The police officer who arrested a Harvard professor and friend of President Obama for disorderly conduct said Thursday he wants Obama to butt out.
The police officer who arrested a Harvard professor for disorderly conduct said Thursday he wants President Obama, who is the educator's friend, to butt out of the incident.
Cambridge, Mass., Sgt. James Crowley arrested Henry Louis Gates Jr. in his home last week after he responded to a report of two black men attempting to break in to Gates' home.
It turned out that Gates, head of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, had broken into his own home after being unable to find his keys upon his return from a trip to China.
Asked about the incident, Obama, who is friends with the professor and documentary filmmaker, told reporters at a Wednesday night press conference that he didn't know all the facts. But he said, "the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home."
Crowley told WEEI sports radio network that it was "disappointing that (Obama) waded into what should be a local issue that plays out here."
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41 comments:
Mr. Gates has a huge chip on his shoulder about "whitey". He could have thanked the officer for protecting his home and responding quickly to a report of possible B&E, but instead he dissed the officer.
Obama was a fool to respond to the question at his media event last night and easily could have avoided doing so. He's just as bad as his buddy Gates.
What a racist piece of crap this guy is. After reading a couple articles it sounds like a set up of the arresting officer or gates was under the influence.
Don't the people in American know that the race card is a get out of jail free card, where you can verbally assault a police officer and if he's white he can't touch you. And that you can skip studying and score low on the fire chief exam and still get put ahead of whitey who studied real hard. When your national policies are a disaster for America, you can't be criticised because the criticism is just racism.
Wake up America!
"Mr. Gates has a huge chip on his shoulder about "whitey". He could have thanked the officer for protecting his home and responding quickly to a report of possible B&E, but instead he dissed the officer."
So, the part where Gates actually showed his ID (with that address listed) and the police officer asked him to step outside THEN arrested him, Gates should be thankful for that, too?
I think Gates is one of those "chip on the shoulder, slavery on the sleeve" guys and all of that needs to be knocked off.
Obama said he didn't know the details of the arrest but still said that the officer was stupid for what he did. Am I missing something here. Should Obama have responded if he didn't have details. Apparently he is used to responding on a subject without knowing the details. He gave a speech last night about health care but doesn't know anything about the bill. He just talked about letters he got in the mail... People Wake Up!!!!! This is your community organizer you asked for... I hope your happy!!!
Robert,
Democrats wabble but they don't fall down.
2:20 He was arrested for his lack of self control after being warned three times he should have thanked the officers for trying to protect his home. Gates is a racist.
2:20 All Gates had to do was show the officer his identity but instead Gates shouted racism soon as the officer got to the door. The officer asked Gates to step out the door for the officers safety (they are taught this). The officer didn't know if anyone else was in the house. If Gates would have acted intelligently and told the officer this is my house and heres my id to prove it this situation would not be where it is today. But people like Gates feed off situations like this... This is ridiculous...
I, too, believe it was a mistake for the President to even comment on this arrest but THAT was a setup of him!
The reporter who brought it up is just as much an a&& as the others involved! It should never have been brought up - was totally out of context and was only done to stir the pot.
Boy did it ever get stirred!
The scenario was a set up from the neighbor calling the police to Gates forcing the officer to arrest him from the liberal media asking the question. Notice were not talking about the snow job Obama tried to sell last night !
2:45 We all know Obama knew the questions before they were asked? It was all a setup...
Isn't it odd that some reporters were asked twice last night in a room of about 100 reporters and he calls their name from a list in front of him. You would think he would just point and ask.... Wake Up People!!!
Hey Obama:
How about "all the facts" about your birth certificate.
Gates may have been a jackass, but even as a middle aged white man I might have been pretty damn irritated if a policeman started quizzing me about breaking into my own house. The part that doesn't make sense in any scenario under the sun is why the policeman cuffed him and took him in AFTER he showed the policeman his Harvard Photo ID card and Photo Drivers license with his home address listed.
Short of some info we haven't seen there is no convceivable reason on God's green earth to have done this. Even if you are a policeman having an irritated old black man tell you, that you a probable racist and to get off his front porch doesn't count.
I will be fascinated to see what the rationale was for the arrest.
Gates teaches African-American Studies at Harvard and saw this as his grand opportunity to sue for mega bucks.
He was arrested for disorderly conduct due to his tumultous rants and outbursts.
Gates should have thanked the police for their rapid response to the "burglury in progress" call rather than verbally abuse the officer and yell racist.
Obama should have declined to comment even if he had knowledge of the incident. Unpresidential behavior to blame the officer and Cambridge police. Of course, this behavior is nothing new to our president.
Obama's anger is always bubbling just beneath the surface. It must be so sad to be perpetually angry.
Most of you yahoos would have just shot the officer. Being in your own home and all.
It wasn't like the officer drove by and saw Mr. Gates throwing his shoulder through the door. He was responding to a call from a NEIGHBOR about a possible break-in. In any situation a cop must think as if its a worse case scenario. A cop must be prepared for someone else to jump from outside the door. This is how they are trained. This is why he asked Mr. Gates to step outside the home. Anyone with common sense would realize this. He asked him for his ID and Mr. Gates, acting like a idiot, called the man a racist and talked about his mother. I would have arrested him to. I don't know why they dropped the case. It makes them look guilty which he wasn't.
3:27-Get over it, He's already President.
3:47 are you stupid ? The neighbor called the police they have to investigate of course he's going to ask the man to show an I.D. if the cop left without checking and things were stolen Gates would be screaming if it was a white man's house he would have checked it out.
Obama a complete disaster !
I will never get over it. Ohbama is just what the world thought he was. A closet racist. Funny thing though the other a day I stopped a pick up speeding on Rt 13. It was late oncoming radar stop. Anyone that has done this type od work you can not tell the race or sex at night in oncoming traffic. As I walked up to the truck and stated my agency and title. The old grizzled white guy stated "You just stopped me because I am White" I scratched my head laughed walked back to my car and went about looking for other violaters.
You just gotta laugh. When will it stop. I guess never. O you lost my vote. It was the following statements about hispanics and Blacks being profiled that burned me. I guess rich white Ohbama does not know that poverty breads crime. The hispanic crossing the borders with just a shirt on his back may become desperate. The same goes for a kid with no food and parenets that are crack addicted.
get real Ohbama go spend some real time with real Black America. It is a jungle out there and you helped create it.
There are only two class of people in the U.S. those that pay and those that do not. Period it has shit to do with race.
The professor should be fired. He is a disgrace, not only to black people, but to ALL people and America. Obama should make himself aware of the circumstances before he says stupid, racist things. The racist professor clearly saw a chance to crucify the officers protecting his home and turn it into a racial issue. He succeeded, but he is the over-reacting racist swine!
The police were protecting his home after a report of a possible home invasion. They had to operate under the assumption that a dangerous person may be breaking in and possibly harming the residents. Gates should have thanked the officers for their response, showed them his identification without berating them, and everything would have been fine. Instead, in his what appears to be drunken state, he was enraged and assumed the officers were harassing him because he is black.
I'm not the leading white scholar in America, but when my dogs wake me up to pee, sometimes at 4 in the morning, I take them out. Twice in the last six months police cars have pulled up and asked if I had a reason to be out on the streets at that time. I don't scream, "there's no curfew, why are you persecuting me." I understand that there are a lot of break-ins and drug dealing going at that time. I just smile and say good morning, officer. My name is Thomas Littleton; I live here, and I'm just taking my beagles out to pee! On both occasions we had a conversation about my dogs and said a civil good night. The "leading black scholar in America" isn't capable of being civil and handling the police responding to protect his property in similar fashion?
This is "the leading black scholar in America"? He can't even properly understand & handle a situation where the police were clearly trying to protect HIS property! I have to believe there are more competent black people in America. If someone does break into his home to steal or rape, murder or whatever, the police should ignore any request to respond! F**K him and his reverse racism!
TAL
8:46 Damn straight, I am sick and tired of BS coming from these idiots, that professor pulled the " Obama's in office... don't mess with me cause I'm black card". What he should of done was calmed down and have some patience. That Officer was doing his duty. That stuck up professor has no respect for the law, nor for the Men and Women who allow him to go to bed and sleep in peace every night. It's a shame, thank you for pile-driving our country in Congress, House of Representatives, and Mr. no, not Mr., Obama. By the way, Mr. Obama, you should have kept you damned dumb a$$ mouth shut last night cause you do not know anything mr. college graduate. I think I definitely have more common sense than he does
2:30, seems like you agree he was arrested for voicing his opinion about the police on HIS property at HIS home. Isn't this the tyranny you all keep complaining about?
10:44,
Read the report of the entire incident from the report of a possible crime in progress to the ugly ending with the racist professor verbally assaulting the officers who were there to protect his property. This "professor" is clearly a racist propagandist. If his home had been invaded, he would have screamed that the police didn't promptly, aggressively respond to his home because he is black. The police can't win when dealing with a racist bent on using them to promote his or her particular racist propaganda!
Yes, 10:44, you seem the suffer from the same lack of basic common sense and understanding as the abusive, out of control, probably drunken, "leading black American scholar," racist professor who was NOT arrested for voicing his opinion. The racist piece of crap was arrested for being disruptive of a requested police investigation of a possible home invasion in progress and for verbally harrassing responding officers.
Public servants do not have to tolerate such uncivil, abusive behavior at the hands of racists of any race or persuasion. What did the police do in response to this ungrateful piece of crap's verbal abuse? They didn't beat or physically harm the clearly out of control, abusive, harassing individual.
These officers did just what was indicated by the totality of the situation: they arrested the out of control, screaming racist.
If this is really the "leading black scholar in America," I would hope that upon regaing sanity or sobriety, he would have the capacity to understand what took place and the decency to apologize to the officer, the city and America for his racist, abusive, uncivilized behavior! He should then, and very publically, thank the police for their prompt response to a report of a possible criminal invasion of his home and promise to try to conduct himself as a civilized, human being in the future!
TAL
Where is Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson when you need them to explain this? They must be out of town because they usually arrive before the second shoe hits the floor :( If it were a black cop they would be there defending him.
According to all the reports,when he was questioned he got belligerent-maybe if he had just cooperated he could have went on about his business but no he had to get loud and ignorant and cause a scene-I do not normally defend cops but they had to assume he was dangerous until they knew for sure who the hell he was.
10:44 just because this racist was home he still has to obey the law as in not hindering an investigation. To call this tyranny is a joke if this is where race relations are it's the blacks fault !
Gates should be fired from his job and Obama should apologize to the officer in question but Gates or Obama have no class.
ole presbo had more to say about this incident than he did about the MURDER of Pfc. William Long in front of a military recruiting center by a confessed black muslim convert who claimed his innocence while proclaiming the MURDER was justified "in retaliation".
for presbo to comment when the news conference was about health care proposals was UTTERLY STUPID.
Full Description of Incident Here:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0723092gates1.html
Ok Ok so I do not think this was a racial thing but what about all the other Racial arrests going on in other places is Obama standing up for them? NO he is only standing up for his friend so that is just as racial as he is accusing this officer of being! Obama needs to worry about the important things going on friend or not it is none of his business and he should never have said a word! Another great move from our wonderful President! Thanks to the arresting Officer and the Department that is backing him up!!!
I believe this was planned to cause racial unrest so Obama can declare martial law then he will be completely in control. "DEATH TO THE TYRANT"
Nice work Barack… with one comment you managed to alienate 75% of America.
And anyone who has spent any amount of time in the “higher” education system knows the Professor Gates type: bitter, spiteful, bigoted racist with a position of power who felt emboldened to make a political statement.
This is the type of Professor who would change the subject on you when you attempt to engage in a debate- or would give you a poor grade because you actually have an opinion, and done research outside of marxist texts and such. You are fooling no one, Mr Gates.
And Mr President, is this “nuance” you’ve spoke of? “the police acted stupidly”? -please
Obama is out to rip this country to shreds in EVERY way- who can question that such ill-advised statements are divisive… and NOT helpful? He has no idea what happened, he admitted it- and apparently doesn’t care, either… he’s picked his side.
But back in reality, the childish and paranoid Gates completely baited the cop, who acted with admirable restraint, IMO… all he had to do is show his ID and shut up, he was treated with respect. This guy was clearly looking for a fight… and he ought to thank God he didn’t find one.
Obama is going to destroy race relations in this country with his vengeful “get even” mentality… some messiah- Americans should have chosen a fair and sensible human being instead of this embittered nut.
http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com
Once they ID was shown, you see this is my home, you see there is no robbery, take your @$$ off my property
11:15am, that's what sounds like happened, except Mr Gates went outside and started yelling to the crowd that had gathered because of his behavior. He got what he deserved and he could have been charged with hindering and obstruction.
11:15 Your stupid ! He was already enraged by the time he showed his ID making racial slurs to the innocent officer.It was his house but it's the officer's job to make sure he is who he said he is and that someone is not inside holding a gun to his
wife's head. What is it Black people are above the law ?
What's the difference in Gates expressing his opinion about the arresting officer "doing his job" and all of you Obama "haters" outraged and shocked claiming that he is a racist? If Gates is a racist then so are all of you! At least you are upfront with your ignorance. I can't believe so many attitudes of white Americans have not progressed past pre-civil rights.
11:00,
You must be one of the most stupid people alive. You can believe that if someone goes beyond expressing his/her opinion and berates, harasses and racially abuses an officer doing his/her job, they will and should be arrested just like the racist professor. Even Obama knows this now that he's seen the full report. That's why he's crawling on his hands and knees to the innocent and just officer in this incident, FOOL!
ok thomas agustus littleton AKA grand dragon...if the professor were white and the police officer had been black; all this rage you poeple have on this blog would be on the flip side. You all would say the professor was justified and the officer was out of line. Everybody knows Mass. is one of the most white racist states in the country. You all just can't get over the fact that the officer got called out for what that department has done to blacks for decades. He didn't assault him, he just verbally attacked him. That goes along with the territory and if the officer got his little girlie feelings hurt, then so what! People bad mouth the police everyday. I bet that professor could tell you many stories of bigotry he encountered at Harvard. The officer may have been justified to arrest the professor, but you people on here sound like a lynch mob from Mississippi in the 1950's. Nobody has to bow and scrape and say thank you to some police officer "doing his job". Get a grip idiot!
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