It's a tacit admission that the case doesn't rise to a level where they should prosecute it. Which is fine. http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0722/p02s01-usju.html Gates arrest: racial profiling or 'tempest in a teapot'? The city of Cambridge, Mass., has dropped its charges against a Harvard professor who alleges he was arrested for breaking into his own house only because he is black. Prosecutors in Cambridge, Mass., on Tuesday dropped disorderly conduct charges against Henry Louis Gates, a prominent professor at Harvard University and author of multiple books about the black experience in America. But Mr. Gates' arrest on the front porch of his own home last week became a moment of national reflection, with Gates insisting that the incident was evidence of the persistence of racial profiling – even in one of America's most liberal cities. Gates has told The Washington Post that he now intends to do a documentary on racial profiling – an idea that had "never crossed his mind" before now. The "criminal justice system is rotten," he said. Gates was returning from filming a TV project called "Faces of America" in China last Thursday. According to the police report, police received a call that two men black were trying to break into Gates's house. In fact, the two men were Gates and his driver, who were trying to open the front door, which was jammed. Both sides have suggested that the other was argumentative. The police report says Gates eventually became verbally abusive, accusing the officer of suspecting him simply because he was black. He was arrested soon after and placed in jail for four hours. Cambridge police officials claim that the incident was an unfortunate escalation of wills. "I think what went wrong is that you had two human beings that were reacting ... and cooler heads did not prevail," said Cambridge police spokeswoman Kelly Downes. "It wasn't Professor Gates's best moment, and it was not the Cambridge Police Department's best moment." Law enforcement analysts are inclined to agree, suggesting that the incident may have been only a "tempest in a teapot." "The best motto for a police officer is that sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me," says George Kirkham, a former police officer and now a professor of criminology at Florida State University. "People wind up venting, and you have to let them vent." Moreover, police officers should be particularly aware of historical injustices suffered by African Americans, he adds: "Blacks have had experiences with bullhorns and dogs in the South, and those wounds go deep – they're more sensitive and we need to realize that." Commentators have taken both sides. Garrard McClendon, a black Chicago talk show host, called Gates's cries of racism "weak." But David Bernstein of the legal blog, the Volokh Conspiracy, writes: "Yelling at a cop isn't a crime." Twenty-three states, including Massachusetts, have enacted legislation banning racial profiling. But such practices – stopping suspects on the basis of what they look like – are still prevalent, some say. A recent study showed that 89 percent of traffic stops in New York City involved non-whites. "We are a country founded on Jeffersonian ideals, and people don't like government in their lives," says Professor Kirkham. "[Police] need to be aware of that."
It's pretty illogical to think that anything would have happened if Gates pulled out his ID as soon as the officer arrived on scene. Most likely, he didn't show it until he was already arrested. I think the fact that he plans to profit off of the incident is enough to show that he was out to prove some sort of point.
dude.. doesnt the article reinforce my points? i think part of the problem is that police officers are such morons. many of them dont have any post secondary education and many dont have any experience dealing with ppl outside their peer group aside from their policing experience.
well then cops are acting beyond the capacity of their profession and they should be purged from the privilege of enforcing the law and being compensated by taxpayers
you mean they dont have traing in how to deal with people except for their dealings with people their entire lives and extensive police training on how to deal with people in certain situations right? yeah...ok just keep on making shit up...i guess thats your thing
the more u speak, the more u expose yourself as completely intellectually dim. if police officers were so exhaustively trained- why would ppl of colour be profiled? why would unarmed black men be shot? why would US prisons be flooded with black men? why do countless coloured ppl have anecdotes about being harassed by police officers?
i dont think u understand the extent prof gates scholarship. he was thought to be one of the most influential intellectuals alive; he wont profit of this, its just a teaching point to underscore the tremendous disparities that exist in these white settler societies like america, canada and australia.
How about you read it again...It mentions all the things that happened but NEVER says "this happened after this"...we need the police report for the only thing resembling a timeline. You are assuming because its in a earlier or later paragraph it must have happened in that order
Well if an officer arrested me for trying to break into my own house. I'd get pretty pissed off. Especially if I showed my ID. If there was a video with audio we could get a better understanding lol, but that seems unlikely.
Plus, it is a completely biased account of what happened. It states his side of the story as fact, then says stuff like "the officer's report said this...".
I think the only thing that bugs me is that the cop basically validated the dude's entrenched beliefs by immediately going for the harshest solution (arrest). That's the kind of approach that dudes like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson thrive off of. Also, the prof's comments about finally understanding the plight of poor black America because of his one day in jail was retarded.
My take is the cop wanted to give the guy a place to cool down. Maybe trade a little grief for the grief he was getting.
the article presents a chronological version of the events- intertwining the officers account with prof gates's and both accounts arent necessarily diametrically opposed. gates has openly admitted he was "difficult" but thats no justification for arresting a 58 year old man for no other good reason than the officers feelings were hurt.
^once again you are wrong...carefully look at the wording again...if ANYTHING it say the he was pissed at the cop first
chutney- if trailblazers in the civil rights movement didnt protest as loudly as they do- your ppl (i.e. sikhs) would still be relegated to working on the railways and living in segregated communities. the thing i was thinking about is that a rank and file black ppl without prof gates stature would still be in prison if they encountered the same scenario and thats the real tragedy. and what gates was undoubtedly alluding to is that stature doesnt insulate minority groups from being arbitrarily targeted.
Unnecessary, IMO. The dude's a well-respected scholar in an affluent neighbourhood: what's the worst he's gonna do when angry? Eventually he stops yelling and both sides realize its a misunderstanding.
