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Gates Arrested in His Own Home
Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 4:29AM 
Henry Louis "Skip" Gates, Jr. (born September 16, 1950) is an American literary critic, educator, scholar, writer, editor, and public intellectual. Gates currently serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University, where he is Director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research.
The above was taken from his Wikipedia biography. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is also Black. Whether this fact played a role in his arrest at his own home or not is as matter of conjecture. Below is one account of what happened when police were summoned to his house, because a neighbor, identified as Lucia Whalen, thought that two Black men were trying to break in. See Video here
The President, Barack Obama, was asked at a news conference what he thought of the incidence. Obama called Gates a friend, and said he doesn't know all the facts of the case but he said:
"Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof he was in own home," Obama said.
"What I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately," Obama said. "That's just a fact."
The police sergeant accused of racism after he arrested Gates insisted that he won't apologize. Police say Gates at first refused to display ID and then accused the officer of racism. Sgt. James Crowley said he followed proper procedures in arresting Gates.
Crowley said he was disappointed by the national debate triggered by the incident and insisted he followed proper procedures in arresting Gates last week in Cambridge on a charge of disorderly conduct.
"I'm outraged," Gates said in extensive comments made to TheRoot.com, a Web site he oversees.
"I can't believe that an individual policeman on the Cambridge police force would treat any African-American male this way, and I am astonished that this happened to me; and more importantly I'm astonished that it could happen to any citizen of the United States, no matter what their race.
There are 1 million black men in the prison system, and on Thursday I became one of them," he said. "I would sooner have believed the sky was going to fall from the heavens than I would have believed this could happen to me. It shouldn't have happened to me, and it shouldn't happen to anyone."
He spoke of a "terrifying and humiliating" experience at the Cambridge jail, where he was booked, fingerprinted, photographed and questioned, then locked up in a tiny cell that made him claustrophobic. He said he wants an apology from the officer, Sgt. James Crowley. He also said he planned to talk to his legal team about the next step.
Prosecutors dropped a disorderly conduct charge against Henry Louis Gates Jr. The city of Cambridge called the arrest "regrettable and unfortunate," and police and Gates agreed that dropping the charge was a just resolution.
The city of Cambridge, a Boston suburb, released a statement saying the situation "should not be viewed as one that demeans the character and reputation of professor Gates or the character of the Cambridge Police Department."
Reader Comments (178)
Unless someone captured the entire exchange on tape, it is not possible to assert whether Sgt Crowley is an overzealous or racist cop or if Prof Gates is an oversensitive or arrogant black. Sterotypes are infectious and create suspicions by some and useful excuses by others...
1. Cop is white, arrested person is black = cop is racist
2. Man is black, neigborhood is white = man is burglar
Bigger problem here are the conlusions drawn by officials (Obama, Mayor Simmons, etc.) who presume racism or inappropriate behavior without (admittedly) knowing the facts...their suspicions may be correct, but then again, they might not...first. lets see the tape and from that draw and objective conclusion.
Gates played the race card and lost. The officer should not have to take crap from anyone. That's why he arrested him. If he would have shown his ID when the officer asked for it, none of this would be happening. It's totally Gates fault. Maybe if he wasn't trying to break in his house, nobody would have called the police. Just a guess.
First off....Using "stupidly" in a sentence like he did is just as bad as some of Bush's responses in the past.
You would expect that a President would have a more complete vocabulary....I would think he should have said "inappropriately", "questionably" or even "moronically" but that shows you what we're dealing with today.
By everything known in this case, it seems that Gates was trying to force the issue. Most people would be happy & relieved to know that someone had called the police when it "APPEARED" that their house was being broken into!! Or would they rather people kept their shades down and hid in their homes never noticing or reporting POTENTIAL criminal acts???
The problem here is that when anything like this happens, most blacks cease to think logically and go off on a wild tangent about racism, etc.
Had the police just barged into his house with no other reason or report of a POSSIBLE burglary occuring, then they would have been out of line and Gates' reaction would be understandable. But after finding out why the police were there, Gates, being a supposedly highly educated man, should and could have simply understood the situation and calmly sorted out the situation with the officers.
There was no need for the flying off the handle, "yo mama" (I mean seriously, REALLY???...from a Harvard professor??!!!) and having the incident spiral out of control like it did. If anyone is responsible for the incident snowballing out of control it is Gates not the police!
Great...a southern lawyer, just what we need!
You gotta be kidding, The police officer was doing his job to protect and serve, The great professor was beligerent, rude and racist to the officer, and the officer would have walked away but the great professor kept it up...He responded to a burglary in progress with a description, he was trying to get the professer out of the house for his own protection, and instead of being gratefull he yells racist remarks at him... The professer said his door was jammed from an attempted break in, you would think he would welcome the police. The president had no right to call that department stupid, and the only reason the charges were probably dropped because they were pressured and they should have backed up that officer and stuck with the arrest.
I MIGHT BE BLIND...BUT IN THE PICTURE OF THE ARREST... I SEE NO CROWD... I SEE NOW POLICE CAR...IT LOOKS AS IF THEY ARE ON GATES PORCH...WHICH IS STILL APART OF HIS PROPERTY...NOW UNLESS THE OFFICER LET HIM MOUTH OFF..THEN GO INSIDE TO GET HIS GLASSES BEFORE THE TOOK HIM IN...I DONT SEE WHERE HE FOLLOWED HIM OUT TO THE STREET IS COMING FROM.....
Put yourself in the officer's position. He must do whatever he needs to keep himself safe. Being in the only officer there to show up at what is supposedly the scene of a crime and have a man behave erratically is a hostile situation. Arresting him may be morally incorrect after the facts are provided, he was not wrong in doing what he had to do to ensure he was protected. The problem people never consider when looking at police who 'overreact' to situations is that they have never been put in that situation and don't realize what they have to deal with in terms of their daily job of being around criminals. Being in their position they have to be extremely careful how they approach situations and do everything possible to ensure their safety because they don't know how people will react, and hostile activity towards a police officer (yes yelling at police is hostile enough) warrants them to arrest that person for their safety.
If Gates had approached the situation logically and had not tried to start any sort of racial agenda then the matter would have been settled at the house, but he chose to behave erratically and assume racial prejudice in a situation that he was not in control of therefor the officer had to take control to protect himself.
MAN HE DIDNT BREAK IN....HE HAD HIS KEYS...READ PEOPLE..THE KEY JUST JAMMED IN THE DOOR...HE TOOK A WHILE TRYING TO GET IT TO WORK SO A NEIGHBOR..PROBABLY WHITE...CALLED THE POLICE ON HIM...WHEN THEY ARRIVED HE WAS ALREADY IN HIS HOUSE...ALSO WE ARE TALKING ABOUT AN ELDERLY MAN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY...DID HE REALLY LOOK LIKE A BURGULAR...IM SORRY U CAN NEVER BE TO SURE WITH THE BLACKIES....
Obama keeps making that guaranteed 8 year term look more like a 4 year term. The self destruction of a true liberal is under way. When did he become part of the sharpton, j. jackson circle? He owes it to this officer to get it right. I had the same thing happen, was forced to sit on the curb in front of my own house. Do I understand why? of course. We're all subject to the power of the Law. It's our friend not our enemy.
I read the police report, and in fact have arrested others under almost identical circumstances. This professor needs to seek mental health treatment. It's so obvious from the report that he esclated this encounter and in fact, I believe the reporting officer used considerable restraint. I would have arrested him a lot sooner.
It is a racial thing. Only someone that will not look at facts will say different. But this notion that everyone has to "worship" police is crazy. The police are not GOD and I should not have to "watch what I say to police" If I'm not a physical threat to police, then I can say what I like, especially in my own home.
I like what Serpico (a real HONEST cop) said about police corruption, 10% of police are completely honest, 10% are completely corrupt,and the other 80% want to be honest.
BINGO! This is it, about time someone say something right. Cops have license to arrest, so they don't like disrespect
Why would an officer want to arrest a guy who he knew was innocent. He acted like he would in any arrest, and this professor freaked out, played the black victim card, and once again stirred up racial issues in the news. I guess having the first black president has done nothing for us.
You have got to be kidding me with this kind of rant. The police were called out to investigate a burglary. Gates admits that he had to break into his own house. The police asked him to step outside to verify who he was and check out the house but apparently he went into a racial tirade. This exact situation happened to my nephew at my house several years ago. My nephew who went to college nearby often came to my house. One time I forgot to leave the door open so my nephew looked for another way into my house, which he found. My neighbor called the police who showed up and confronted my nephew. They asked him to step outside to verify who he was. He was able to do that without becoming argumentative or combative with the police. All that Mr. Gates had to do was comply with the officer and this would have been over in 10 minutes. Not act like a child that was told he couldn't do something. This is definitely racism but from Gates and from our president.
What I see is a powerful Harvard professor trying to get some attention. He was arrested for being belligerent, which seems consistent with everything both sides seem to be presenting.
So, this guy makes a big deal about this…but years ago no one said a thing about the WHITE student at ball state that was SHOT and KILLED outside of his house…weird…race card wins again.
That's why cops like you should come to Detroit where we can can "teach you" how to behave as a police "officer" You think you're God and everyone is suppose to shut up when you tell them. Well not me. And if you come at me I'm taken at least three with me.
Gates was arrested for “disorderly conduct" the officer did not arrest him for breaking & entering. Gates most likely was mouthing off to the officer & the officer did not want to take it any more. If it was a white guy mouthing off to the officer the same thing would happen.
I see in the picture that there are other officers (1 black officer)- what do they say?
This is why all officers need to have a microphone recorder.
If it was a black officer arresting him this would not be an issue.
Ryan,
If police officers thought like you do, half of them would be dead. He took the normal precautions. Obama should apologize and thank him for putting his life on the line as an officer. He approached a house with a reported burglary in action, by himself, and took the right precautions. He has 3 kids and a wife. This nutty professor needs to zip it.
Gates was arrested for “disorderly conduct" the officer did not arrest him for breaking & entering. Gates most likely was mouthing off to the officer & the officer did not want to take it any more. If it was a white guy mouthing off to the officer the same thing would happen. Race was not an issue!!!
When an officer arrives to a location part of their duty (not only to protect themselves but others as well) is to take charge of the situation. If someone is threatening that then police will, and should, do what is necessary to overcome it, which in this case was arresting the person who was behaving erratically until the situation was resolved.
Yes he did 'bait' Gates into fighting outside, but that is what they are trained to do so they can take control of the situation. How does that make what he did wrong? If Gates had behaved normally and shown the officer his identification without yelling about racial prejudice then the issue would have been resolved. The officer showed up at his house to ensure Gates' safety, yet all he can do is yell at him and not follow his orders. So the cop then takes control of the situation by using tactics (and yes 'baiting' someone into commuting an arrestable offense is tactics) to control the situation and ensure his own safety.
So next time a cop shows up at your door and asks for identification help him and follow his orders instead of trying to shove all this 'my rights' crap down his throat and resolve the situation in a civilized manner in a matter of minutes.
It is clear from the police report that Gates attempted to use his power and race to bully the police. It is Gates that is pushing race and victimization and Gates should be ashamed for the way he conducted himself. It's sad to think that Gates treated the cops like garbage when they were there to protect his property. Gates is your typical intellectual snob with an obvious racial chip on his shoulder and wants to portray African Americans as victims, just the type of professor Harvard seeks out. Bravo Ivy League!
Hey Al, what you and most people forget is that being a police officer can be a very dangerous job. How many times have we heard a cop being killed by what he thought was going to be a routine and innocent stop. The police officer has a family that he has to come home to everyday. We ALWAYS seem to forget that his job puts him in harms way almost everyday. We cry foul every time a police officer is just trying to do his job and not worry about getting shot to death by what he thought was going to be an innocent check on the situation. It sounds like to me that Gates was just tired from his trip and angry because he couldn't get into his house. He took all his problems out on the police officer. If he had just kept quiet and followed the instructions of the police officer, none of this would have happened. It sounds like Gates has a chip on his shoulder. I am sure glad that the police officer is safe and his family still has a father. How would you like to have his job and wonder if you're walking into a dangerous situation. And no, I am not a police officer.
bullshit
I agree with Mitch 100%.