this Prof lived there, but he still needed to verify his ID, etc. Instead, the cop let the situation escalate and did a fair bit of escalating himself (threatening a pissed-off person with arrest is a sure fire way to piss them off even more). Bad move on everyone’s part here (challenging cops is usually a good way to lose), but it’s the cop’s job to take, and maintain, control over the situation. He failed here.
2) 911 obviously does NOT where the late crown in this town (get up, get, get, get down).
I don’t know what it’s like to be targeted by police based on your race, but I can imagine it’s appx 1,000 times worse than simply being treated unfairly by police, which I have been. Without fail, I find that if a policeman inflates the speed he claims I’m going when I’m pulled over, or otherwise treats me in a way that I view as abuse of police power, I fail to be as articulate and rational as I wish I could be in a situation like that. I imagine Gates was having an extremely emotional moment. The guy is a Harvard professor, a very successful guy, and here he is being humiliated by being accused of a felony in front of neighbors, etc. Sure he could have handled it differently. And maybe he wishes he did. But I bet I would have done no better under the circumstances, and I don’t think anyone could seriously say that this happened because he is black. It’s a pure example of different treatment based on race. Change that one factor, and this likely comes out very differently, including that almost certainly the police would not have been called.
turns out the Professor did have his keys, but his front door was jammed. Prof. had to go in through the back door and pulled on the front door, while his cab driver and friend (representing him, who was also present, apparently) pushed on the front door (what the neighbor saw). If I were the Prof. I’d be pissed (1) that my front door had been fucked up while I was in China, (2) that I’d have to probably go through some level of hell to get the door replaced, and (3) that whitey is going to roll up in my already-pissed-off state and try to hassle me. I’d mouth off, without a doubt.
did he die??
59 wrote: “This asshole’s tact was to create confrontation. Bad move.”
No, we’re talking about an opportunistic publicity hound that knew a chance for some good headlines.
Cops show up to my house when I’m breaking in or appear to be breaking in, I *want* them to ask for my ID. But that’s me, I like law and order.
And show some respect: “Yes, officer,” “No, officer,” “I don’t know, officer” is all you need to ever say. Not hard.
“Do you know how I am” is always worth a trip to jail. That’s why he said it. He’s not dumb, he’s just keeping a high profile for himself and his agenda.
The funny thing is Gates is one of the whitest black guys you’ll ever see.
Of course, none of the enablers writing to defend the cops here bothered to mention that it is racist as hell that this woman did not even know her own neighbor was Black that she felt OK calling the cops without either bothering to take a closer look? She just saw “two Black men” and went into “defense of home and hearth mode?”
Because of course she’s TOTALLY at risk of life and limb walking outside to check that it wasn’t her own neighbor, right? We all know those Black thugs – they will shoot to kill (rather than run like hell if they are actual thieves, like 99.9% of all burglers do when spotted.) No, she couldn’t possibly be bothered, getting to know her own neighbor in the first place or bothering, if she did know him, to make sure it wasn’t him.
This is Boston we’re talking about folks, not exactly a town with a history of sanguine race relations. Folks like to pretend that unconscious racism exists only South of the Mason Dixon when it fact any of us Black folk who know the North know this type of thing is every day BWB (Being While Black) experience.
I am glad the professor knew his rights and exercised them. Once the cop knew it was his home, that should have been the end of the matter no matter what Professor Gates had to say.
But I guarantee that by the time it gets to trial the good professor will have been carrying nunachuks or something and the cop will have been in fear of his life. You watch.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=849571984
Dave Chappelle called it
RACISM BY THE New York Times?
Good Journalism?
Per ABC News:
“According to the police report on the incident, a woman identified only as Ms. Walen, called 911 from her cell phone saying that she observed…”
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=8131953&page=1
NEW YORK TIMES Version:
“In the report, Sergeant Crowley said a white female caller had notified the police around 12:45 p.m. of seeing…”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/us/21gates.html
.
PER ABC NEWS (only) !
“The sergeant wrote that Gates initially refused to provide identification, but then showed his Harvard University card. The sergeant again asked him to step outside and Gates allegedly responded, “Ya, I’ll speak with your mama outside.”
“Police said the confrontation was witnessed by the woman who made the call and at least seven other people, as well as several Cambridge and Harvard University police. ”
Quite a different story than the NYT and the rest of the media is portraying.
To quote the modern existentialist Ice Cube, “Fuck tha police”
To quote the modern existentialist Ice Cube, “Fuck tha police”
Dude. It’s like 75 percent of you can’t even be bothered to read the police report. Gates showed his ID. It was clear to everyone that he was in his own house. And instead of apologizing and leaving, the cop stayed and continued to antagonize Gates. Damn straight Gates mouthed off at that point. The cop should’ve gotten the hell out of his house. I would’ve mouthed off too, probably in stronger terms. But instead of recognizing that the situation was a loser for the Cambridge PD, the cop tried to avenge his own embarrassment by arresting Gates for disorderly conduct while Gates was standing on his own porch. This is a textbook case of abuse of power, most likely assisted by a bit of racial profiling. Screw the lot of them. I hope Gates sues the crap out of these guys.
Mouthing off at someone on your own front lawn (or property) is constitutionally protected free speech. Once the police verified that it was his house and property, the police should have left and ignored Gates’ intemperate comments.
Gates has a chip on his shoulder about race and was probably very cranky and tired after a long flight from China and the added stress of trying to get inside his house with the police showing up (thereby validating his racial beliefs).
I think Gates is loving this. He will get to be on TV, get to make speaches and increase his public profile. He is doing a disservice to the African American community though.
wow, some of these commentators are way out of line.
Normally I don’t get annoyed by the racist comments, usually because they’re so over the top, they can’t be taken seriously.
But calling Henry Louis Gates a douchebag, or calling Elle racist for not linking to the NJ shooting, is just ridiculous.
Yah, HLG probably over reacted, but, come on now. This is a blog for lawyers and law students. Where’s the discussion of: “well, was there PC, or do exigent circumstances come into play.”
And HLG is a frickin god in the academic world. I don’t always agree with his stuff, but, he’s literally one of the top 5 most recognized prof’s at Harvard.
I wouldn’t normally defend a ,”you don’t know who you’re messin with” line, but, HLG is actually one of the few people who I think can credibly make that comment.
And yah, HLG overreacted, but, once he showed ID, the cop should’ve backed the f— up, regardless of how “disorderly” HLG was acting. He’s a frickin 60 year old man in his own home.
LET ME SEE YO’ I.D.!
LET ME SEE YO’ I.D.!
I will go in a different direction If there was ever an opportunity for something to be learned from a bad experience it is now. A white cop in Boston arrested a black scholar. Drop the charges. don’t lawyer up for a civil suit and sit the two men down to talk and save the taxpayer’s time and money. Have the cop sit in on his class have Gates ride with the cops so he remembers how underpaid cops are for the dangerous jobs they have…It will never happen
The funny thing about ATL is so many postings are anti-intellectual but posters claim to be educated holding or pursuing at least a second degree. The postings are ‘anti-elite’ but those postings are pursuing positions in elite law firms.
Then there are moron / cowards who post. “Black americans=whiny complaining pussies” (This classless idiot typed America with a lower case ‘a’.) Right the soldiers who laid it down in every armed conflict in this country’s history, the kids who endured attack dogs and fire hoses, yeah what pussies. Gates is an old man born pre-Brown his life experience is not the life experience of those posting here. Show him some respect. What did he have to gain by accusing this cop? He is a the top of his field well compensated. He was tired, annoyed and Hurt.
In my humble opinion, the police report could have been improved by adding a few more sensational details. For example, when Gates is found in his own home, packing away the luggage from his scholarly jaunt to China, he could be wearing a ninja outfit. Furthermore, when the police officer innocently requests identification, Gates could adopt a DeNiro pose a la Taxi Driver and inquire, “Are you talking to me? Are YOU talking to ME?” Then, when the officer politely asks Gates to step outside, Gates could spin-kick the officer in the face, sending him crashing through the window onto the porch in a cascade of glass. When Gates leaps through the shattered frame to pounce on the cop, the cop could try to draw his service revolver, but find it batted away by Gates’ furious fist. They could grapple, grabbing at each others’ throats, rolling around on the glass shard strewn porch. The other assembled cops could haul Gates off their buddy, whereupon Gates could backflip out of their grasp and draw his katana. In a few quick slashing movements, Gates could slice down the whole lot of them. Only at that point would he scream: “THIS…IS WHAT HAPPENS TO A BLACK MAN IN AMERICA!!!!”
He kicks mondo ass.
83, Maybe the police should show some respect to the homeowner, the person they are supposedly looking out for by investigating a B&E. People should not fear being arrested because they ticked off a cop.
3 is right. I was told an off duty police officer working as bar security all about my rights one night. Turns out that the police (even off duty ones) have all the rights in the real world. I was beaten to a pulp by him on the sidewalk in front of tens of people and when the on duty cops arrived they were only interested in protecting him from the consequences of his lack of self control. They confiscated cameras and deleted videos and threatened everyone who argued with them with arrest. I couldn’t find a single witness later. Not even one who said I was fault. I should have just said “Excuse me for standing her, sir.”
Don’t be a jackass to the cops, even when they’re in the wrong.
93: word.
Here is what Gate’s own magazine had to say:
http://www.theroot.com/views/lawyers-statement-arrest-henry-louis-gates-jr
And to anyone who thinks this is a disservice to the black community, I think it rather says ‘rich/influential black men are just as dangerous to mess with as their white counterparts.’
Agree with the posters that rightly call this abuse of power by the police and not a case of racial profiling. The police seemed to be responding for a legit reason. However, they don’t need to be arresting people for spouting off at them once it is clear no crime has been committed. For his part, the prof probably could have conducted himself a bit better. I think the existence of racism is just as sad as folks who see it everywhere even when it is not there.
A black guy broke into my house once. I followed him into the basement and pistol whipped him in the face. The homeowner in this case should have done the same thing.
Everybody’s mentioning that Gates showed his ID and that the cop therefore knew it was his house. The report says that Gates showed his Harvard University ID. Those don’t have addresses on them. All that proved was that he was affiliated with the University, had nothing to do with whose house he was in.
Mother jokes, really? How on earth can anyone defend this angry black man? He chose not only to not cooperate with police, who were investigating a burgalary, but also to be combative. He got exactly what he deserved. Moreover, if Gates made those alleged statements to the police officers, he should be reprimanded by Harvard for conduct unbecoming a professor. I think a public apology to the arresting officers would do the trick.
The cops here are screwed no matter what their reaction. This professor obviously has a major chip on his shoulder. I don’t care if you are black, brown, or white – when there are two guys carrying backpacks trying to breakin a house, you are going to be suspicious and are going to ask questions. What if there was a legitimate breakin going on? This professor would be crying racism if the cops never asked the guy breaking in for an ID and just left. When the cops ask for an ID, they are equally being racist. Yes there are several cops out there who are racist. But it’s professors like this guy who are even more racist because race is the only issue in his head. Get my order wrong at McDonalds? You’re racist. Pull me over for speeding? You’re racist. Say “Hi” to me without acknowledging me as a professor? You’re racist.
I hope this police officer is shown his place. You can be direct with the police. People should be because most police officers I have encountered have terrible attitudes. Police can’t arrest you for exercising your free speech rights. They can only arrest you for doing something that violates the criminal law.
Ironic he comes back from China and then has some cop standing in his door who won’t leave even after establishing that there is cause for the cop to be there. Can one of the proudly non-TTT lawyers or students here inform us of Mr. Gates’ and the cop’s responsibilities under Terry and the 4th Amendment?
Cops often arrest for disorderly conduct, and “failure to obey” to salve their egos when they realize they have no probable cause and run up against a person, often of color, who does not fear them Many cops would not know probable cause if it was riding on their backs. I’ve deposed cops who literally did not know what 4th Amendment is.
Lets see what the probable cause statement in police report will say: Mr. Gates was being disorderly, disrupting the peace and quite of his own home, and failed to obey an order to stop talking, in his own house, and, being a harvard professor, he was an annoying douche.
It sucks that Ogletree is taking this because this would be an awesome slam dunk case for some first year lawyer.
I love how people believe what is written in the police report as if it was the word of God or something. The cop that arrested him wrote the report. Like he would write anything self-incriminating.
Cops bias police reports all the time. I used to work on some cases that exposed an entire department for fudging reports.
If you judge this based on the report you’re an idiot. I’m not saying I agree with Gates, but I’d like to hear both sides before I conclude that he “deserved it.”
Of course, as usual the ATL crowd lack analytical ability and jumps to conclusions.
Charles was my favorite Knick from the ’90s. John Starks no. 2.
I hope he sues the fuck out of Cambridge PD.
What would Sonia Sotomayor say about all this?
49:
Don’t count on it. The Middlesex DA’s Office has some top-notch trial talent, ADAs who are used to going up some of Boston’s best defense attorneys. A law prof using a complicated race profiling defense in a case with an actual, identified 911 caller would piss off a jury or a judge, especially since the attorney would be making a mountain out of what is just a ticketable offense, punishable by a $150 fine.
Too many “attorneys” posting on this blog have no idea what happens in a real life courtroom.
6,
As commenter #17 from yesterday’s Non Sequiturs, I would like to make it clear that I win.
I don’t care what color the old man or the cop was. The minute the cop realized dude lived there, no matter how much lip the dude was giving him.
He should have said “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, sir.” and been on his merry f’ing way. He didn’t do that. He demanded the dude come outside and talk with him some more, provoking further anger, so he could trump up an arrest.
A cop has no right — even if a neighbor called in suspicious activity — to come into my home and demand to see my ID without probable cause or a warrant. He had neither.
Read the police report. They were already in the foyer when the cop got there and the cop went in.
107:
Whoops. Cops can not only arrest you for violating the “criminal law,” they can also arrest you for violating non-criminal statutes, i.e. violations and infractions of the municipal code. Here, Gates was arrested for violating the disorderly conduct statute, the violation of which does not rise to a criminal offense.
But I’m sure you know how to arrange boxes of docs in a storage room very well. And I’ve heard from partners that your binder-tabbing is second to none.
@93:
LOL at “HLG is a God in the academic world.” He’s a literary theorist. No one but those among their incestuous cohort takes anyone in literary theory at all seriously. I’m fairly certain the only living literary theorist to have any purchase in the wider academic community is Bloom, for precisely the reason that he does not partake in the hokum that passes for scholarship among that set.
98: that’s fine. But that has nothing to do with race. Cops arrest many people without grounds for mouthing off.
Harvard should fire this professor. You cannot be a professor of law and demand that the law does not apply to you. A person who is disrespectful to people who risk their lives on daily basis for a fraction of his pay so that he can leisurely spend his days spreading hatred, is not a role model Harvard should keep on board.
You people are all missing the big story here: who was guarding the active construction sites while these policemen were out investigating burglaries?
So what, the woman should have said she saw two men, left out that they were black? Why not jsut say two people, that would be the politically correct thing to say. Sheesh. gates needs to relax his sphincter – he was targeted because he was seen in what appeared to be the act of breaking into the home. So if the neighbor and cop where black, would he have uttered the same tired victim’s battle cry?
115 – correct. There’s no good faith exception to a warrantless entry. The arrest that followed was based on an unlawful entry, notwithstanding any “disorderly conduct.”
115,
I eagerly await your treatise on Criminal Procedure.
Furthermore, the cop did not demand he come outside– he was on his “merry f’ing way” and wouldn’t give his name to the good Professor because both times the professor previously asked he’d interrupted the cop with more of his Sharpton routine.
Then the professor followed the cop outside and made a scene and got arrested. Boo hoo.
This is excellent news for the black community: a few more trumped up incidents like this and Jackson and Sharpton can be relevant again. Post-racial in the Age of Obama? Not on their watch. Guaranteed.
“The regulation of threatening speech has been held not to violate the First Amendment where the speech harasses or is a “true threat.” Such speech is unprotected: its purpose is to cause injury rather than to add to, or to comment on, the public discourse.”
-Com v. Chou, 433 Mass. 229, 236
49 – You think a Harvard prof. that specializes in theoretical race issues knows how to run a trial? That prosecutor – who, of course, will not press charges – has far more experience. Its rare for a case to require the sort of intellectual heavy lifting that would give Ogletree an edge (presumably); most cases are won based on organization and persistence. If Ogletree won it would be because he wasn’t overworked trying to do his (underpaid) job.
The guy was an idiot, but the cop overreacted, and I think he would have reacted differently if it had been a white Harvard professor.
Until someone has been disrespected by the police without justification, please do not purport to sit on this website and pontificate about how someone is supposed to behave. I’m not saying that Gates is above reproach, but from personal experience with the police on several occasions, I do not believe that the conversation went as simple as the officer saying there was a report of a breakdown and requesting ID and Gates popping off at the mouth like an out of control jerk. I know how I felt when I was pulled over and accused of talking on my cellphone without a hands free only for the cop to have to eat his words because of my bright fuschia bluetooh earpiece at which point he demanded to know whose car I was driving. Until you’ve walked that journey, don’t be so damn naive as to assume that the cop was perfectly pleasant and Gates just flew off the handle for no reason.
116:
Actually I’m a mid level associate doing corporate work at a busy big firm. You are right…I don’t know the criminal law. But, clearly, you do. Which means you took your Ave Maria law degree and turned it into a great opportunity with the Paris, Tennessee prosecutors office. Idiot.
115 and 122:
Wow, your collective misunderstanding of the law is nearly breathtaking. The arrest here was for disorderly conduct. The conduct at issue occurred in public, both on the porch of the building and on the sidewalk/street. You guys are attempting to employ an analysis that would apply to the seizure of incriminating evidence, and whether that evidence should be suppressed based on a warrantless entry.
Here, the only thing seized was Gates himself. You can’t suppress the defendant, you idiots. Check out the Kerr/Frisbie doctrine.
Plus, cops routinely, and rightfully step into people’s homes to investigate criminal conduct. See, for example, an instance where a neighbor calls 911 because she hears the couple next door beating the shit out of each other. Burglary of a residence is classified as a violent crime, and a cop responding to a burglary call should not go away simply because the suspected burglar has already made it into the house.
120 – LOL. I see you’ve lived in Cambridge. I always wondered why such a high percentage of the city’s finest spent their days standing outside of constructing sites occasionally directing traffic. Socialism at work? That old lady was lucky someone was free to do any profiling at all!
120 – LOL. I see you’ve lived in Cambridge. I always wondered why such a high percentage of the city’s finest spent their days standing outside of constructing sites occasionally directing traffic. Socialism at work? That old lady was lucky someone was free to do any profiling at all!
Gates didn’t get arrested for being black in America. He got arrested for mouthing off to a cop in America.
I’m sure the jury will take pity on the poor oppressed Harvard law prof. publicity hound, and will just love his harvard law professor publicity hound lawyer.
I just knew ATL commenters would show their ass here! hahaha. Reading this blog convinces me more and more each day that not a single anonymous jackass who rants here day in and day out about reverse discrimination or black victimhood has a firm grasp on the history of the good ol’ USA. To hear you guys tell it, U.S. started in 1964 with the enactment of the Civil Rights Act. Everything has been great for niggas ever since and there is no more racism. In fact, niggas have it better than anyone else in this country. Waiting for some y’all to say how you wish you were black since blacks have it so easy. Wait…
I think it is absolutely disgraceful that a man would get arrested for being found inside his own house. He showed them his Harvard ID AS WELL as his license, the cop was inside his house and should have just apologized and left.
For a lot of the annonymous whiners on this post talking about how the cop was “risking his life”- how many of you would have kowtowed to him had he come in and questioned you inside your house?
As far as I am concerned, the Police Department should issue an apology and the DA drop all charges. The latter will almost certainly happen- the state hardly has any resources without having to fight a losing non case- the question is will the former happen?
Finally- have any of you realized that there may be a bit of history to this? With Cambridge Police recently arresting another Harvard professor as he was entering class? Do you think this may just have caused further ire on Gates’ part?
I’ve lived in Boston for 4 years and the cops are basically Southie thugs in uniform. Bit of a pity really- the real Irish are pretty nice- the Boston Irish- well not so much.
It seems most reasonable people on here agree. Race should not be injected here. The only person who seems to have injected it was Gates. I would hope that if I were trying to break into my own house, at night with the help of another, and a neighbor questioned what was going on, they would call the cops. I would have no problem giving the cop my i.d. and stepping outside to do it. As far as the responding cop knows, I did just break in and it’s probably a good idea to separate me from whoever is in the house (like a sleeping family etc). This has nothing to do with race. I don’t even like cops, but this trumped up story is shit.
127,
I can’t even believe how cool you are. Your monumental status absolves even the stupidity that comes with pretending to be versed in a topic you admittedly know nothing about.
117,
Thank you for proving my point. How many other “Literary Theorists” can you name off the top of your head.
Or, if your point was, I shouldn’t have said god, but should’ve said, “most known academics in the world,” then you’re a loser .
93
Discon in the privacy of your own house? Not sure what the law in MA is, but I thought you had to be in a public place to commit this crime. Disorderly Conduct seems to be the charge of choice when someone hasn’t really done anything illegal but has just pissed off the police.
It is a good thing that the police were called, otherwise the white women inside the house would have been raped.
I had the pleasure of reading the police report and it leaves a lot to question.
If we take the police report at face value, I’m confused about:
(1) why the police officer entered the residence. He clearly did, but it does not state why or give any indication that he was invited;
(2) why the police officer entered the residence and demanded ID after he clearly states in his report that he reasonably believed that Gates was lawfully on the premises;
(3) why the police officer refused to simply leave after Gates produced ID, and instead continued questioning him, even going so far as calling the University police;
(4) why the police officer bated Gates to follow him outside. The report states that he wanted to speak to him outside because the “foyer and kitchen” were producing an echo – really?; and
(5) why the police officer felt it necessary to arrest Gates, a resident of his home and a professor of the university, because he was shouting on his own porch.
Quite frankly, I agree. If a police officer comes to your home and assumes you broke in because you look suspicious (black or white), you might get offended, but you should still respect the police. Certainly, the officer is in a difficult situation and must respond.
However, the police report makes it clear that the officer knew damned well that Gates was no robber well before he arrested him, and it makes very unclear exactly why it was necessary to arrest Gates instead of just leaving him alone.
Sorry, kiddies. You can’t arrest people for accusing you of racism. You can’t even arrest them for being dicks.
This whole thing is about ego. After returning home, most of us would be irritated to go through all of this to enter our home. Gates should have stepped back and realized that the police were doing their job. But the police should have recognized that the man was charged up. Disorderly conduct? The man has a cane, is 58 and has proven that he is a nerdy college professor who lives in the home. Move on.
According to some sources, Gates showed both his Harvard ID and his driver’s license. His driver’s license would have presumably had his address on it.
At the moment that the officer saw his driver’s license with his home address on it, the situation should have been over. Seriously.
Gates most likely did behave badly. But he was in his own house. And after the cop saw the ID, he knew Gates was in his own house.
The officer would have every right to be pissed off at Gates for giving him shit when he was just trying to do his job. But the second Gates showed him his driver’s license, he needed to get out of that house.
He had absolutely no legal right or reason to tell Gates to go outside. There was absolutely no need to arrest him. That is just plain wrong.
We all know cops have a dangerous job and people do a lot of crap to annoy them. But “the dude pissed me off” should not be a reason to arrest someone.
Gates acted like a prick. The cop was a much bigger prick who abused his power.
According to some sources, Gates showed both his Harvard ID and his driver’s license. His driver’s license would have presumably had his address on it.
At the moment that the officer saw his driver’s license with his home address on it, the situation should have been over. Seriously.
Gates most likely did behave badly. But he was in his own house. And after the cop saw the ID, he knew Gates was in his own house.
The officer would have every right to be pissed off at Gates for giving him shit when he was just trying to do his job. But the second Gates showed him his driver’s license, he needed to get out of that house.
He had absolutely no legal right or reason to tell Gates to go outside. There was absolutely no need to arrest him. That is just plain wrong.
We all know cops have a dangerous job and people do a lot of crap to annoy them. But “the dude pissed me off” should not be a reason to arrest someone.
Gates likely acted like a prick. The cop was a much bigger prick who abused his power.
Sorry Henry, you’re going to have to do better than that in round 2 for a chance of one thousand dollars cash mohhhnneey.
Wilmer V., “Yo’ Mama.”
Well, the good professor has proven he can attempt to influence the police improperly just like his white counterparts. Equality achieved!
I especially like his avoidance of any stereotypical language in the “yo mama” comment. Well, I’m sure this whole incident will give rise to a new class or two in law schools around the country, at least one seminar, a dozen or so symposia and many many law review articles.
What a douchebag. Cops ask for your ID, just give them your driver’s license, thank them for diligently checking into crime, tip the cabbie and have a good night. If it had been a B&E, Professor Twatwaffle would have sued the police department for its racially motivated selective enforcement.
Chris Rock’s take is even better than Chappelle’s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj0mtxXEGE8
144, please read 139’s comment. He showed him the ID while the cop was in his house. After seeing the ID which proved that Gates was rightfully in his own home, the cop asked him to go outside. When Gates continued yelling when they went outside, the cop arrested him.
Bottom line: There was absolutely NO reason for the cop to ask Gates to go outside. He was investigating a B & E. While in the home, he received clear evidence that that the home belonged to the suspect. He admits to believing it was Gates’ home in the police report.
Therefore, there was no crime left to investigate. The situation should have been over. Based on facts from his own police report, the cop abused his power in order to trump up a charge against someone who pissed him off. This is flat out wrong.
I think the real tragedy here is the fact cirriculums still teach African-American studies.
Not sure that Gates has anything to complain about. To a passerby it looked like two people were breaking in to his home. The only one who said anything about race was the neighbor who phoned to notify the cops. Sounds like the cops did exactly what cops are supposed to do when someone calls in a possible burglary – go check it out! If the “perps” were two white guys, the cops would have responded the same way. If the cops didn’t come to the house and the burglars were real, then Gates would have cried racism because the cops didn’t come to his house. Gates is a Harvard professor. He will lose credibility if he tries to sue the cops for doing their job in this case. We already have one useless, inflammatory Al Sharpton in the world. Why can’t Gates take some time to think about what happened and move on with his life.
Most burglars don’t engage the investigating cop in conversation, yelling or otherwise, rather, they try to sneak out the back door.
It isn’t illegal to call a cop a lazy donut eating motherfucker.
RACISTS!!!!!!!!!!!
If we were to allocate the blame here between Gates and the PO, I’d give 70% to Gates and 30% to the PO. Gates is an opportunistic prick who showed his true colors by mouthing off to the cops. The PO, though well within his rights to make an arrest for disorderly conduct, should have taken the high road and left the scene after discovering Gates was a resident.
Gates instigated this whole mess because of his reverse-racist accusations and condescending attitude toward cops, while the cop was merely performing his duty of investigating a report.
BAM! Same set of facts except WHITE professor and BLACK cop. What result?
139, 146 – you don’t get it. Fine, police abuse their power all the time when they get pissed off by mouthy citizens. Whether or not they lawfully seized Gates is the issue. Just like whether or not a white/black/hispanic/asian minor is arrested for calling a cop a “pig” is at issue. He would not have been arrested but for his conduct.
I think we all can agree that the police had reason to believe there may have been a break in. They had the right to ask for ID, whether or not a black or white man answered the door. So where, pray tell, NYT and AP, does racial profiling enter? Why is this in their headlines?
#3, #18 and #131 — I couldn’t have said it better.
There was no way for this to end well in America. If Lawrence Summers locked himself out and broke down his own door no neighbor would have called the police. But on the other hand, once you bring up a cop’s momma, you are going to get cuffed at best. The only thing that stopped him from getting his ass kicked in the back of the police cruiser is that he is a famous Harvard Professor. Hey, 25 year old white law student, find a cop and mention his mother and see how things turn out, it will not lead to an arrest and getting bailed out, it will lead to a bloody lip and a boot up your ass.
Funny how this happened in liberal Boston. I guess that old lady doesn’t like black men.
@136:
I can’t name Gates off the top of my head. I had to look him up. I’ve ALWAYS had to look up literary theorists. The only exceptions are to this are Bloom – because he is held in some esteem – and Derrida, who was a living joke.
- 153
The issue, as you rightly put it, is whether or not they lawfully seized Gates. I’m not seeing it in the report.
You can seize someone for causing a public disruption, but not for calling you a racist in his home. The police officer told Gates to step outside to speak to him for no particular reason, wherein he arrested Gates.
Racial profiling enters not on whether Gates was investigated as a robber simply because he’s black, but whether Gates was arrested for being black/calling a police officer a racist.
In other words, if Gates was some middle-aged, cane-sporting, white Harvard professor with a similar cane up his ass, and got all feisty with a police officer in the same situation, would the cop lure him outside and arrest him for “disorderly conduct”, or would the cop cringe, call Gates a bastard under his breath, and leave the premises as he should have?
Yours ever so truly,
139
this is regrettable, and primarily because two presumably grown men were acting like jackasses. the color of gates’ skin was irrelevant to this point: you and another were trying to force open a door, and someone saw you. she reported it to the police, who came to investigate, as they should have done.
instead of looking sheepish and realizing how it would appear to someone who didn’t realize that a homeowner was trying to unjam his own jammed door, said homeowner got indignant and pissy. white, black, brown or purple with orange polka-dots — why are you mouthing off to the police? your “right” to do so from your front porch aside, you’re a jackass. all those wailing and gnashing teeth about our racist country and government are shouting at the wind here. the investigating officer asked for ID, and got a piece of plastic with a name, a picture and a harvard seal on it. however “identifying” this might be, it’s insufficient to its purpose, establishing that professor gates lived in the house he was seeing forcibly entering.
was the cop an idiot and a douche for arresting the guy? sure. the charges should be dropped, and everyone should go skipping along. the police probably went further than they had to in this case, whatever laws and ordinances were at play, but that’s a mundane occurrence. it’s what happens after every time the police flex the long arm of the law and harass teenagers throwing parties.
the sad part is that overeager cops and oversensitive academics aren’t the story. it’s RACISM, the cop was a PIG, he was PICKING on an old man because he hates people with darker skin — which we’ve inferred simply because a white cop arrested a black professor. drawing those conclusions is ridiculous and pathetic. the cop probably shouldn’t have arrested him, whether because of legal impotence or common-sense, but this is a blurb in the page 10 police blotter without the bullshit, and factually unsupported, claims of racism.
155 is a fascist Imperial Storm Trooper fetishist.
153, I agree that the cop had the right to ask for his ID.
The issue here is Gates DID SHOW THE COP HIS ID. The cop’s own police report admits that he showed him the ID. Most importantly, the police report states that Gates showed him ID while they were still in the house.
The police officer then got Gates to go outside, where Gates kept being mouthy, and it was at that point where the cops arrested him for disorderly contact.
The point is simple. After Gates showed him ID while both the cop and Gates were still in Gates’ house, it should have been over.
How is “racial profiling” an issue here when the police was just responding to some old lady’s call. If anything the old lady is at fault for not recognizing her neighbor. I would like to know who she is.
159 -
“the investigating officer asked for ID, and got a piece of plastic with a name, a picture and a harvard seal on it. however “identifying” this might be, it’s insufficient to its purpose, establishing that professor gates lived in the house he was seeing forcibly entering.”
you’re an idiot.
Mr. Gates sounds like the same type of ass clown professor we’ve all seen at law school. Someone makes a good faith tip to the police, the police show up to do their job, and Mr. Gates gets beligerent and plays the race card like the D-bag he apparently is.
FYI Mr. Gates, the correct answer = “Yes Mr. Officer, here is my I.D. I appreciate your response, because had it been an actual burgular, you would have saved my belongings. Despite the honest mistake, thank you for you service and have a nice evening.”
Stew on that while you and your attorney, Mr. who gives a rats ass, get stomped in court by the local PD’s TTT attorney!
166 – If the cops are “fascists” then so is the woman who called the police. Probably a liberal bostonian.
Face it, when times get tough, HLS grads will own your ass in the game of life.
Get ready for HLS intellectual heavyweights to own the country once again, just like during the elections.
When did “mouthing off” to a cop become an arrestable offense? As aggravating as he may…or may not…have been, the cops, upon learning his identity should have simply left. If they can’t exercise self restraint in a situation with a high profile person like Prof. Gates, I shudder to think how they would have dealt with an average citizen…of ANY color…let alone a black man. No one ever said police work was easy. Of course you have to deal with obnoxious people at times, it’s part of the job.
148, couldn’t you say move on to the cop as well. I have no problem with the cop checking ID. But arrest the man for being pissed off and mouthing off. We would not be reading this if the cop had walked away. What was the cop preventing? A situation getting out of control? It doesn’t make sense.
Interesting how everyone here simply takes the Police Report on its face as the facts. Clearly, none of you are familiar with a fact known by people with more experience with the criminal system…police are human and they lie! Police lie in police reports to support their position!
This man should be given the benefit of the doubt for at least the simple fact that he was harassed going into his own home.
I don’t care what color you are, you’ve probably encountered asshole cops on a power trip. I’m white, and I know I have. The way to avoid any problems is to be respectful. The way to create problems is to start threatening and insulting the cops..
I’m not even sure the cops were being assholes in this case. But even assuming they were, Gates is an idiot. He’s a racist himself, and, surprise, is just another Harvard guy with no personal skills.
First, Skip Gates is brilliant, a terrific professor and an all-around nice person. I had him at Yale before he was lured to Harvard. It was a great loss for Yale. He was a fellow at my college (TD) as well, and beloved by students. The notion that he was an affirmative action hire at Harvard is uninformed and asinine.
Second, have any of you read the police report? It is internally inconsistent. The officer says he asked Gates to step outside because he was having difficulty communicating with his supervising officers on the radio due Gates yelling at him. Makes no sense unless, as one commenter noted, he knew he had to get Gates outside in order to arrest him.
Third, Boston cops (and all cops in fact) hate when someone challenges their authority. I saw many law students, partiers and protesters arrested while I lived there — all of them loudly protesting their constitutional rights and shouting that there would be “consequences” for false or malicious arrest. The cops would routinely laugh this off, knowing that there would be no real consequences to them, that the suspect would be booked and thrown in a cell overnight, and that would be the end of it. Sure, you might be acquitted in the highly unlikely event the case went anywhere. You will almost certainly not win a false arrest case. And in the meantime, you will go through hell. Cops win. You lose.
Fourth, nobody can seriously doubt that this would not have happened if Gates were white. The cop might have gone over to ask a question of Gates while Gates tried his key, but would never have gone in the house. There is an implicit racist assumption running through many of the comments above that Gates is somehow “uppity” and should have bit his tongue. I disagree. He had a right to be upset. The cop should not have entered his home. He had no reasonable suspicion that Gates was responsible for the break-in, particularly upon seeing that he had a key for his home and seeing the identification. That should have been the end of the matter. Cop should have apologized and left. Unfortunately, Cop felt the need to “win” the encounter by showing Gates who was really boss.
169, you raise a good point. The officer certainly had incentive to skew the facts in his favor in the police report. I think the point is, even if we concede that the report is 100% accurate, the cop should have still just walked away.
And, yes, I find it highly unlikely that the cop was a racist. He was just doing his job. Gates was being mouthy. It annoyed the cop. He arrested Gates.
While I understand why the cop did what he did, he shouldn’t have done it. He was wrong to arrest him. Rather than racism, this is a case of abuse of police power. Terrible.
And, Gates behavior was awful. I think we have to remember though, Gates was born at a very different time from most of us commenting on this board. When he was born, separate was still considered equal, blacks and whites couldn’t marry, and people believed that it was a scientific fact that he was inferior.
Does this excuse his behavior? No. But I think we should remember that if your personal history with cops involves vivid memories of them turning fire hoses and wild dogs on little girls, your view of them might be a little different.
The cops have the right to bother me if they have probable cause- I was not born special. But I am nothing.
Now an intellectual leviathon such as this Harvard professor should not be trifled with – he is clearly far too special, important and smart to have to deal with this- he should get different treatment than the rest of us, and probable cause should not apply
171, I seriously doubt that this would not have happened if Gates were white.
Also, “uppity” =/= “being polite and biting your tongue” When a person of any color calls a cop a derogatory name after being justfiably upset, and is wrongfully arrested for it – the arrest is wrong…but what does that have to do with the victim being “uppity?” Oh, that’s just a word that people use for emphasis when the victim is an African American of signficant means. C’mon man.
Can ATL ban futher commenting on the Morgan Lewis Cancels 2010 Summer Program (7/14) thread? The thread has been hijacked by sordid PHJW gossip. What does any of this have to do with the ML story?
The police report pdf link is bad!
- 73, I love it when people rip off someone else’s joke (from an HBO special, no less) and try and play it off as their own.
New link to report: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/download/2009/0720/20120754.pdf
174, I am very confident that the cop would not have entered the home of a white person upon learning that they key actually worked. Since is when yelling at a cop in your home a crime?
Don’t be naive. This is Boston. Inviting Gates outside to continue the tirade was merely an excuse to arrest him for disorderly conduct.
Why do you think Gates, of all people, would be sensitive to racial profiling? It’s not likely he experiences a lot of daily discrimination, given his reputation and stature. You have to give him some credit for having reason to be angry here. There is much unsaid in the police report.
We have the first amendment right to tell off racist cops when they attempt to arrest us in our own homes. Sorry. Was a 60 year old Harvard professor really disorderly? Take that idiot cop’s badge, or send him to Compton so he can get his ass kicked.
The cops work for us. Our taxes pay their salaries. When they get it wrong, they need to apologize to their customers.
Read the police report. It is a fine piece of junior college dropout advocacy. It is internally inconsistent and shows that the cop arrested the Professor because he knew he was going to be in trouble for not handling the situation correctly. This is a typical cop tactic. Arrest the person who has a valid claim against you to help deflect that person’s claim.
Get up get get get down, 9-1-1 is a joke in your town.
Harold’s Fried Chicken is #1.
This is ridiculous. Congratulations to everyone who has recognized that both parties were at fault in this case. Everyone else is a f—ing moron. The cops were wrong to arrest him because they felt insulted. HLG was wrong to escalate the situation because he felt insulted.
I for one am simply sick of all this crap every time a black person is involved. Get over yourselves already. Did anyone notice from some of the media photos that at least one cop was black? Does that make him racist too?
182, you must not have read the same police report that I did.
A different question. Was Ogletree “representing” Gates as an attorney or just as a spokesperson. If it is the former, is Prof. Ogletree licensed to practice law in Massachusetts? I couldn’t find a mention of that in his bio or his name on the Massachusetts lawyer search website. http://massbbo.org/bbolookup.php
If had this gone further and not been resolved, would Ogletree have jeopardized the confidentiality of the content of his consultations with Gates, since, arguably, no attorney-client privilege existed?
Regarding the obligation of an onlooker to report a felony
18 US 4
What do you call a black man that teaches at Harvard, has numerous honorary degrees, and a plethora of academic and literary accomplishments?
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.
.
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A nigger.
What do you call a black man that teaches at Harvard, has numerous honorary degrees, and a plethora of academic and literary accomplishments?
.
.
.
.
A nigger.
As a human being, I know how frazzled I am when A) returning from a long journey B) confronted by police and feeling like they are being unfair. I have been confrontational. I have said things I later regreted. The only problem with this story is that, even after time to cool down and reflect, Mr. Gates, chooses NOT to take the high road.
He should apologize and show regret for flying off the handle — which gets anyone of any color in trouble with the cops. We now all know this incident had nothing to do with racial profiling — just disorderly conduct.
If the professor truly would like this to become a “teaching opportunity” he should start with himself and ask forgiveness for his own stupidity.
(On another note, I am disgusted with the very real racial comments on this site!!)
Great blog! So easy to see whose Black ,whose White and who just wants to practice law. I prefer the latter, as I’m sure Harvard would also. He should be fired. Cops did their job , he did’nt , horrible rep for Harvard. Your Mamma? Really?
the moment , the instant , “Black “people stop worrying about being “Black ” people, and just worry about being people, IT WILL ALL STOP. That simple kids.
“Other” , just like Obama, who is NOT the first Black President. He also blew a great opportunity to squash all this foolishness.