Harvard scholar's arrest raises profiling questions

[Niels Bohr 72]

A good approach would've been, *knock Knock* "Someone reported suspicious behavior around here, we are going house to house to let everyone aware of the situation, are you ok? Nothing out of the norm you have experienced?" That is probably a good way to kindly ask questions.

[The_Dude 1,142]

#######? Are you kidding me...people are actually agreeing w/ the police on this one???

the neighbor didn't recognize the prof and called the police. the police responded and caught someone inside and asked for identification (they apparently didn't know the prof either). All the prof needed to do was be polite and provide ID ... it would have all been over in a matter of a few minutes. Instead ... the prof gave attitude "initially refused to show the officer his identification, but then gave him a Harvard University ID card, according to police." Oops ...

The police should have done their job prior to showing up to the scene. They should have known who lived there. I seriously doubt you'd be calm if the cops showed up to your house and accused you of robbing it.....

they should have "known"? It's a leased house ... the prof is not the owner.

maybe next time the neighbor who apparently didn't know the prof should just do nothing if they see someone trying the "wedge" the door again.

fwiw: if one of my neighbors I don't know (and there are a few) saw me "wedge" one of the doors and break into my place ... called the cops ... the cops show up ... request ID ... I'd give and offer a thanks for them responding. then I'd contact the neighbor and definitely say thanks (a perfect chance to meet them too).

Do you know what information is available to officers through their in-car database? I suppose it's possible that it's different in Mass. than most states, but in most, they have access to whome the owner AND current residents are.....

[Minya's wife 25]

#######? Are you kidding me...people are actually agreeing w/ the police on this one???

Well yes of course, what good reason did this professor have for getting a attidude and pulling out the race card right away. They were there too help him. People here sometimes really amaze me. Where you guys dropped on your head as a kid.

"Why, because I'm a black man in America?" Gates said, according to a police report written by Sgt. James Crowley. The Cambridge police refused to comment on the arrest Monday.

I'm thinking the above quote is the justification for your comment...one quote from a police report written by the police....taken out of context.

The man had just come home from a trip to China, he was tired, and couldn't get into his home, he may have been a bit exasperated. I would venture to say any of us would have reacted with a certain amount of vexation under the same circumstances.

[Danno 1,228]

Seems like this situation has two parts.

1. Why the cops were there

2. How the homeowner responded to their possible crime investigation.

On the first part, if the cops were there with good cause (a legit report and reasonable follow up).

They "should" have nothing to worry about.

Either way, on the second part, I can tell you any normal person (white or black) would have been arrested for carrying on as this guy did.

I have seen people cuffed for a lot less than this.

In fact I was charged with "hindering an investigation" (I think that was the charge) because I failed to produce ID fast enough.

Are some folks suggesting this Professor should have received treatment different than the average person would have received?

The first thing we need to do is even handedly look at the facts, it might be this was a simple case of neighbor calls police to investigate.... home owner has a chip on his shoulder or was in a bad mood or the Cop said something which home owner took offense to and that started the ball rolling.

I'm sure if the cop "failed" to investigate in a diligent way and harm came to the Black homeowner..... well we know what they story line would have been then too.

[natty bumppo 297]

#######? Are you kidding me...people are actually agreeing w/ the police on this one???

the neighbor didn't recognize the prof and called the police. the police responded and caught someone inside and asked for identification (they apparently didn't know the prof either). All the prof needed to do was be polite and provide ID ... it would have all been over in a matter of a few minutes. Instead ... the prof gave attitude "initially refused to show the officer his identification, but then gave him a Harvard University ID card, according to police." Oops ...

The police should have done their job prior to showing up to the scene. They should have known who lived there. I seriously doubt you'd be calm if the cops showed up to your house and accused you of robbing it.....

they should have "known"? It's a leased house ... the prof is not the owner.

maybe next time the neighbor who apparently didn't know the prof should just do nothing if they see someone trying the "wedge" the door again.

fwiw: if one of my neighbors I don't know (and there are a few) saw me "wedge" one of the doors and break into my place ... called the cops ... the cops show up ... request ID ... I'd give and offer a thanks for them responding. then I'd contact the neighbor and definitely say thanks (a perfect chance to meet them too).

Do you know what information is available to officers through their in-car database? I suppose it's possible that it's different in Mass. than most states, but in most, they have access to whome the owner AND current residents are.....

the police wanted personal ID because of the nature of the call ... a simple method to establish identification ... as the police apparently didn't know the prof personally and talking through a door or window "Police say he refused to come outside to speak with an officer, who told him he was investigating a report of a break-in.

This whole thing could have ... and should have ended differently had the prof simply cooperated. It should have resulted in a "thank you and my neighbor" for looking out for the place. Instead ... maybe the prof was tired and having a bad day.

[EstebanTrabajos 7]

I actually do know him - since 1996-, reason why I tell you the police really fvcked up this one. The whole thing is bullsh1t.

Puhleaze

PWNED!!!!

now they are going to question the veracity of this statement

how weird is this? those that are siding with the police are GOPs and we who are siding with the scholar are liberals, oh dear coincidence maybe?

Edited July 21, 2009 by TävôLuDô

[The_Dude 1,142]

Yeah, I seriously doubt that. You completely discount the humiliation of this situation. Maybe they have a different policy there, but I know where I work, it's not necesarry. That being said, when you act like a #### to the cops, they have a lot of leeway as to what they can and cannot do that is perfectly legal. The officers really should have done their homework as they are required to do before each service call, and the profesor really didn't need to be quite so rude.

[EstebanTrabajos 7]

the moment the guy finally showed his ID and VERIFIED his address should've ended the confrontation with a:

"I'm sorry Sir, you are entering YOUR OWN HOUSE"

[Minya's wife 25]

Seems like this situation has two parts.

1. Why the cops were there

2. How the homeowner responded to their possible crime investigation.

On the first part, if the cops were there with good cause (a legit report and reasonable follow up).

They "should" have nothing to worry about.

Either way, on the second part, I can tell you any normal person (white or black) would have been arrested for carrying on as this guy did.

I have seen people cuffed for a lot less than this.

In fact I was charged with "hindering an investigation" (I think that was the charge) because I failed to produce ID fast enough.

Are some folks suggesting this Professor should have received treatment different than the average person would have received?

The first thing we need to do is even handedly look at the facts, it might be this was a simple case of neighbor calls police to investigate.... home owner has a chip on his shoulder or was in a bad mood or the Cop said something which home owner took offense to and that started the ball rolling.

I'm sure if the cop "failed" to investigate in a diligent way and harm came to the Black homeowner..... well we know what they story line would have been then too.

I see because arresting a man who's health is impaired (needs a cane to walk), simply because his skin color matches that of a person seen trying to forcefully enter a jammed door (because that's all the neighbor reported when she called 911 'a black man w/ a backpack trying force the door in') , is in no way harmful...

[EstebanTrabajos 7]

PWNED!

Charge against Harvard professor dropped

* Story Highlights

* NEW: Police ask for disorderly conduct charged to be dropped

* African-American scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. had confrontation with police

* Cambridge officer came to his home last week after report of break-in

* Police report: Gates refused to ID himself, accused officer of racism

(CNN) -- A prosecutor is dropping a charge against prominent Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. after Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the city's police department recommended that the matter not be pursued.

In a joint statement, Cambridge and the police department said they made the recommendation to the Middlesex County district attorney and the district attorney's office "has agreed to enter a nolle prosequi in this matter," meaning that it will not be pursued.

Gates was arrested last week on a charge of disorderly conduct after a confrontation with an officer at his home, according to a Cambridge police report.

Charles Ogletree, a professor at Harvard Law School who is Gates' lawyer in this case, told CNN on Tuesday that Gates -- the director of Harvard's W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research -- had returned from China on Thursday to his Cambridge home and discovered his front door jammed.

He opened his back door with his key and tried unsuccessfully from inside his home to open the front door. Eventually, Gates and his driver forced the door open from the outside, Ogletree said.

The professor was inside for several minutes when a police officer, Sgt. James Crowley, appeared at his steps and asked him to step outside, the lawyer said.

According to his lawyer, Gates told the officer he lived there and showed him his Massachusetts driver's license and Harvard University identification card. The officer followed him into his house and said he had received a report of a possible break-in, the lawyer said. Gates grew frustrated that the officer was continuing to question him in his home and asked for the officer's name and badge number, Ogletree said.

The police report offers a different account of the incident.

Gates refused to step outside to speak with the officer, the police report said, and when Crowley told Gates that he was investigating a possible break-in, Gates opened the front door and exclaimed, "Why, because I'm a black man in America?" the report said.

"While I was led to believe that Gates was lawfully in the residence, I was quite surprised and confused with the behavior he exhibited toward me," he said, according to the report.

The report said Gates initially refused to show the officer identification, but eventually produced a Harvard identification card, prompting Crowley to radio for Harvard University Police.

Gates followed the officer outside and continued to accuse him of racial bias, the report said. After Crowley warned the professor twice that he was becoming disorderly, the officer wrote he arrested Gates for "loud and tumultuous behavior in a public space."

Ogletree said the professor was "very frustrated" but never touched or pointed at the officer.

He was released from police custody Thursday evening after spending four hours at the police station, Ogletree said.

Edited July 21, 2009 by TävôLuDô

[natty bumppo 297]

Yeah, I seriously doubt that. You completely discount the humiliation of this situation. Maybe they have a different policy there, but I know where I work, it's not necesarry. That being said, when you act like a #### to the cops, they have a lot of leeway as to what they can and cannot do that is perfectly legal. The officers really should have done their homework as they are required to do before each service call, and the profesor really didn't need to be quite so rude.

the humiliation? yea ... I'd be embarrassed simply because I had to break into my own place (been there done that ... got more than one t-shirt). Had the cops shown as a result of someone calling ... yea double embarrassment. Still I'd have been cooperative as the police are only following up on a report.

notice in the article that the police didn't want to enter the house (search) ... just establish ID outside the house? safer for them and respectful of the tenant (no search requested).

[Minya's wife 25]

This whole thing could have ... and should have ended differently had the prof simply cooperated. It should have resulted in a "thank you and my neighbor" for looking out for the place. Instead ... maybe the prof was tired and having a bad day.

If you concede that, then you should also conceed that the cops were overzealous in the way they acted. As mentioned they have a lot of leeway in how they proceed or even if they arrest someone. If they truly were investigating and Gates was impeding it by not providing proper ID, they could have handcuffed him 'temporarily' done their due dilligence...found his ID, seen that he belongs in the home and released him. There was a rush to action. There was no need to arrest him...no need what-so-ever!

[HAL 9000 96]

This is in fact what many officers do once establishing there is no crime to book. Temporarily detain and release with an apology once clearing the 'suspect.' I smell a bit of individualistic attitude from the professor (health, arrogance, racial defensiveness based on likely history of facing racism in the past, etc) and attitude from the arresting officers wanting to show him a lesson for daring to snap back at them. Both are guilty or overreacting, but the police in this case overstepped their authority.

[natty bumppo 297]

This whole thing could have ... and should have ended differently had the prof simply cooperated. It should have resulted in a "thank you and my neighbor" for looking out for the place. Instead ... maybe the prof was tired and having a bad day.

If you concede that, then you should also conceed that the cops were overzealous in the way they acted. As mentioned they have a lot of leeway in how they proceed or even if they arrest someone. If they truly were investigating and Gates was impeding it by not providing proper ID, they could have handcuffed him 'temporarily' done their due dilligence...found his ID, seen that he belongs in the home and released him. There was a rush to action. There was no need to arrest him...no need what-so-ever!

the prof pushed the confrontation. at that point he blew it ...

I don't have to concede the cops action after the prof escalated things. The prof had the chance to have this be a simple incident and chose to make it something else.

[_Simpson_ 250]

PWNED!

Charge against Harvard professor dropped

* Story Highlights

* NEW: Police ask for disorderly conduct charged to be dropped

* African-American scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. had confrontation with police

* Cambridge officer came to his home last week after report of break-in

* Police report: Gates refused to ID himself, accused officer of racism

(CNN) -- A prosecutor is dropping a charge against prominent Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. after Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the city's police department recommended that the matter not be pursued.

In a joint statement, Cambridge and the police department said they made the recommendation to the Middlesex County district attorney and the district attorney's office "has agreed to enter a nolle prosequi in this matter," meaning that it will not be pursued.

Gates was arrested last week on a charge of disorderly conduct after a confrontation with an officer at his home, according to a Cambridge police report.

Charles Ogletree, a professor at Harvard Law School who is Gates' lawyer in this case, told CNN on Tuesday that Gates -- the director of Harvard's W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research -- had returned from China on Thursday to his Cambridge home and discovered his front door jammed.

He opened his back door with his key and tried unsuccessfully from inside his home to open the front door. Eventually, Gates and his driver forced the door open from the outside, Ogletree said.

The professor was inside for several minutes when a police officer, Sgt. James Crowley, appeared at his steps and asked him to step outside, the lawyer said.

According to his lawyer, Gates told the officer he lived there and showed him his Massachusetts driver's license and Harvard University identification card. The officer followed him into his house and said he had received a report of a possible break-in, the lawyer said. Gates grew frustrated that the officer was continuing to question him in his home and asked for the officer's name and badge number, Ogletree said.

The police report offers a different account of the incident.

Gates refused to step outside to speak with the officer, the police report said, and when Crowley told Gates that he was investigating a possible break-in, Gates opened the front door and exclaimed, "Why, because I'm a black man in America?" the report said.

"While I was led to believe that Gates was lawfully in the residence, I was quite surprised and confused with the behavior he exhibited toward me," he said, according to the report.

The report said Gates initially refused to show the officer identification, but eventually produced a Harvard identification card, prompting Crowley to radio for Harvard University Police.

Gates followed the officer outside and continued to accuse him of racial bias, the report said. After Crowley warned the professor twice that he was becoming disorderly, the officer wrote he arrested Gates for "loud and tumultuous behavior in a public space."

Ogletree said the professor was "very frustrated" but never touched or pointed at the officer.

He was released from police custody Thursday evening after spending four hours at the police station, Ogletree said.

Whos telling the truth here is the big question. I will give the cops the benefit of the doubt.