Posted on 07/21/2009 6:28:44 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Cambridge, MA (AHN) - Police have dropped charges of disorderly conduct against noted African-American historian and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, who was arrested last week for shouting at a police officer investigating a reported break-in at the Gates home.
The arrest was "regrettable and unfortunate," the city and police department of Cambridge said in a joint statement released Tuesday. "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. All parties agree that this is a just resolution to an unfortunate set of circumstances," the two-paragraph statement concluded.
Police came to Gates' home July 16 after receiving a report that two black men were breaking in. Gates had just returned from China and found his front door jammed, according to a statement issued by Gates' friend and attorney Charles Ogletree. Gates asked his driver to help him force the door open.
A police officer arrived after Gates had entered the house and asked for identification, according to police. Gates showed identification but then became "very uncooperative," the report said, and in the ensuing confrontation Gates shouted at the officer and accused him of being racist.
Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct and taken to jail, where he was released about four hours later after paying a $40 bond.
The 58-year-old Gates was named one of America's most influential persons by Time magazine in 1997. He is director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard.
this guy made a statement when he saw the police that he would get everyone into trouble....
why don’t we play the race card? AGAIN....
if it were a white man in casual clothes breaking into the apartment, the police would be called!!
I get so sick of this “victim” crap.... Grow UP!!
Double jeopardy won’t apply here when he is charged with race-baiting....
> Gates showed identification but then became “very uncooperative,” the report said, and in the ensuing confrontation Gates shouted at the officer and accused him of being racist.
Fascinating that this so-called “noted” black historian would flip out the race card in a heartbeat.
It is with some violence to the English Language that Gates is sometimes referred to as a scholar. Rubbish. He’s an affirmative action hack. Plain and simple. And he’s a lousy writer at that.
Too funny.
Just keep on crying wolf. “Racist” is becoming a meaningless word.
According to other reports, Gates initially refused to provide identification and accused the cop of racial profiling. Here’s a story where the reporter actually doesn’t mention that a citizen called the cops.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090722/ap_on_re_us/us_harvard_scholar_analysis
This guy was tired after a long flight, got home and his door was jammed, he got the cops called on him by a neighbor who thought they were doing the right thing, the cops responded and the unfortunate situation unfolded in a highly predictable manner. Already tired and annoyed, and probably sensitive about race issues himself on a good day, the professor jumped the gun and assumed the careful questioning and skepticism of the police officer was racially motivated.
I think the Professor should issue an apology of his own as well for good measure.
“I think the Professor should issue an apology of his own as well for good measure.”
Me, too. But, can a Harvard Man EVER admit when he’s wrong? ;)
An illustrious academic backgroud - a genius grant from the MacArthur Foundation in 1981
49/50 honorary degrees from around the country from prestigious academia and other institutions of learning-
claims descent of Irish King Niall of the Nine Hostages and John Redman a free Negro who fought in the Revolutionary
it’s quite possible he is so totally full of himself he forget what his own stink is ( i’m being polite now)
but in the end, because his house was newly rented I think the neighbor who called 911 was very keen on him residing there . That neighbor also works at Haavaad,too.
For all he’s worth on paper Gates lost self-control and I don’t really give a tinker’s dam if he just came back from China with a lung infection and affected walking with cane and was “in delicate condition”.
The esteemed prof lost it and in my eyes he’s common- i don’t care how much stuff he has hanging on his walls or what he has on his bookshelves .
I suggest that this man invest in a good security system for his home. If a neighbor ever again reports a possible break in, I doubt that the Cambridge PD will be too quick to respond.
It was his house, he just got home from a long trip, had to screw with his door to even get in and finally after all that gets hassled by the police. I'd be pissed too for all sorts of reasons.
I'm not saying everything he did or said is alright just that I understand.
The cop (an ATF recruiting prospect if I ever saw one) had two positive ID's on the geezer: one from a Harvard Campus Cop, another from a Harvard maintenance man. Still, he runs a geezer with a cane in? The Affirmative Action Geezer played this fool cop like a bloody trout. From nuthin' to an international incident in 3 short minutes?
Sorry, but I recommend this idiotic Cambridge cop for sensitivity training, or maybe a couple of weeks as an unarmed security guy at an assisted living joint. He'll hear worse than Gates' silly ranting every day.
And that is the saddest part of this whole sad story.
You two make compelling arguments.
He is FBI material.
I just don’t get that...I’ve come home from international travel and been dead tired...but if the police came to my house because they were told someone was breaking in I would be pleased to show them my ID and be done with it in two minutes...again I just don’t get it...
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