It’s too bad the officers in question did not use better judgment from the beginning to escalate this situation into something that looks and smells an awful lot like racial profiling.
BOSTON — Prosecutors dropped a disorderly conduct charge Tuesday against prominent black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., who was arrested at his home near Harvard University after a report of a break-in.
The city of Cambridge issued a statement saying the arrest “was regrettable and unfortunate” and police and Gates agreed that dropping the charge was a just resolution.
“This incident should not be viewed as one that demeans the character and reputation of professor Gates or the character of the Cambridge Police Department,” the statement said.
Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/21/henry-louis-gates-jr-arre_n_242010.html
2 comments:
A passerby on the street in Cambridge saw a man trying to shimmy open the door of a home and they called the police. The police responded and when they approached the man asked him who he was and for some identification.
What exactly is ridiculous about this?
Once you know that a person is rightfully in his house ... to continue to harass him and bait him into coming outside so you can arrest him is bogus. I don't have a problem with him responding to the call, checking to make sure Gates was legally in the house, but that was where the officer should have left. Instead, he was sparked by his arrogance and sensitive nature and grew pissed off because Gates was upset. Crowley should have used better sense and understood the situation. Intead, he seemed to come in with a bad attitude and provoked the professor into doing something that would allow him to showboat and make an arrest.
So, to answer your direct question ... nothing is ridiulous about the scenario you describe. It's what happened after that I found ridiculous.
Post a Comment