Gates in cuffs: Scenes from "post-racial" America
Two guys I don't recognize trying to force the front door of the neighbor's house? You bet I'd be suspicious.
Would I call the cops? If I were a good neighbor myself, a conscientious neighbor, I probably would. At least I'd like to think I would. After all, somebody's breaking into that house -- I can't just sit there and do nothing, can I?
And I'd like to think I'd make the call no matter how dark or light the intruders' skin tone happens to be. But I don't know that. I can't be sure that's how I'd react.
Especially when I don't happen to know that one of the two dark-skinned guys trying to force the front door of my neighbor's house is: my neighbor!
"Everybody should know his neighbors" -- that's nice, as a theory. As a goal. In the real world, everybody doesn't know his neighbors. I've lived in the same house, on the same block, for nearly two decades; I can recognize exactly three of my neighbors. One of them died last winter. I didn't find out about it until this spring.
So much for knowing.
So the call to the Cambridge cops? No problem.
* * *
Call comes in to the Cambridge cops -- break-in in progress? You bet I'd send out a squad. Maybe two, just to be on the safe side.
You can't have people forcing their way into other people's houses, can you?
And I'd like to think that the dispatcher makes exactly the same decision regardless of what he or she might have been told about the intruders' skin color. Your job is to protect the community; the last thing you're thinking -- at this point, anyway -- is that one of these guys trying to force the front door actually lives in the house.
So the cops going out to investigate? No problem.
* * *
Just back from an out-of-town trip -- an out-of-country trip, in fact -- and I'm tired from all the traveling and happy to be home but my front door doesn't work and I try to force it and it still doesn't work, so I go around to the back door and finally get into the house and now there are cops at the front door and they want to know who I am and what I'm doing there. Am I ticked off? You bet I'm ticked off.
And I'd like to think that in the middle of my being ticked off, I might stop for just a moment and consider the possibility that the Cambridge cops are merely doing their job, and that the sight of two unknown men -- two unknown men of any color -- trying to force a front door might have seemed worth investigating.
Even as I'd like to think that in the middle of doing their jobs, the Cambridge cops might have stopped for just a moment to consider the possibility that this guy is exactly who he says he is, exactly who his I.D. cards say he is, and that he's entitled to be exactly where he is --
-- and what's more, that this might not be the first time in the guy's life that he's had to explain who he is and why he is where he is, simply because of the color of his skin --
-- and that maybe you cut him some slack.
You apologize for the misunderstanding. You give the guy your name and your badge number, even if the guy isn't asking politely anymore. Then you apologize again, and then you leave. End of story.
You don't put him in cuffs and arrest him for disorderly conduct.
Big problem.
* * *
And you know it in your gut, don't you? You just know that, if all the players -- the neighbors, the "intruders," the cops -- had been white, or if they'd all been black, the whole story would have played out differently.
Instead of "stupidly."
Jul 25, 2009 at 7:28 p.m.
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And Obama's lack of experience is blatantly evident in this one. Good going obama.
Jul 25, 2009 at 7:23 p.m.
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Horowitz once again proves he's an idiot. Dude...I don't think we need more evidence. We have all we need. You can stop writing now.
Jul 25, 2009 at 2:16 a.m.
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"remember that police reports are written from the perspective of the policeman."
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Thanks for stating the obvious...
Jul 24, 2009 at 7:34 p.m.
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Group hug today. Can we fix health care now?
Jul 24, 2009 at 7:33 p.m.
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RAF, remember that police reports are written from the perspective of the policeman.
I think all parties over reacted, including the President. I guess he isn't the messiah after all.
Jul 24, 2009 at 7:06 p.m.
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I guess he could have said "I don't know all the facts- no comment" but I think we are all sick of politicians who say exactly that.
Jul 24, 2009 at 3:06 p.m.
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As an Obama supporter, I am greatly disappointed that he inserted himself into this issue at all. He should now simply admit that he's the one who acted stupidly, and apologize to both the officer and the Police Department.
Jul 24, 2009 at 12:36 p.m.
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I felt an enormous sensation of respect when I saw and heard Sgt. Crowley refuse to apologize. It's about time someone did that with confidence!
Jul 24, 2009 at 9:31 a.m.
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I am wondering if this had been a black police officer would the professor have responded the same way? When I was in college we had one female African American professor who stated as a fact that every white person was racist. That seems like she is racist to me. Could the officers race made the professor react inappropriately?
Jul 24, 2009 at 9:15 a.m.
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The officer did end the investigation upon verifying that Gates was indeed a resident at the house. The arrest was for the disorderly conduct on the porch as the officer was leaving.
Think back to a case right here in Janesville where a pastor from Beloit was arrested for obstruction during a traffic stop. Shouting at an officer is going to get their attention and many times that is not a good idea.
Jul 24, 2009 at 9:15 a.m.
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None of us were present when this incident occurred, and it is pathetic of Obama to call the actions of the police “stupid” when he admitted he does not know all the facts. The one thing that I have found that is consistent between the two sides of the story is that they both say that the professor refused to answer questions from the officer. This started because someone thought that a house was being broken into (because the door was being forced open), someone was looking out for this man’s house, the cops were looking out for this man’s house, yet he admitted he didn’t answer questions from the cops who were trying to look out for his house. That makes a lot of sense to me, they are there trying to make sure that your belongings are not getting stolen and in order to do that they want to check your identification and you don’t want to cooperate, you are a real genius. The cops are at your door so automatically it is because you are a black man, there is no way that it could be because you had just assisted in breaking down the front door of a house, sure it is your house but how are the officers supposed to know that unless you cooperate.
Jul 24, 2009 at 6:51 a.m.
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It was very unprofessional of the President to comment on a minor disorderly conduct arrest. He stated that he didn't have all of the facts, yet he went ahead and condemmed the police who were involved.
Well, now we know that he is not above pulling the race card at any given moment. We know what he is made of. "Hope and Change?" Indeed.
Jul 24, 2009 at 12:24 a.m.
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Looks like Rick got all sides of the story before typing his story...not.
For anyone that would like more than sound bites from TV have a look at the actual police report. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/yea...
Jul 23, 2009 at 7:24 p.m.
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This made national news not because of race but because he was a college professor.
If this would have been a black garbage man living in a trailer park would it have made national news? No.
If this would have been a white garbage man living in a trailer park would it have made national news? No.
If a college professor either black or white gets arrested in his own home... Newsworthy.
JMHO
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