Harvard professor arrested for being black

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Originally Posted by dabaldone

Being an asshole is not illegal. The cop was wrong....period. Gates behavior may have been extreme, but there were no laws broken. Someone earlier said he was arrested for being "uppity". Hmmm...they say the same thing about our president. All those on this board who aren't black have NO concept of what black men have gone thru in this country. The abuse and outright murder of black men by law enforcement is well documented.

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Actually, failure to comply with a police officer is a crime and can be a felony, you need to read up on your laws.
Nah people who aren't black have no idea right? I'm white and I bet I've seen more shit done firsthand then you. In your experiences, what have you seen that makes you think you experienced this victimized life?

You don't know what the fuck I been through, white people been through, spanish people been through, or your next door neighbor been through. So stop acting like you know, because it's obvious you don't know much.

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Originally Posted by trish

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Black officer at the scene says Crowley did nothing wrong.

Hmmmm.................

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But the police department announced they regretted the arrest, and the prosecutor dropped the charge. Hmmmm...seems both officers were wrong. How was it possible for Professor Gates' accusations to get under Crowley's skin to the point where Crowley broke with his training and trumped up a charge of disorderly conduct? Why was Crowley's ego so sensitive in this particular situation, with this particular 5'4" intellectual black man? Nobody but Crowley knows the answers to those questions, and he'll probably have to dig for them. But the fact remains, the arrest was wrong, the police department said so and the charge was dropped.

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But he didn't break his training.

What people aren't realizing is that cops are trained to egg people into coming out of their homes so they can be arrested on irrelevant charges, as a tactic to employ in various domestic disputes.

Suppose a couple are fighting (verbally) and the neighbors call it in, often if the guy seems irrational, even if there is no signs of a law actually being broken (no sign of violence), they'll talk him into going outside. Then he either calms down, or he goes to jail.

In this case, Gates making a scene in the house, and not calming down about it- fell directly into their contingency plans so to speak.

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Originally Posted by scroller

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Originally Posted by SarahG

The cop wanting to see ID is a no brainer under these circumstances, and one that shouldn't have set the guy off.

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(1) You don't have to show ID, that's the law.
(2) You don't have to let a cop into your home in the first place.
(3) This case pointedly demonstrates that showing ID will not help you.
(4) The police report admits that the cop was already doubly convinced that Gates was the homeowner before that point.

Mr. James Duane, a professor at Regent Law School and a former defense attorney, tells you why you should never agree to be interviewed by the police: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8z7NC5sgik

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That was to you too. Failure to comply with an officer is a crime and can be a felony, make sure you know what your talking about before talking on it.

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Originally Posted by AmericanDream

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Originally Posted by dabaldone

Being an asshole is not illegal. The cop was wrong....period. Gates behavior may have been extreme, but there were no laws broken. Someone earlier said he was arrested for being "uppity". Hmmm...they say the same thing about our president. All those on this board who aren't black have NO concept of what black men have gone thru in this country. The abuse and outright murder of black men by law enforcement is well documented.

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Actually, failure to comply with a police officer is a crime and can be a felony, you need to read up on your laws.
Nah people who aren't black have no idea right? I'm white and I bet I've seen more shit done firsthand then you. In your experiences, what have you seen that makes you think you experienced this victimized life?

You don't know what the fuck I been through, white people been through, spanish people been through, or your next door neighbor been through. So stop acting like you know, because it's obvious you don't know much.

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It's only a crime if the request is a lawful one.

A cop can request a citizen to do anything, anything at all- you only are legally bound to comply if the request is legal.

For instance if a cop walked up to your door w/out a warrant or court order and demanded to search your house, its not a crime to say no.

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Originally Posted by SarahG

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Originally Posted by trish

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Black officer at the scene says Crowley did nothing wrong.

Hmmmm.................

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But the police department announced they regretted the arrest, and the prosecutor dropped the charge. Hmmmm...seems both officers were wrong. How was it possible for Professor Gates' accusations to get under Crowley's skin to the point where Crowley broke with his training and trumped up a charge of disorderly conduct? Why was Crowley's ego so sensitive in this particular situation, with this particular 5'4" intellectual black man? Nobody but Crowley knows the answers to those questions, and he'll probably have to dig for them. But the fact remains, the arrest was wrong, the police department said so and the charge was dropped.

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But he didn't break his training.

What people aren't realizing is that cops are trained to egg people into coming out of their homes so they can be arrested on irrelevant charges, as a tactic to employ in various domestic disputes.

Suppose a couple are fighting (verbally) and the neighbors call it in, often if the guy seems irrational, even if there is no signs of a law actually being broken (no sign of violence), they'll talk him into going outside. Then he either calms down, or he goes to jail.

In this case, Gates making a scene in the house, and not calming down about it- fell directly into their contingency plans so to speak.

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How clever!

i can imagine how frustrated the officer was though.

a little uppidy negro talking down to you... where does he get off? LOL
I'm sure this had more to do with the cops ego than anything else.

And in this case the request was a lawful one, but thanks for clearing that up to anyone who was unsure. In any case you should always comply, not to searches, but to little things it's in your best interest.

Alyssa- Where does he get off? Would he talk that way to some negro gang member? No, but he talks that way to a police officer? So where does he get off? The police are there to protect you, so stop thinking your the victim of everything. For such a smart man he sounds really dumb, it must've been his parents telling him about the "white devil" all the time.

double post

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Originally Posted by Alyssa87

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Originally Posted by SarahG

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Originally Posted by trish

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Black officer at the scene says Crowley did nothing wrong.

Hmmmm.................

---

But the police department announced they regretted the arrest, and the prosecutor dropped the charge. Hmmmm...seems both officers were wrong. How was it possible for Professor Gates' accusations to get under Crowley's skin to the point where Crowley broke with his training and trumped up a charge of disorderly conduct? Why was Crowley's ego so sensitive in this particular situation, with this particular 5'4" intellectual black man? Nobody but Crowley knows the answers to those questions, and he'll probably have to dig for them. But the fact remains, the arrest was wrong, the police department said so and the charge was dropped.

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But he didn't break his training.

What people aren't realizing is that cops are trained to egg people into coming out of their homes so they can be arrested on irrelevant charges, as a tactic to employ in various domestic disputes.

Suppose a couple are fighting (verbally) and the neighbors call it in, often if the guy seems irrational, even if there is no signs of a law actually being broken (no sign of violence), they'll talk him into going outside. Then he either calms down, or he goes to jail.

In this case, Gates making a scene in the house, and not calming down about it- fell directly into their contingency plans so to speak.

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How clever!

i can imagine how frustrated the officer was though.

a little uppidy negro talking down to you... where does he get off? LOL
I'm sure this had more to do with the cops ego than anything else.

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Ego yes, the race part is what I'm not yet convinced of.

Refusing to comply with a (given the circumstances reasonable) request, then insulting him (accusing the cop of being a racist), and getting passionately confrontational about it- is sure to get any cop to want to react harshly (either in the form of tasings, beatings, tickets/citations, or arrests).

Try pulling that the next time you get pulled over and see what happens. The most tolerant cop in the world is only going to take so much of that before they go "you know, let me go get my traffic code book so I can see how many tickets I can write you for"

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Originally Posted by trish

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Black officer at the scene says Crowley did nothing wrong.

Hmmmm.................

---

But the police department announced they regretted the arrest, and the prosecutor dropped the charge. Hmmmm...seems both officers were wrong. How was it possible for Professor Gates' accusations to get under Crowley's skin to the point where Crowley broke with his training and trumped up a charge of disorderly conduct? Why was Crowley's ego so sensitive in this particular situation, with this particular 5'4" intellectual black man? Nobody but Crowley knows the answers to those questions, and he'll probably have to dig for them. But the fact remains, the arrest was wrong, the police department said so and the charge was dropped.

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Yeah Trish, but they only dropped the charges due to the prominant figure involved and subsequent media hysteria. When an ordinary man much less educated or well known as Gates, sticks up for themselvs and an "officer of the law" gets offended; the bogus disorderly charges etc. are sustained. The media is undeniably beating around the bush.

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Originally Posted by AmericanDream

And in this case the request was a lawful one, but thanks for clearing that up to anyone who was unsure. In any case you should always comply, not to searches, but to little things it's in your best interest.

Alyssa- Where does he get off? Would he talk that way to some negro gang member? No, but he talks that way to a police officer? So where does he get off? The police are there to protect you, so stop thinking your the victim of everything. For such a smart man he sounds really dumb, it must've been his parents telling him about the "white devil" all the time.

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I disagree, it was an unlawful request (Gates wasn't legally required to comply with it)... but it was a reasonable request.

If it were me, I would have shown ID or something to show I live there, not because of the law, but because it would be the reasonable, logical way to react to a break in report.

I know I would be pissed if my apartment was broken into, and the perp got away with it by simply saying "Oh, I am __ and I live here" only to have the cop take his word at it.