Professor Gates continues racist behavior. UPDATED

In my last post, I shared the situation as it happened, complete with the police report.

It is just getting worse. Obama has come out against the police, saying that the Police "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates, while acknowledging that he "doesn't know all the facts" and that he "may be a little biased" because the professor, Henry Louis Gates Jr., 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."

So instead of letting the police do their job, he makes this into a national incident. Not only that, but he generalizes and stereotypes all police offices, especially white ones. Isn't that what is being thrown at the police here? Police around the country are understandably upset. Obama is playing to the "cops are bad" mentality. Why don't we just get rid of the police and see how we are then. Let society crumble under anarchy. See who gets "profiled" then.

And now Professor Gates, whose charges were dropped, is going to sue.

Attorney Charles Ogletree said Gates might sue the department and would bring forward witnesses who say they've had similar experiences with Crowley.

When asked for specific examples, Ogletree said only that they may come out in time depending on how the police department handles the situation moving forward.

Isn't procuring false witnesses a crime? But Ogletree is saying that they will bring "witnesses" when money is on the table. Witnesses get paid for their time. And suddenly, when money is to be had, these people will come forward? Sounds fishy to me. Some mature professor.

He can't handle that the police officer didn't let the celebrity get away with getting in the officer's face. He yelled "You don't know who you are messing with!" when the officers came to investigate the possible break in. And then injects race into this. If you look at pictures, there is a black officer, and the secondary officer was hispanic. But since the primary officer was white, Gates pulls the race card and tries to claim racism. Seems to me like Gates is the racist here.

In the wake of this, many people are coming to the support of Crowley, of all races and walks of life.

Numerous police officers, including African-Americans, have spoken up on Crowley's behalf and portrayed him as a good and fair officer. Crowley, who is white, had once been chosen by a black police officer to teach a police academy course on ways to avoid racial profiling.

Cambridge police Commissioner Robert Haas said he "deeply regrets" the arrest but stands by the procedures his department followed.
"I trust [Crowley's] judgment implicitly. He is a stellar officer," Haas said.

And again:

"I believe that Sgt. [James] Crowley acted in a way that is consistent with his training at the department, and consistent with national standards of law enforcement protocol," Commissioner Robert Haas said, referring to the officer who made the July 16 arrest at the professor's home.

Crowley also said he is exercising caution and his previous actions clearly show he is not a racist.
In fact, Crowley taught a racial profiling course at the Lowell Police Academy, said Deborah Friedl, deputy superintendent of the police department.
Last year was his fifth year as a co-instructor of the course, Friedl said.
"He seems to be a highly regarded instructor at the academy. He consistently received high praise from students," she said.

Check out this video, in which an African-American female voices support for Sgt. Crowley and says "shame on" Gates for turning this into another racial statement.

But Gates continues to demand an apology from the police for daring to arrest him, when he's obviously famous and they "don't know who they are messing with!" I am so tired of celebrities thinking they are above the law. And I'm tired of minorities accusing white police officers of racism whenever they are arrested. It's getting ridiculous.

It's true there was racism here. But it was Sgt. Crowley; the racist behaviors came from Professor Gates and his supporters who jumped behind the black man against the "evil policeman"...racism is racism, even when directed at white men.

**UPDATE**

Obama has apologized for worsening the situation, and said he "hoped the controversy surrounding Gates' arrest provides Americans with "a teachable moment" on how they can improve "relations between police officers and minority communities."

Gates is still maintening that he was 100% faultless, and that he may still sue.

Gates' lawyer is still threatening suit, and that he'll find people that don't like Crowley, saying "I think you will be hearing much more complex and different perspective on him [Crowley] in the coming days and weeks," Ogletree said, alleging that Crowley "is well-known among people, particularly young people, for some of his police practices."

Harvard Professor plays race card, gets arrested UPDATED

From CNN

I've seen this on a few blogs, with different takes. Here's what CNN has to say about it, which to date has the most information available. It IS conflicting, but take a look:

Charles Ogletree, Gates' lawyer in this case, told CNN on Tuesday that Gates -- the director of Harvard's W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research -- had returned from China on Thursday to his Cambridge home and discovered his front door jammed.

He opened his back door with his key and tried unsuccessfully from inside his home to open the front door. Eventually, Gates and his driver forced the door open from the outside, Ogletree said.
The professor was inside for several minutes when a police officer, Sgt. James Crowley, appeared at his steps and asked him to step outside, the lawyer said.

According to his lawyer, Gates told the officer he lived there and showed him his Massachusetts driver's license and Harvard University identification card. The officer followed him into his house and said he had received a report of a possible break-in, the lawyer said. Gates grew frustrated that the officer was continuing to question him in his home and asked for the officer's name and badge number, Ogletree said.

The police report offers a different account of the incident.
Gates refused to step outside to speak with the officer, the police report said, and when Crowley told Gates that he was investigating a possible break-in, Gates opened the front door and exclaimed, "Why, because I'm a black man in America?" the report said.
"While I was led to believe that Gates was lawfully in the residence, I was quite surprised and confused with the behavior he exhibited toward me," he said, according to the report.
The report said Gates initially refused to show the officer identification, but eventually produced a Harvard identification card, prompting Crowley to radio for Harvard University Police.

Gates followed the officer outside and continued to accuse him of racial bias, the report said. After Crowley warned the professor twice that he was becoming disorderly, the officer wrote he arrested Gates for "loud and tumultuous behavior in a public space."

You know, I'm a little conflicted here, but after reading a few articles and blog posts on this, I have to say I'm with the Police Officer on this. The Officer is required to follow up on calls of possible break ins, and many criminals will claim to be the owner. When the Officer asks for proof, the citizen should show proof, and leave it at that.

But following the officer outside, accusing him of things? That can quickly get under a cop's skin. And make him feel threatened, prompting a warning. If Gates didn't stop after getting warned, he deserved to get arrested.

Gates thought that he could harass an Officer just doing his job and get away with it because he played the race card and because he is famous.

**UPDATE: Here is the police report. As far as I can see, Gates is lucky charges were not pressed.