Harvard Professor Claims Racism Over Arrest

[DeletedUser]

Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation's pre-eminent African-American scholars, was arrested Thursday afternoon at his home by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in. The incident raised concerns among some Harvard faculty that Gates was a victim of racial profiling.

Gates

Police arrived at Gates’s Ware Street home near Harvard Square at 12:44 p.m. to question him. Gates, director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard, had trouble unlocking his door after it became jammed.

He was booked for disorderly conduct after “exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior,” according to a police report. 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.''
Friends of Gates said he was already in his home when police arrived. He showed his driver’s license and Harvard identification card, but was handcuffed and taken into police custody for several hours last Thursday, they said.
The police report said Gates was arrested after he yelled at the investigating officer repeatedly inside the residence then followed the officer outside, where Gates continued to upbraid him. "It was at that time that I informed Professor Gates that he was under arrest,'' the officer wrote in the report.
Gates, 58, declined to comment today when reached by phone.
The arrest of such a prominent scholar under what some described as dubious circumstances shook some members of the black Harvard community.
“He and I both raised the question of if he had been a white professor, whether this kind of thing would have happened to him, that they arrested him without any corroborating evidence,” said S. Allen Counter, a Harvard Medical School professor who spoke with Gates about the incident Friday. “I am deeply concerned about the way he was treated, and called him to express my deepest sadness and sympathy.”
Counter, who had called Gates from the Nobel Institute in Sweden, where Counter is on sabbatical, said that Gates was “shaken” and “horrified” by his arrest.
Counter has faced a similar situation himself. The well-known neuroscience professor, who is also black, was stopped by two Harvard police officers in 2004 after being mistaken for a robbery suspect as he crossed Harvard Yard. They threatened to arrest him when he could not produce identification.
That incident was among several that ignited criticism from black students and faculty, highlighting the prejudices that many black students say they continue to face at Harvard.
“This is very disturbing that this could happen to anyone, and not just to a person of such distinction,” Counter said. “He was just shocked that this had happened, at 12:44 in the afternoon, in broad daylight. It brings up the question of whether black males are being targeted by Cambridge police for harassment.”
Cambridge police would not comment on the arrest, citing an investigation into the incident by Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. A spokesman for Leone said Gates is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 26 and said the office could not provide details on the arrest until that time.
Gates is being represented by Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree, who has taken on previous cases with racial implications.

Source

For some reason this article doesn't cite it, but apparently he was being very belligerent. When the cop asked him to step outside and talk to him, he replied "I'LL STEP OUTSIDE AND TALK TO YO' MAMMA!"

To me, this whole thing just reeks of an indignant plush who has a racial chip on his shoulder.

There are two sides to this story:

Cop: He showed up for a break-in call. He sees two men at the residence and asks for their ID's. The professor immediately starts to act belligerent and states that the cop wouldn't have asked for his ID if he were white. The professor shows the cop his ID's and continues to act belligerent and is subsequently arrested for disorderly conduct.

Professor: He immediately identified himself and provided ID's, then the cop harassed him some more about who he was and subsequently arrested him for no real reason at all.

Extremely condensed versions of the stories, but there they are nevertheless.

Something tells me that this wouldn't have happened if the professor had just cooperated and didn't have a horrible attitude about the whole situation, but I honestly can't say because I wasn't there.

To add more annoyance to the situation, Obama originally made the comment that he couldn't comment on the situation because he didn't have all the information -- because he wasn't there. After a brief phone conversation with the professor, Obama stated that the cops acted stupidly.

Right.

It's not the professor's indignant self-empowered attitude that caused the friction, no. It wasn't a simple misunderstanding that escalated into something more, no. It was the cops that screwed up completely. What an idiot, man.

People scream that racism is such a huge problem and that race shouldn't matter but those very same people need to STOP PULLING THE GODDAMNED RACE CARD.

/end rant

 

[DeletedUser]

are you becoming a republican Divest?

 

[DeletedUser]

R U becaming an anglish teechur?

 

[DeletedUser]

The guy probably did have an attitude...but then, he had cops showing up and accusing him of breaking into his own house.

He was then ARRESTED for showing attitude towards the cops...in his own house.

I find it telling that the charges were dismissed so quickly.

The guy should never have been arrested in the first place. Yes, the cops had a right to be there to investigate the original call, but for them to lose control of the situation so badly that they have to arrest someone whom they have already confirmed did not commit a crime and is on his own property, is a little sad...

 

[DeletedUser]

Ny first thought was to wonder if anyone would have even called if they saw a white man having trouble unlocking his door.

 

[DeletedUser]

The guy probably did have an attitude...but then, he had cops showing up and accusing him of breaking into his own house.

He was then ARRESTED for showing attitude towards the cops...in his own house.

I find it telling that the charges were dismissed so quickly.

The guy should never have been arrested in the first place. Yes, the cops had a right to be there to investigate the original call, but for them to lose control of the situation so badly that they have to arrest someone whom they have already confirmed did not commit a crime and is on his own property, is a little sad...

Disorderly conduct IS a crime and IS something that you can be arrested for. If someone is trying to do their job and all you keep doing is railing in their face, calling them racist and bigoted, and slandering them, then yes, that is disorderly conduct. It is a law for a reason. It also sets a precident that cops are inherently wrong and that by no means should you conduct yourself in a professional manner. The venue doesn't make a difference as much as the events leading up to the arrest. Another thing to be noted is that the cop was alone.

The charges being dismissed don't mean a damn thing, either. All it says is that the police would rather dismiss the charges than deal with the bullying-above-the-law attitude of a Harvard professor with powerful friends.

Ny first thought was to wonder if anyone would have even called if they saw a white man having trouble unlocking his door.

I love how you completely rephrase from reality to some sort of ice cream-cake friendly version of the story. There was no trouble unlocking the house. They were breaking in.

 

[DeletedUser]

Disorderly conduct IS a crime and IS something that you can be arrested for. If someone is trying to do their job and all you keep doing is railing in their face, calling them racist and bigoted, and slandering them, then yes, that is disorderly conduct. It is a law for a reason.

They can rationalize just about any behavior as illegal on some level. Again, what is telling is that they couldn't even make it stick for a few hours.

The police completely lost control of the situation if they have to arrest a man for "disorderly conduct" for no other reason than that they pissed off the police. Again, they already determined that he wasn't committing a crime in "breaking into" his house. They should have, at that point, swallowed their pride, apologized, and left the man in peace.

 

[DeletedUser]

They can rationalize just about any behavior as illegal on some level. Again, what is telling is that they couldn't even make it stick for a few hours.

The police completely lost control of the situation if they have to arrest a man for "disorderly conduct" for no other reason than that they pissed off the police. Again, they already determined that he wasn't committing a crime in "breaking into" his house. They should have, at that point, swallowed their pride, apologized, and left the man in peace.

The report by the officer claims that the Professor followed him around and berated the officer, even as the officer attempted to leave. Who's to say he didn't apologize for the confusion?

I edited my last post as well.

 

[DeletedUser]

I love how you completely rephrase from reality to some sort of ice cream-cake friendly version of the story. There was no trouble unlocking the house. They were breaking in.

Sorry if I misunderstood this to mean he was unlocking the house, how silly of me.

Police arrived at Gates’s Ware Street home near Harvard Square at 12:44 p.m. to question him. Gates, director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard, had trouble unlocking his door after it became jammed.

 

[DeletedUser]

The report by the officer claims that the Professor followed him around and berated the officer, even as the officer attempted to leave. Who's to say he didn't apologize for the confusion?

I edited my last post as well.

Now you are taking totally the officer's side of the story on this. In my opinion, the truth is somewhere between the professor's side of the story and the officer's.

But, even so, even if we are to take the officer's side of the story as complete and total truth, so what? Damage to a law enforcement officer's ego is not a criminal offense. The officers should have left the guy alone. He was on his own property and no crime was being committed. The professor wasn't walking up to a cop on the street and berating him, he was berating a cop who had come onto his property and was accusing him of a crime. Once the officer had determined that no crime had been committed, he should have left, period. The officer did not have justification to look for something to charge the guy with because he didn't like the professor's attitude.

 

[DeletedUser]

The original complaint came from a neighbor, of two men with backpacks breaking into the home.

The proffessor wasn't "Having trouble with the front door"

He had jimmied a window, and climbed through.. I have to assume that any reasonable person, seeing two men climbing through a window in a home, where they new the resident was out of town, would report it as a break in.

The police arrived, and treated the incident as a break in. Police procedure clearly indicates that you should seperate the suspects, and interview them individually, to compare the stories and make sure they match.

The Homeowner got irate, and began causing a scene, likely using pretty uncivil language, perhaps even threats. The officer arrested him for discorderly conduct.

Like most disorderly conduct charges, they were dismissed pretty quickly, once the person calmed down.

It's become racism because the cop was white, and, if a white cop questions a black man, it's gotta be racism right? Can't be anything to do with the guys climbing through a window.

 

[DeletedUser]

See Divest, sometimes we agree

 

[DeletedUser]

If the professor was on his own property, he could say or do anything, short of assault. The police were the ones trespassing. And while they may have been there to check on a possible break-in, once they determined he lived there, they should have backed off. Instead, they took offense to his behavior.

Well, too bad. The police had no right to arrest him. Disorderly conduct is not a catch-all offense, and when it is used in such a fashion, the police should be reprimanded.

Decades ago, a police officer was on our property speaking to another officer. My brother was standing there, on our own porch, and the police officer said for him to leave. My brother said, "no, you're on my property, you leave." At which point the police officer arrested my brother, put him in the back of the police car, and left him there, without air conditioning, in the hot sun, for 40+ minutes.

Eventually he returned to the car, drove downtown, and then dumped my brother in a parking lot. My brother had to find a way to get home.

Stated, police often abuse their power. Not sometimes, not rarely, but often.

 

[DeletedUser]

The original complaint came from a neighbor, of two men with backpacks breaking into the home.

The proffessor wasn't "Having trouble with the front door"

He had jimmied a window, and climbed through.. I have to assume that any reasonable person, seeing two men climbing through a window in a home, where they new the resident was out of town, would report it as a break in.

Well, that isn't what was posted here. I guess shoddy reporting is everywhere, and I'm not the only one who refers to it and adds information I received from other sources.

 

[DeletedUser]

and he used a crowbar to jimmy open his window and followed the officer outside still yelling and berating him.

I think the neighbor did the right thing and so did the officer and I think if he would have been white , the officer would have done the same thing.

 

[DeletedUser]

Now you are taking totally the officer's side of the story on this. In my opinion, the truth is somewhere between the professor's side of the story and the officer's.

But, even so, even if we are to take the officer's side of the story as complete and total truth, so what? Damage to a law enforcement officer's ego is not a criminal offense. The officers should have left the guy alone. He was on his own property and no crime was being committed. The professor wasn't walking up to a cop on the street and berating him, he was berating a cop who had come onto his property and was accusing him of a crime. Once the officer had determined that no crime had been committed, he should have left, period. The officer did not have justification to look for something to charge the guy with because he didn't like the professor's attitude.

Now your problem is with the law, not the arrest. It is against law to act as belligerently and slanderous towards police officers who are just trying to do their job. That is why disorderly conduct comes into play. This isn't the first time that a person has been arrested for such. The issue isn't really whether or not the cop had the right to arrest the professor for disorderly conduct, but rather if he arrested him based on race. It's pretty funny too, because this particular police officer taught classes on how to avoid racial profiling.

As far as taking sides goes, I'm not really on any side. I'm particuarly pissed off that people can get away with being pompous. You can't deny that this professor DOES have a racial chip on his shoulder and also believes that he should be held to a higher standard and law than the common citizen, but as far as the actual situation goes, I believe that this article from WSJ sums it up pretty nicely for me.

 

[DeletedUser]

I did some research on my own, and found other articles, Plus I heard about it soon after it happened, before it became more sanitized by the mainstream media, who decided that the Proffessor should be the hero, because that's what Presbo said.

 

[DeletedUser]

I am not racist but have seen an heard many times, race brought up by the african- american when it is a white officer involved, I.E. "You are just pulling me over because i am black" and etc.

 

[DeletedUser]

Now your problem is with the law, not the arrest. It is against law to act as belligerently and slanderous towards police officers who are just trying to do their job. That is why disorderly conduct comes into play.

You make it sound like there is no discretion in how the law is enforced. That is clearly wrong. The fact that the charges were dropped so quickly also belies your point. Again, he was on his own property and the cops had determined that he had not committed a crime. They were not "trying to do their job", their job was over. They should have left.

The issue isn't really whether or not the cop had the right to arrest the professor for disorderly conduct, but rather if he arrested him based on race. It's pretty funny too, because this particular police officer taught classes on how to avoid racial profiling.

Does that mean that he is able to effectively practice what he preaches? Here's a video of a cop teaching about gun control...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am-Qdx6vky0

You can't deny that this professor DOES have a racial chip on his shoulder and also believes that he should be held to a higher standard and law than the common citizen, but as far as the actual situation goes, I believe that this article from WSJ sums it up pretty nicely for me.

I don't admit any such thing. I'm not even going into the racial issues of this incident...because even taking race out of the equation, the cops did the wrong thing.

 

[DeletedUser]

The race card is easy to play, and hard to beat.