http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/22/gates.arrest.reaction/index.html
Gates was arrested last Thursday in broad daylight at his Cambridge, Massachusetts, home for disorderly conduct -- what the arresting officer described as "loud and tumultuous behavior in a public space." The charge was dropped Tuesday on the recommendation of police, and the city of Cambridge issued a statement calling the incident "regrettable and unfortunate."
Gates had just returned from a trip to China when a police officer responded to a call about a potential break-in at his home that was phoned in by a white woman. According to the police report, Gates was in the foyer when the officer arrived.
The officer asked Gates to "step out onto the porch and speak with me," the report says. "[Gates] replied, 'No, I will not.' He then demanded to know who I was. I told him that I was 'Sgt. Crowley from the Cambridge Police' and that I was 'investigating a report of a break in progress' at the residence.
"While I was making this statement, Gates opened the front door and exclaimed, 'Why, because I'm a black man in America?' "
According to the report, Gates initially refused to show the officer his identification, instead asking for the officer's ID. But Gates eventually did show the officer his identification that included his home address.
I don't care what color you are. If the cops want to see your ID. Show them your ID! You should be glad that they're responding to a call for your house. Usually they have better things to do.
I've gotten out of so many speeding tickets by being respectful to the cops.
This works: "I'm sorry officer. I didn't realize that I was speeding."
This does not work: "Speeding!? What!? Because I'm an Asian driver!? Oh no you didn't!"
Even our own president likes to play the race card.
ReplyDelete"But I think it's fair to say, No. 1, any of us would be pretty angry; No. 2, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, No. 3 ... that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately."
The incident, Obama said, shows "how race remains a factor in this society."
If it's such a big factor in our society, then how the hell did he get elected?
In a statement expressing its “full and unqualified support” for Crowley, the Cambridge Police Superior Officers Association called its brother a “highly respected veteran supervisor with a distinguished record.
ReplyDelete“His actions at the scene of this matter were consistent with his training, with the informed policies and practices of the department and with applicable legal standards.”