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'''[[Henry Louis Gates, Jr.]]''' was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct following an incident on July 16, 2009, when he had trouble opening the door to his house, which a passer-by interpreted it as a break-in and called police. While accounts regarding the ensuing discussion differ, Gates was arrested as he followed the arresting officer as he left his home to continue the discussion. The incident drew national attention when President [[Barack Obama]] indicated that he thought that the police action "stupid", which drew criticism from members of the police across the country as Obama did not have all of the facts about the incident. The charges were later dropped.
'''[[Henry Louis Gates, Jr.]]''' was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct following an incident on July 16, 2009, when he had trouble opening the door to his house, which a passer-by interpreted it as a break-in and called police. While accounts regarding the ensuing discussion differ, Gates was arrested as he followed the arresting officer as he left his home to continue the discussion. The incident drew national attention when President [[Barack Obama]] indicated that he thought that the police action was "stupid", which drew criticism from members of the police across the country as Obama did not have all of the facts about the incident. The charges were later dropped.


==Arrest==
==Arrest==

Revision as of 20:28, 24 July 2009

Gates' disorderly conduct charge
Mugshot taken at the time of arrest
DateJuly 16, 2009[1]
LocationGates residence, 17 Ware Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts
ParticipantsPolice Officer James Crowley
Resident Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct following an incident on July 16, 2009, when he had trouble opening the door to his house, which a passer-by interpreted it as a break-in and called police. While accounts regarding the ensuing discussion differ, Gates was arrested as he followed the arresting officer as he left his home to continue the discussion. The incident drew national attention when President Barack Obama indicated that he thought that the police action was "stupid", which drew criticism from members of the police across the country as Obama did not have all of the facts about the incident. The charges were later dropped.

Arrest

On July 16, 2009, Gates had just returned from a trip. The front door of his home -- damaged by a previous break-in -- would not open, causing Gates investigate the problem. Gates and his driver attempted to pry the front door open. Lucia Whalen, whose office at Harvard Magazine is located on the same block, was walking past Gates' house. Suspecting that "two black males" (Gates and a driver) were breaking and entering, Whalen called the police.

Gates being arrested, as photographed by a neighbor[2]

The police state that Gates had initially refused to show identification and that the arresting officer, Sergeant James Crowley, had given his name on demand. When Gates was told that Crowley was investigating a possible break in, Gates then stated, "Why, because I'm a black man in America?" According to police reports, Gates also insulted Crowley's mother repeatedly. When Gates repeated a request for Crowley's name, Crowley replied that he would only speak to Gates outside. Crowley stated that he desired to go outside at that time as "Gates was yelling very loud and the acoustics of the kitchen and foyer were making it difficult for me to transmit pertinent information to EEC or other responding units".[3] Gates then followed Crowley from the house onto the porch, yelling at him.[4][5] Crowley reported that he then warned Gates that he was becoming disorderly. Crowley reported that he then warned Gates again while at the same time withdrawing handcuffs to arrest Gates.[6]

Gates proffered a different version of events, stating that he established his identity, but demanded the name and badge number of the police officer, following him outside, at which time he was arrested for disorderly conduct, citing "loud and tumultuous behavior".[7] Gates and his attorney, Harvard colleague Charles Ogletree disputed the police report, with Gates alleging that he has a severe case of bronchitis contracted in China, which renders him incapable of yelling.[8][9]


Aftermath

The charges were later dropped by the Middlesex County district attorney's office, upon the recommendation of the city of Cambridge and the Cambridge Police Department, calling the incident "regrettable and unfortunate".[10] The Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick stated that he felt "troubled" about the situation. The Mayor of Cambridge, E. Denise Simmons stated that the incident was a "teachable moment", and stated her desire for there to be an open dialogue among Mr. Gates, the police force, and the general public on the incident to craft a way forward for the community.[11]

Questions about racial profiling have been raised by numerous members of the Harvard academic community, with Gates' Harvard colleague, neuroscience professor Allen Counter, coming forward alleging harassment by the Cambridge Police.[9][12][13]

In the aftermath of this incident, others have spoken out about it, including the Reverend Al Sharpton who called the incident of "police abuse or racial profiling" both "outrageous" and "unbelievable".[14]

President Barack Obama responded to a question asking for his reaction to the case during a July 22 news conference on health care by stating:

Well, I should say at the outset that Skip Gates is a friend, so I may be a little biased here... The police are doing what they should ...There’s a call. They go investigate. What happens? My understanding is that Professor Gates then shows his I.D. to show that this is his house, and at that point he gets arrested for disorderly conduct. I don’t know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that...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, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by police disproportionately. That’s just a fact.[15][16]

Many police officers across the country criticized President Obama's comments, with James Preston, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Florida State Lodge, saying "To make such an off-handed comment about a subject without benefit of the facts, in such a public forum, hurts police/community relations and is a setback to all of the years of progress". Preston further warned that "by reducing all contact between law enforcement and the public to the color of their skin or ethnicity is, in fact, counterproductive to improving relationships".[17] On July 24, 2009, a multiracial group of police officers demanded an apology from President Obama and Governor Deval Patrick, for making comments which the police described as insulting.[18]

The Cambridge police commissioner, describing the impact of the accusations, commented that "this department is deeply pained. It takes its professional pride seriously".[19][20]

Sgt. James Crowley, the arresting officer, stated that he is not racist, having been chosen by a black police commissioner[21] to serve as an instructor for the Lowell Police Academy since 2004, teaching a course entitled "Racial Profiling".[22] Crowley also noted his actions trying to resuscitate Reggie Lewis while working as a campus police officer at Brandeis University in 1993. Crowley stated that he has no "ill feelings toward the professor" but that he has nothing to apologize for.[23] Sgt. Crowley has received strong public support from numerous police officers, including African-Americans, who have spoken up on Crowley's behalf and portrayed him as a good and fair officer.[24]

President Obama responded in a press conference on July 24 by stating:

Because this has been ratcheting up -- and I obviously helped to contribute ratcheting it up -- I want to make clear that in my choice of words, I think, I unfortunately... gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge police department or Sergeant Crowley specifically. And I could have calibrated those words differently. And I told this to Sergeant Crowley. I continue to believe, based on what I have heard, that there was an overreaction in pulling Professor Gates out of his home to the station. I also continue to believe, based on what I heard, that Professor Gates probably overreacted as well. My sense is you've got two good people in a circumstance in which neither of them were able to resolve the incident in the way that it should have been resolved and the way they would have liked it to be resolved [...] There are some who say that as President I shouldn’t have stepped into this at all because it’s a local issue. I have to tell you that that part of it I disagree with. The fact that this has become such a big issue I think is indicative of the fact that race is still a troubling aspect of our society. Whether I were black or white, I think that me commenting on this and hopefully contributing to constructive — as opposed to negative — understandings about the issue, is part of my portfolio.[25][26]

References

  1. ^ http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Original_PDF/2009/07/21/0721docket_redacted_revised__1248200728_6644.pdf
  2. ^ "Gates's neighbor captured the moment". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  3. ^ "Cambridge Police Incident Report # 9005127" (PDF). The Cambridge Police Department. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  4. ^ "Charge against Harvard professor dropped". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  5. ^ "Police docket" (pdf). Cambridge Police Department through boston.com (Boston Globe website). Retrieved 2009-07-22. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "Cambridge Police Incident Report # 9005127" (PDF). The Cambridge Police Department. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  7. ^ "Charge against Harvard professor dropped". CNN.com. July 21, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2009.
  8. ^ "Lawyer's Statement on the Arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr". The Root. Washingtonpost Newsweek Interactive. July 20, 2009.
  9. ^ a b "Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. speaks out on racial profiling after his arrest by Cambridge police". The Root. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  10. ^ "Gates chastises officer after authorities agree to drop criminal charge - Local News Updates - The Boston Globe". Boston.com. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  11. ^ "Patrick 'Troubled' By Harvard Professor's Arrest". WBZ / (CBS Broadcasting Inc., Boston). 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2009-07-22. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  12. ^ "Black scholar's arrest raises profiling questions - Yahoo! News". News.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  13. ^ Root, The (July 16, 2009). "Henry Louis Gates Jr. Arrested". Theroot.com. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
  14. ^ "Prominent Black Scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Arrested After Racism Charge". ABC News. July 20, 2009.
  15. ^ Sweet, Lynn (July 22, 2009). "Obama tells Lynn Sweet police acted "stupidly" in arresting Gates". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
  16. ^ Cooper, Helene (July 22, 2009). "Obama Criticizes Arrest of Harvard Professor". New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  17. ^ Obama remark on black scholar's arrest angers cops
  18. ^ [1]
  19. ^ Jonathan Saltzman (2009-07-23). "Crowley's union predicts Obama will regret remarks". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  20. ^ Martin Finucane and Tracy Jan (2009-07-23). "Cambridge police commissioner defends officer in Gates arrest". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  21. ^ [2]
  22. ^ Lavoie, Denise (July 23, 2009). "Cop who arrested black scholar is profiling expert". Associated Press. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  23. ^ Sweet, Laurel J.; Szaniszlo, Marie; Crimaldi, Laura; Van Sack, Jessica; Dwinell, Joe (July 23, 2009). "Officer in Henry Gates flap tried to save Reggie Lewis". Boston Herald.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ [3]
  25. ^ McPhee, Michelle (July 24, 2009). "Obama Called Cop Who Arrested Gates, Still Sees 'Overreaction' in Gates' Arrest". ABC News. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
  26. ^ Obama, Barack (July 24, 2009). "Transcript of Obama's Remarks on Gates Incident". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
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