Henry Louis Gates Arrested in his own home

[Azure]

Originally Posted by troutman

Obama spoke about the incident last night at his press conference:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/22/har...iew/index.html

"I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played," Obama said Wednesday night while taking questions after a White House news conference.

Cambridge authorities dropped disorderly conduct charges against Henry Louis Gates Jr. on Tuesday.

Obama defended Gates on Wednesday night, while admitting that he may be "a little biased," because Gates is a friend.

"But I think it's fair to say, No. 1, any of us would be pretty angry; No. 2, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, No. 3 ... that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately."

The incident, Obama said, shows "how race remains a factor in this society."

Talk about needing to shut the f up about something that is out of his jurisdiction, and out of his control.

Obama is a moron. Because he just opened up a new can of worms.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Azure

Obama is a moron.

Oh brother.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

I guess I have a hard time imagining it. The equivalent would be if your uncle, rather than being arrested for being belligerent on the streets, was arrested on the porch of his own house even though he did show his ID. If you watch Gates' interview with Soledad O'Brien it tells a pretty damning story, actually--the whole incident happened very quickly, and the arrest happened before Gates had much of a chance to be belligerent at all. He was arrested the moment he stepped out of his house.

He is also 5'7 and 150 pounds, walks with a cane and is elderly. How belligerent could he be? If he looks like he wants to hit you, you can get away by walking away a little faster. Which is what the cop should have done once Gates proved he was in his own house.

And him having a cane justifies his actions....which include not showing the ID the cops requested?

Oh right, you don't believe what the police report says. Carry on.

[Boblobla]

Originally Posted by troutman

Oh brother.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Rerun

After reading this it looks like Gates has a huge chip on his shoulder and was looking for a fight.

I blame this whole episode on Gates. It appears that the police officer acted in a thoroughly professional manner. The same cannot be said for Gates.

I'm not sure if you're just playing devil's advocate here, but you can't take what you read in a statement written by a police officer as the gospel. This is written by someone accused of screwing up, and it was written when he was well aware that there was a potential storm coming his way. There's no doubt in my mind that plenty of that statement is painting a skewed picture of what actually occurred, just as I have my doubts as to the complete accuracy of accounts provided by Gates and others.

I do think this was poorly handled by the police, there's no need to arrest someone, and open up what they had to was going to be one hell of a headache, simply because they were pissed off and allegedly acting belligerent. They may have had legal justification for the arrest, but that doesn't mean that making it was a good idea, like most issues with policing I think this whole situation could have been avoided with a bit of discretion.

[fatso]

Originally Posted by Azure

Except the police officers that respond don't hear the phone call.

The dispatcher tells them where to go.

The dispatcher doesn't relay to the cops the details of and circumstances described in the call?

[Azure]

Originally Posted by troutman

Oh brother.

Care to dispute?

How exactly does it make sense for the POTUS to go on national TV and turn what probably wasn't a racial issue into a HUGE racism issue?

Is the cop racist? Go read the article Cowperson posted.

Did the cop do his job? Yes. Was Gates acting like a prick? Yes. Did the cops go overboard(considering Gates was walking with a cane)? Yes. Because they could have solved the problem at his house without arresting him.

But then again, I doubt that is the way the police are told how to deal with a situation like that.

And yet, Obama....without knowing all the facts, goes on television and tells the world how it was racial profiling.

Yes, he is indeed a moron.

[Boblobla]

Can't we just call him 'The Prez'?

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Azure

Two things. The cops responded to a disturbance that was called in. Its not their fault that Gates' house was the reported place.

Secondly, what exactly warranted the response by Gates? The cops came to his house, LIKE THEY WERE ORDERED TO DO, and told him about the reported break-in. If Gates would have respectfully shown the cops ID, told him he was the owner, and explained why someone might have reported a possible break-in(I dropped my keys, and had to fool around with the lock a bit)....none of this would have happened. But he didn't.

You're making a pretty big assumption that the cops showed up and said 'hey, how's it going? Can we just look at your ID real quick?'. It's not at all improbable that the conversation went more along the lines of accusations and hostility, it's at least as probable as the conclusion you've come to.

BTW, Gates has said that he's happy someone called the police when they thought there might have been a break-in taking place.

[fatso]

Azure you're more indignant and frustrated than usual! You must be having a bad day... or perhaps it is a good one?

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Azure

Care to dispute?

How exactly does it make sense for the POTUS to go on national TV and turn what probably wasn't a racial issue into a HUGE racism issue?

Is the cop racist? Go read the article Cowperson posted.

Did the cop do his job? Yes. Was Gates acting like a prick? Yes. Did the cops go overboard(considering Gates was walking with a cane)? Yes. Because they could have solved the problem at his house without arresting him.

But then again, I doubt that is the way the police are told how to deal with a situation like that.

And yet, Obama....without knowing all the facts, goes on television and tells the world how it was racial profiling.

Yes, he is indeed a moron.

Please highlight the 'this was racial profiling' aspect of Obama's comments. It might be tough, cause that was never said.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by fatso

The dispatcher doesn't relay to the cops the details of and circumstances described in the call?

"Break-in suspected at 1156 Cambridge Street"

What else should they say? Caller was distressed? Caller was an old white women, so no need to respond seriously? Caller was an old white guy who said a black guy was breaking into the house, so run in with guns'a'blazing? Caller was talked like a black guy, so he was probably lying? Caller was a small kid, so he probably made it up?

Does it even matter how it was called in? The cops respond on the premise that there was a reported break-in.

There are probably thousands of these incidents each month. Thousands that we don't hear about. Is that because the people involved don't run out and start making racial comments? Or because they should their ID, prove they are the owner of the house, and the cops leave? Or is it because all those people are buddy/buddy with the President, so they can't get him to go on national TV and condemn the actions of the cops despite not knowing all the facts?

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by Azure

Care to dispute?

How exactly does it make sense for the POTUS to go on national TV and turn what probably wasn't a racial issue into a HUGE racism issue?

Is the cop racist? Go read the article Cowperson posted.

Did the cop do his job? Yes. Was Gates acting like a prick? Yes. Did the cops go overboard(considering Gates was walking with a cane)? Yes. Because they could have solved the problem at his house without arresting him.

But then again, I doubt that is the way the police are told how to deal with a situation like that.

And yet, Obama....without knowing all the facts, goes on television and tells the world how it was racial profiling.

Yes, he is indeed a moron.

Please don't use God's name in vain...either way I agree the president should stay out of it....he isn't helping by taking a side even if he admits to having a bias.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by valo403

Please highlight the 'this was racial profiling' aspect of Obama's comments. It might be tough, cause that was never said.

"But I think it's fair to say, No. 1, any of us would be pretty angry; No. 2, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, No. 3 ... that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately."

The incident, Obama said, shows "how race remains a factor in this society."

Yeah, he's not even being subtle. Going right out and bluntly saying that racism was involved.

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by Azure

"But I think it's fair to say, No. 1, any of us would be pretty angry; No. 2, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, No. 3 ... that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately."

The incident, Obama said, shows "how race remains a factor in this society."

Yeah, he's not even being subtle. Going right out and bluntly saying that racism was involved.

Here is what i don't get, and where i agree that Obama doesn't know all the facts, he wasn't arrested for B/E, he was arrested for being a prick...which the cops are allowed to do..there is something to be said for respect and apparently he did not show it. I mean wouldnt you want the cops to ask for ID when investigating a B/E at your house? Would ya? Imagine if the cops took his word and they were wrong...

But ya bad move on Obama's part

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Azure

"But I think it's fair to say, No. 1, any of us would be pretty angry; No. 2, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, No. 3 ... that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately."

The incident, Obama said, shows "how race remains a factor in this society."

Yeah, he's not even being subtle. Going right out and bluntly saying that racism was involved.

Well no matter how big you type it it doesn't change that the statement is 100% factually correct.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by valo403

You're making a pretty big assumption that the cops showed up and said 'hey, how's it going? Can we just look at your ID real quick?'. It's not at all improbable that the conversation went more along the lines of accusations and hostility, it's at least as probable as the conclusion you've come to.

BTW, Gates has said that he's happy someone called the police when they thought there might have been a break-in taking place.

No, I make the assumption that the cops showed up and told Gates about the suspected break-in and asked for ID. According to the police report, Gates decided to act like a prick and refuse to show the ID. And when he DID show the ID, after acting like a prick which happens to be perfectly reasonable grounds for being charged with disorderly conduct, he gave him his Harvard ID, which probably doesn't even give the address of his home.

Your Harvard ID is the key to countless campus experiences and transactions—including building access, book borrowing, Crimson Cash, and riding the M2 shuttle.

Sorry for the bolded text.

http://www.newid.huid.harvard.edu/about.php

I don't know for sure, but it does look like the card wouldn't have had the home address on it. Everything would be stored on the computer, similar to a credit card.

Again, not exactly the ID that would prove that the house belonged to Gates.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by valo403

Well no matter how big you type it it doesn't change that the statement is 100% factually correct.

And I would agree 110%.

But that doesn't mean that this incident was racially motivated. Obama said it was, WITHOUT knowing all the facts, which he also happened to say.

Therefore he is a moron.

Just because the guy is a personal friend, doesn't mean you go on national TV to condemn the cops involved in the incident.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by valo403

Well no matter how big you type it it doesn't change that the statement is 100% factually correct.

Of course, it does. It'll always, sadly, be a factor. The President should have stayed out of it though.

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by Azure

Such a racist individual.

God damn him.

I don't think that trying to save a famous basketball player who is having a heart attack is really proof that someone isn't racist. It's maybe proof that you aren't pure evil, but I don't think it goes much beyond that.

Boston is the second most segregated city in the United States, and from living there for the past 3 years, I can say that I've never seen so much elitism and racism anywhere else that I've lived. That's not proof that this cop was racist, but it helps explain why a black man might jump to that conclusion when they're being accused of breaking into their own home.

I've broken into my own apartment in Boston before as well, and people took me at my word when I explained what I was doing. It's not crazy to think that maybe race had something to do with why Gates didn't get that same benefit of the doubt that I did.