*An independent review of the confrontation between Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates and the police sergeant who ended up carting him away in handcuffs could have ended more calmly had both taken advantage of opportunities to “ratchet down” the situation.
The review said “misunderstandings and failed communications” and a “certain degree of fear” each man had for the other led to the six-minute dispute.
Sgt. James Crowley arrested Dr. Gates for disorderly conduct at his Cambridge home July 16 while investigating a possible burglary. Gates alleged he was a victim of racial profiling. Charges were later dropped.
The conflict sparked a national debate on race relations, particularly when President Barack Obama said in a nationally-televised speech that Cambridge police “acted stupidly” in arresting Gates. Obama invited both men to the White House for a “beer summit.”
The situation at Gates’ home quickly escalated when it shouldn’t have, according to the review put together by a 12-member panel assembled in September. The panel was made up of law enforcement personnel, academics, and experts on race relations and conflict resolution, none of whom had direct ties to the Cambridge Police Department.
The report suggests that Crowley could have more clearly explained what he was doing and why he was doing it, especially after being shown Gates’ license and university ID. For his part, Gates could have used a more respectful tone to address the officer, the report found.
Neither man, in interviews with the panel, said he would have acted differently. The incident was a “textbook example of how a police officer and a member of the community can clash if they do not share a sense of responsibility,” according to the report.
Gates’ lawyer and fellow Harvard professor Charles Ogletree said while the report contained some “impressive recommendations about going forward,” he was disappointed that it left out contradictions between the police accounts of the call they got from a passer-by to report the incident and the actual transcript of her call. For example, the passer-by never mentioned that the people she saw on the porch of the home were black and never made any assumptions of criminality, Ogletree said.
He said it also plays down the fact that Gates was arrested after showing Crowley his license, with his address, to prove his identity.
“(Police) put an unreasonable burden on a citizen in what he should have done. He did everything he could have done,” Ogletree said, adding later that “(Gates) was amazingly outraged that the officer didn’t believe he was who he said he was.”
The panel made 10 recommendations for avoiding similar incidents in the future, including better training for police in de-escalating conflicts, as well as more outreach to the public and academic community to teach understanding of the police department’s job.
Gates and Crowley have since met many times and have developed “a friendly relationship,” Ogletree said.
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All the more reason why Gates should have just sued. But Obama had to fuck shit up in his desperation to appease yt, making a fool of himself and Gates in the process.
Reds, your disdain for our president is gross and constantly growing. I challenge you to check yourself because everything Obama does can’t all be bad. As much as I disliked Bush when he was in office I don’t get bent all out of shape at the mention of his name… It’s not that serious.
3/4 of this article should be cut, both men fearing each other, now that s$^ts ridiculous, it should have ended when he told them he lived there, they could have ran a check on him in the computer or simply looked at his license or ID. The police were 100% wrong and are trying to make it look 50/50, and I agree with you Red, Obama is trying to appease YT to remove the impact of his statement “They acted stupidly”. They acted like YT racist pigs is what I say and no apology was in order for them.
“For his part, Gates could have used a more respectful tone to address the officer, the report found.” Read between the lines: while the officer was found to be unclear as to his intentions during the incident in the name of carrying out his duty, Gates was being an uppity nigger.
Although your post has gained popularity I strongly disagree with it. For one the advertised job of the police is to Serve and Protect, not Harass and Oppress, what do I mean by this? When the police arrived on the scene to see what’s going on they were serving and protecting the community, however once it’s been established no laws were broken, the police no longer have any right or jurisdiction over the situation. So once it was established that he lived there after checking the ID his job was done.
Now for the uppity nigger comment, let me come to your house and arrest you on your door step when you clearly have not committed any crime other then being the wrong skin color to live in a neighborhood as I clearly have no right to be on scene if you live in the house. Police are dogging us people of color and we are always expected to humble down and be a good “BOY”, well my friend you have it all wrong, I tell you what, take your black a$$ to Mississippi and do to those red necks what they did to Gates and let me know how it pans out for you.
Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree on “The Presumption of Guilt: The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Race, Class and Crime in America”
Well, the real summation is that the hero in all this is Lucia Whalen, the woman who called 911 when there was a report She never, ever, ever, ever, ever said that the people who were barging in the door were black and wearing backpacks, but that’s in Sgt. Crowley’s report.
And the other thing, that I think you’ve covered, that people need to read in this book, is that Professor Gates provided his Harvard ID that has his photograph on it, it says, “Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Officer – Harvard University.” He provided his driver’s license that has his photograph on it, his address, and that he’s a valid driver. What more can a citizen do?
This whole thing took six minutes, from start to finish, and Gates did everything he could to prove that he was who he said he was. The officer still was defiant. And that’s why Gates says, “Call the Harvard University police – they know me.”
But the reality is that he thought he had achieved a status in his own community that police would at least call, call the Harvard University Police.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/30/ogletree
I heard Ogletree say this on Democracy Now yesterday.