Obama, Gates and Crowley: Everybody screwed up!

Annuit Coeptis ^ | July 23, 2009 | James Shott

[wtc911]

"Gates acted like a punk and an idiot, but did nothing warranting arrest, as everything he did was on his own property. It is not illegal to be rude, crude, and even profane toward any individual when you are on your own property, even to police officers. If acting like an idiot was all that is required to be arrested, we’d need more jails."

See, there you go again, writing as if you know what you are talking about. Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct - disturbing the peace. Standing on your own property while disturbing the peace is not protection against arrest. His behaviour was drawing a crowd. He was told to desist, twice (a lawful order). He did not. He was arrested.

"And, if the arrest was warranted, the charge would not have been dropped."

Absolute nonsense. The police arrest. The ADA decides the charge. There are any number of real world reasons why an ADA might not want to continue the process, none of them denying the criminality of the act.

If you want to be taken seriously as a writer by the adults you had better learn to do your homework.

[ml/nj]

Does that change what the officer did as regards to following protocol?

I don't know much about his protocol. I know about the Bill of Rights, and I am somewhat fearful of State power. I wouldn't have done the "Yo Mama" thing or its honkie equivalent, but I think the policeman might have considered that he was acting upon bad information especially when the supposed perp turned out to be a geezer with a cane and not acting suspiciously. Gates is a jerk. He was a jerk before this too, but jerks also have rights especially in their own homes.

ML/NJ

[PressurePoint]

Cop responds to call of break-in
Finds guy who has proof he lives there

I’m told the cop should then just leave.

Hmmmm, and if it turned out he was an estranged husband with a restraining order placed by his wife who’s inside the house, I guess folks would be second-guessing the cop for that too.

Seriously, cops don’t want any trouble either. They’d rather be (excuse the stereotype) eatin’ donuts than being berated by an angry black elitist that has a chip on his shoulder. No cop wants paperwork. He just wanted to dot his i’s and move on. But someone didn’t want to give him a chance.

Then Obama stepped in to stoke the fires of racial animus.

[jwparkerjr]

How was he to suspect bogus information. He was told a lady called and sure enough there was a lady on the scene who identified herself as the caller. When Gates went off on the officer he had not learned anything of the age or physical condition of the man in the house. The officer was not given an opportunity to do anything, good bad or indifferent before Gates started the escalation of the situation.

As long there are 911 calls from witnesses who report seeing two people trying to force the door of a house and who wait for the police to arrive officers are going to have to go up to doors and investigate. At what point, based on what we know now, did the officer overstep his authority or act in anyway other than to assure his safety? Would he have been wrong to have in the back of his mind that the man talking with him was being held at gunpoint by an unseen intruder?

I am not trying to pick an argument. I just honestly don’t see what else the officer could have done. It was Gates who escalated the situation, not the office. It’s common practice for an officer to ask you to step out the door and talk with them. For all he knew there were two intruders in the house, having hidden when they heard Gates arrive unexpectedly.

Again, he had none of the information we now have. He has been an officer for what, 17 years, and has responded to goodness knows how many such calls. How was addressing Gates through a closed door and asking him to identify himself cause for the response he got from Gates.

We might well just have to agree to disagree on this and that’s one of the great things about America, and FR! Every time officer Crowley approaches a house in response to a call describing a break in his life is literally in his hands. We sit here in the comfort and safety of our computer keyboards and I’m not comfortable rushing to judgment on how the situation was handled.

Thanks!

[Col Freeper]

Yet you write and post a screed that presumes to judge everyone's actions (btw...a tiny bit of research would lead you right to it).

LOL

(Strums guitar …..)

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Cause everything I write is really for real.
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So pimpin’ my blog is really cool I think.

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So come on now, and just click it honey.
Without your clicks, I’m a goner for sure,
That makes me sad, but you’re the cure.

Oh, I’ma goin’ to FR to pimp my blog,
It’s gonna be as easy as fallin’ off a log,

[Hot Tabasco]

I recall a report that he had to retrieve a hidden key to get into this door, but I was too lazy to research this for you.

WTF difference does it make...

You're posting this under humor, right? ROFLMAO! All the difference in the world Mr. Apologetica, all the difference in the world.......LOL!

I RECALL a report that John Kerry was a Vietnam war hero with 3 purple hearts and following demands from the public, he had authorized the release of all his military records.............I also recall a report I read on the internet that said that the alien who supported Bill Clinton was secretely a Republican........LOL!

[Hot Tabasco]

I recall a report that he had to retrieve a hidden key to get into this door, but I was too lazy to research this for you. WTF difference does it make

But back to reality. We're talking about a law enforcement officer whose career is being threatened by an Elitist Racist Harvard Professor Prick and against all evidence submitted so far, including the actual police report and YOU are siding with the Elitist Racist Harvard Profess Prick based simply on what you SEEM TO RECALL and have admitted that you were TOO LAZY TO RESEARCH..........

Tell you what dude, do the research, read the actual police report then come back and say "WTF Difference Does it Make".........

[James H. Shott]

I wonder why this police officer didn’t know whose house it was that was being sent to?

Do the Cambridge police not have the resources to have told the officer that the house belonged to Gates? Then, Gates Harvard ID would have been plenty.

As big a jerk as Gates showed himself to be, he was at his own home, and the burden of proof that he shouldn’t be there is on the police. Remember “innocent until proven guilty?”

The police simply didn’t do their job completely or correctly, and they deserve some of the blame for this idiotic incident.

[Joan Kerrey]

That should have been enough to satisfy the police that Mr. Gates was not a burglar and the police then would have gone about their business.

---

Ridiculous post. Gates and Obama screwed up, not Crowley.
Why should Harvard ID with no address on it satisfy Crowley who didn’t know Gates, was still in inquiry mode (rightfully so) and who was doing his job professionally by being suspicious and trying to determine facts that Gates was determined to ignore, instead tearing into Crowley in a manner that would have left most officers to believe this man is deranged or on drugs. Gates was clearly out of line, uncooperative and, without question, disorderly

In my day, Gates’ conduct would have been enough to end his relationship with Harvard or any other reputable school.
Gates should apologize or be fired from Harvard in my view.

[sport]

I’ m with the cop on this one.

[ml/nj]

How was he to suspect bogus information.

I wish people would read what I wrote. I said the policeman was acting upon bad information. He was. There was no break-in. It's not the policeman's fault that he got bad information, but I do think he should have considered the possibility when he saw the geezer and that he was not acting suspiciously. Maybe he could have asked "Is everything okay here?" instead of "Would you step outside pleas?" and then judged the reaction.

ML/NJ

[ml/nj]

Tell you what dude, do the research, read the actual police report then come back and say "WTF Difference Does it Make".........

Hey Pinhead! If you could get off you high horse and read the posts on this thread you might have seen that I have in fact read the police report.

Go bother someone else.

ML/NJ

[James H. Shott]

This has been an interesting experiment, and I thank each of you for helping out, thoughtful and civil posters, and intolerant-boob posters alike.

The inability of so many to make logical arguments, free of emotion and childish insults, to support their position is truly disappointing.

[Piers-the-Ploughman]

my wife had a very similar incident, locked outside the home, alarm going

police arrive, she’s increduluous she is a suspect “i have 3 small children out here and you think i am trying to burglarize this house??”

police: “stranger things have happened”

a neighbor ID’d my wife for the police but even then the police went inside after the locksmith came and asked her to produce identification, and then they searched the house...and we’re white people, imagine that

[jwparkerjr]

The information was not bad. There were two men trying to force open the front door of the house. That’s what the caller reported and that’s what the occupant confirmed.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Not acting suspiciously? The officer responds to a call from a concerned neighbor about a possible break-in. He arrives at the home, and through the glass-paned door sees someone inside matching the description of one of the people reported by the caller. The uniformed police officer (who the man inside can see) knocks on the door and asks the man to please come out and talk to him. The man refuses and hollers an accusation of racism at the officer. The man eventually opens the door, but then initially refuses to give his name or provide any identification. When the officer asks him if there’s anyone else in the house (since the caller had reported two men appearing to be trying to force the door), the man tells him it’s none of his business, and continues hollering accusations of racism. This is not the normal behavior of a homeowner who’s minding their own business in their own home and gets a knock on the door from a police officer.

If a uniformed police officer comes to my door, knocks, and asks if I’ll come out to talk to him, I’ll open the door and say “Hi, how can I help you?”. If Gates had tried this sensible approach, the officer would have calmly explained why he was there, and if Gates had any sense he would have immediately given his name, told the officer he lived there and had just had some trouble with the door, and offered to produce identification even before being asked. At that point, the officer would have noted that there was nothing suspicious about the man’s behavior, and probably said not to bother with the ID, and left.

It’s not reasonable to expect police in a big, crime-ridden city to simply ignore citizens’ calls about suspicious behavior, or refuse to respond if the description of the suspect includes having dark skin. Personally, I’d appreciate it if my neighbors called police if they thought they saw someone trying to break into my home, and I would certainly expect the police to respond by sending an officer to my home to check things out.

[Syncro]

Great post. I said the same thing on a post last night.

And were proved wrong by the police report you so kindly provided.

Thanks again.

[Syncro]

No, only the arresting cop screwed up.

When the perp showed his racism by accusing the officer of treating him badly because he is black, the officer should have backed down.

Then he should have done some research and discovered that the esteemed professor is a Marxist and communist and a friend of Present Obama.

Then he should have ignored the laws and apologized to “Skip” (which is what all the MSM Sharpton/Jackson/Obama/Alinsky/Ayers lackeys are calling him) for having the gall to investigate a reported possible break-in at the home.

Your article is a sychopantic damage control attempt filled with stupidity and liberal race-card type "logic" which ignores the facts of the situation.

Welcome to Jim Thompson's racist Free Republic Hate site

[Syncro]

Thanks for a logical and well thought out post with...of all things...facts!

[wtc911]

I am astounded at your lack of real world knowledge, especially since you come here and represent yourself as an essayist.

"Do the Cambridge police not have the resources to have told the officer that the house belonged to Gates?"

Um, the house belongs to Harvard, not Gates. And, neither 911 operators nor PD dispatchers are concerned with who owns what. Their job is to get assistance to the scene ASAP.

"As big a jerk as Gates showed himself to be, he was at his own home, and the burden of proof that he shouldn’t be there is on the police. Remember “innocent until proven guilty?”

UM, 'burden of proof' and 'innocent until proven guilty' are terms related to the trial phase of law enforcement. The police do not judge innocence or guilt. They arrest when a law has been broken and leave the rest to the lawyers. How could you not know that?

"The police simply didn’t do their job completely or correctly, and they deserve some of the blame for this idiotic incident."

Since you have shown repeatedly that you have no idea what the 'job' of the police is how can you possibly make this statement?

I think that you're a bit of a boob.