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| According to the police report, passerby Lucia Whalen, "observed what appeared to be two black males with backpacks on" and that her "suspicions were aroused when she observed one of the men wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry." She then called the police.<ref name="questions">{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jNR4dcq5sivgbez2rttRVWtTMXoAD99ISLC00|title=Black scholar's arrest raises profiling questions|publisher=]|date=2009-07-21|accessdate=2009-07-25}}</ref><ref name=police-report/> | According to the police report, passerby Lucia Whalen, "observed what appeared to be two black males with backpacks on" and that her "suspicions were aroused when she observed one of the men wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry." She then called the police.<ref name="questions">{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jNR4dcq5sivgbez2rttRVWtTMXoAD99ISLC00|title=Black scholar's arrest raises profiling questions|publisher=]|date=2009-07-21|accessdate=2009-07-25}}</ref><ref name=police-report/> | ||
| While Gates was on the phone with Harvard maintenance, the police arrived. <ref name="root2"/> There are two accounts of the subsequent events which led to the arrest of Gates. One is in the police report <ref name=police-report/> and the other in an interview with Gates.<ref name="root2"/> | While Gates was on the phone with Harvard maintenance, the police arrived. <ref name="root2"/> There are two accounts of the subsequent events which led to the arrest of Gates. One is in the police report <ref name=police-report/> and the other in an interview with Gates.<ref name="root2"/> According to the police report, the officer asked Gates to step outside, and he refused, saying "Why, because I'm a black man in America?" Also according to the police, Gates initially refused to provide ID, ultimately showing his Harvard ID. The officer wrote in the police report "Gates continued to yell at me, accusing me of racial bias and continued to tell me that I had not heard the last of him". According to Gates, after providing his Harvard ID and his driver's license, he repeatedly asked the officer for his name and badge number, which the officer refused to provide. Gates said after handing over the two sets of ID, he followed the office from inside his house onto his front porch, where the officer arrested him.<ref name="questions"/> | ||
| Gates was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.<ref name="charged">{{cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1912777,00.html|title=The Gates Case: When Disorderly Conduct is a Cop's Judgment Call|publisher=Time magazine|date=2009-07-25|accessdate=2009-07-25}}</ref> The charges were later dropped by the ] ]'s office, upon the recommendation of the city of ] and the Cambridge Police Department. The incident was referred to by authorities as "regrettable and unfortunate."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/charges_to_be_d.html |title=Gates chastises officer after authorities agree to drop criminal charge - Local News Updates - The Boston Globe |publisher=Boston.com |date= |accessdate=2009-07-22}}</ref> | |||
| ==Response== | ==Response== | ||
Revision as of 01:17, 26 July 2009
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Feel free to improve this article or discuss changes on the talk page, but please note that updates without valid and reliable references will be removed. (July 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 Mugshot taken at the time of arrest | |
| Date | July 16, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Location | Gates residence, 17 Ware Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Participants | Police Officer James Crowley Resident Henry Louis Gates, Jr. |
Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct on July 16, 2009. After he and his driver were attempting to force open the front door to his house, which was stuck, a passer-by interpreted their actions as a break-in and called police. While accounts regarding the ensuing discussion differ, this led to the arrest of Gates, though the charges against him were later dropped. The incident drew national attention when President Barack Obama commented that the "Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home". This statement drew criticism from the Cambridge police department and various police groups across the country, as Obama admitted that he did not have all the facts of the incident. Two days later, Obama stated that he regretted that his comments exacerbated the situation. He also gave his opinion that both the police and Gates "overreacted" to the situation.
Arrest
On July 16, 2009, Gates had just returned from a trip to China, where he had finished filming a new documentary series for PBS tracing the ancestry of cellist Yo-Yo Ma. As the front door of his home would not open, Gates entered through his back door. He could not, however, open the front door from the inside, even after unlatching it. Gates states that the lock was damaged and speculated that someone had attempted to "jimmy" the lock while he was away. Gates went back outside and, with the help his driver, forced the door open. Since he rents the house from Harvard University, he next called Harvard maintenance to report the problem so they would repair the damage.
According to the police report, passerby Lucia Whalen, "observed what appeared to be two black males with backpacks on" and that her "suspicions were aroused when she observed one of the men wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry." She then called the police.
While Gates was on the phone with Harvard maintenance, the police arrived. There are two accounts of the subsequent events which led to the arrest of Gates. One is in the police report and the other in an interview with Gates. According to the police report, the officer asked Gates to step outside, and he refused, saying "Why, because I'm a black man in America?" Also according to the police, Gates initially refused to provide ID, ultimately showing his Harvard ID. The officer wrote in the police report "Gates continued to yell at me, accusing me of racial bias and continued to tell me that I had not heard the last of him". According to Gates, after providing his Harvard ID and his driver's license, he repeatedly asked the officer for his name and badge number, which the officer refused to provide. Gates said after handing over the two sets of ID, he followed the office from inside his house onto his front porch, where the officer arrested him.
Gates was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. 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. The incident was referred to by authorities as "regrettable and unfortunate."
Response
The incident was first reported in The Harvard Crimson, the campus newspaper, the Monday morning after the arrest. Following a write-up by the Associated Press that afternoon, the story spread quickly, and a number of individuals commented on the incident in the days that followed. The Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, stated that he felt "troubled" about the situation. The Mayor of Cambridge, E. Denise Simmons, suggested that the incident was a "teachable moment" and that she hoped there would be meaningful dialogue between Mr. Gates, the police force, and the general public. In addition, members of the Harvard community have raised questions about the possibility of racial profiling. Gates' Harvard colleague, neuroscience professor S. Allen Counter, has come forward alleging harassment by the Cambridge Police. The Reverend Al Sharpton has also discussed the incident and referred to it as one of "police abuse or racial profiling" and said that it was "outrageous" and "unbelievable." Gates argued that the police singled him out for harsh treatment because of his race, and vowed to turn the incident into a rallying cry against police mistreatment of blacks.
Sgt. James Crowley, the arresting officer, has responded to these statements. He pointed out that he was chosen by a black police commissioner to serve as an instructor for the Lowell Police Academy since 2004, teaching a course entitled "Racial Profiling." Crowley has also referred to the fact that he tried to resuscitate Reggie Lewis while working as a campus police officer at Brandeis University in 1993. Crowley has received public support from many police officers, including African-Americans, who have spoken on his behalf and who have portrayed him as a good and fair officer. Sgt. Leon Lashley, a black officer who was present at Gate's arrest, said he supported Sgt. Crowley's actions “100 per cent.”
President Obama
President Barack Obama responded to Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times, who asked for his reaction to the case during a July 22 press conference. He said that while he didn't know "what role race played" in the incident, but that "the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home".
Obama's comments sparked a considerable number of comments. James Preston, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Florida State Lodge, stated: "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". In addition, the Cambridge police commissioner, describing the impact of the accusations, commented that "this department is deeply pained. It takes its professional pride seriously". 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.
In response, President Obama contacted both Gates and Crowley. One of Gates' lawyers, Harvard Law Professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr and a former professor of Obama's, stated that, "I think the president has taken the right approach by trying to make sure we move forward He's always had the ability to negotiate difficult conversations, and his steps today are an important step in the right direction. I think the president has given his assessment, which makes a lot of sense, and, however you feel about it, it has reduced the temperature and allowed everyone to move forward in a constructive way." Steve Killion, president of the Cambridge patrol officers association also stated that, "I'm absolutely pleased with . I think it was a good thing for the president to do. He's the commander in chief, he's in charge. Whether or not he should be involved in local politics, he runs the country. We all want to see this behind us."
Gates has accepted an offer to meet with Sgt. Crowley and President Obama at the White House. Gates also stated in an email to the Boston Globe that: "My entire academic career has been based on improving race relations, not exacerbating them. I am hopeful that my experience will lead to greater sensitivity to issues of racial profiling in the criminal justice system. If so, then this will be a blessing for our society. It is time for all of us to move on, and to assess what we can learn from this experience."
In addition, President Obama appeared unannounced at a White House press briefing on July 24, and said "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 specificall — and I could have calibrated those words differently." Also, that " 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."
References
- ^ "Cambridge Police Incident Report # 9005127" (PDF). The Cambridge Police Department. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
- ^ Sweet, Lynn (July 22, 2009). "Obama tells Lynn Sweet police acted "stupidly" in arresting Gates". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
- ^ McPhee, Michelle (July 24, 2009). "Obama Called Cop Who Arrested Gates, Still Sees 'Overreaction' in Gates' Arrest". ABC News. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
- ^ Obama, Barack (July 24, 2009). "Transcript of Obama's Remarks on Gates Incident". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
- Phillips, Kate (July 23, 2009). "Blogtalk: Gates, Obama, Race and the Police". New York Times.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "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.
- "Gates's neighbor captured the moment". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
- ^ "Black scholar's arrest raises profiling questions". Associated Press. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
- "The Gates Case: When Disorderly Conduct is a Cop's Judgment Call". Time magazine. 2009-07-25. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
- "Gates chastises officer after authorities agree to drop criminal charge - Local News Updates - The Boston Globe". Boston.com. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/20/AR2009072001358.html
- "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) - "Black scholar's arrest raises profiling questions - Yahoo! News". News.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
- Root, The (July 16, 2009). "Henry Louis Gates Jr. Arrested". Theroot.com. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
- "Prominent Black Scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Arrested After Racism Charge". ABC News. July 20, 2009.
- ^ "Obama: I didn't mean to slight Cambridge police". CNN. July 25, 2009.
- Lavoie, Denise (July 23, 2009). "Cop who arrested black scholar is profiling expert". Associated Press. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- Cooper, Helene (July 22, 2009). "Obama Criticizes Arrest of Harvard Professor". New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- Obama remark on black scholar's arrest angers cops
- Jonathan Saltzman (2009-07-23). "Crowley's union predicts Obama will regret remarks". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
- Martin Finucane and Tracy Jan (2009-07-23). "Cambridge police commissioner defends officer in Gates arrest". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
- MacQuarrie, Brian (July 24, 2009). "Crowley, Gates camps pleased by president's phone calls". Boston Globe. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
- "Gates Says 'Yes' To Beer With Crowley". The Root. July 24, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
- Jan, Tracy (July 24, 2009). "Gates accepts White House meeting offer". Boston Globe. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
External links
- Henry Louis Gates, and the 21st Century Color Line by Amy Goodman, The Huffington Post, July 22 2009