Gates 911 call: Witness not sure she saw crime

Good idea Obama...Lets all get drunk and forget about the whole thing.

Still don't see how the police questioning someone for breaking into a house is racist. I'd expect them to question 2 white guys breaking down a door too.

Sounds like the dude was agitated and threw a little fit.

BHO made himself look silly by instantly backing up his buddy, too.

A lot of theatre but not much substance beyond two alpha males unwilling to respect the other. Happens everyday.

The question now is what was said between the dispatcher and the police. It seems the cops were all psyched to take down a burglar. Was it a case of racial profiling? Perhaps. Here's my take: The scene was located in an affluent town that is populated by whites (though governed by a black mayor). When the cops arrived they saw a black man who didn't immediately fit the profile of the community. First instinct...black man = burglar, rather than black man was the home owner and a Harvard professor. Sounds like racial profiling to me. It was unfortunate that it happened, and hopefully everyone can move on.

The point here? No one is disputing that the police were correct to respond to the call (and I have heard few critcizing the lady for making int). What is in dispute is the manner in which Gates was treated during said investigation.

As they say in philosophy, there seems 2 truths here: Prof. Gates believed he was being racially abused; Sgt. Crowley believed he was just doing his job to the best of his ability. Each's perception is shaped by each's own life experiences. Neither man is wrong, though both may have overreacted.

The only one who overstepped out of bounds was Obama when he commented when there's yet not much facts available, even when he prefaced his opinion admitting all that (though any person would usually immediately side with his/her own friend, but he is also the President so he's representing more than himself).

In the end, this is probably the best resolution. No charges, no lawsuits. Crowley was fine with Obama; Obama was fine with the Boston PD; Boston PD was fine with Gates. Turns out this little incident was much ado about nothing.

It's the national reactions that turn out to be the "teaching moment."

This is become as long, drawn-out and demented as the US presidential run-up.

Everyone acted stupid now move on and try and learn from it.

Sharky. Have you ever seen the movie DO THE RIGHT THING? Sometimes it is just the only thing you can do to calm everybody down. Tell me race relations are not a powder keg in Boston.

I have no doubt that getting drunk and forgetting the whole thing would have been a much better way to solve this mess than what will transpire. You know what I see for the future coming from this case? I see ruined careers, multimillion dollar payouts, race riots, and death and injury. Tell me that one or two beers is not more civilized.

Altria and Buddha. A man with a gun and a badge representing the authority of society come into your house uninvited and without warning. You give them adequate proof of your identity and tell them to leave. They leave. Then you ask them for their badge number AFTER they have decided you have done nothing wrong. They refuse. THEN they arrest you.

So Altria. Gates was not protesting being questioned. He wanted these men to get out of his residence because he did not want them there. Then he wanted their badge numbers and names, which is his right. THEN they arrested him.

And Buddha. It is not just two guys. The officer MUST obey higher standards because he wears a badge. Citizens give him authority when it gives him the badge. That is why cop killers are dangerous. They attack the badge.. they attack society head on. With that authority comes responsibility to follow strict procedures.

If the officer had apologized and admitted to making some human error, well, that is one thing, but the police department has said he made no error, and that it did not either. Ooops. That means that this will happen again and again. That is not ego. That is arrogance. The department is going to face punitive damages now. This officer will probably lose his job, and America will remain land of the free and home of the brave.

-only a judge can decide if a crime has been committed, it doesn't matter if one is "entitled" or not.

-Gates did not own this house, he leased it. A good reason his neighbor couldn't identify him.

-the Police looked into the break-in (criminal case) and found nothing, however he broke some civil law(s) so they had to bring him in and book him.

I guess Gates "didn't know who he was messing with"

Klein2

You give them adequate proof of your identity and tell them to leave.

Is that really what you think happened? That Gates simply presented them with his ID and then asked them to leave? :-D

Professor Gates treated the cop like crap from the moment he first spoke to him. The policeman was jut doing his job investigating a call by a citizen. Gates took his racial hatred out on the policeman and seemed to be seeking to incite him. However, the policeman keep his cool the whole time according to the police tapes, fellow officers, and bystanders. Meanwhile, Gates was caling the policeman a racist without any cause what-so-ever. He even threw in the cops mother for good measure. It's obvious that he was looking to get a reaction from the policeman. Should police not go to his house if a potential burgularly is reported? Well, if they don't they would surely be called racist. The only racist in this whole situation is Professor Gates.

Badsey,

The woman could not recognize him because she isn't his neighbor; she doesn't even live in the area.

-only a judge can decide if a crime has been committed, it doesn't matter if one is "entitled" or not.

however he broke some civil law(s) so they had to bring him in and book him.

You are contradicting yourself here. Gates broke no laws; I assume you are refering to "disorderly conduct" despite the fact that it has been made clear that Gates actions didn't even begin to meet Massachusetts law standards. All charges against him have been dropped.

-he also broke into property that was not his (ripped the front screen to get in). -In all fairness he called the property management right away (if he did this first there wouldn't have been an incident).

So it seems it's ok for Gates to racially profile the police and everyone else, but no one else should be doing it.

Much of what Gates did should be considered a "hate crime" and racially motivated on his part and in my opinion against the Patriot Act. I would consider Gates a "racial terrorist"

"Racial terrorist"... am I missing some sort of key irony or sarcasm here?

I'll agree with you, however, that the claim of racism was most likely unfounded and unwarrented. I'll also throw in that I think Gates is an arrogant jerk. But I'm still not seeing cause for arrest.

Still don't see how the police questioning someone for breaking into a house is racist. I'd expect them to question 2 white guys breaking down a door too. Sounds like the dude was agitated and threw a little fit.

I'd throw a fit, too, if cops hung out in my house after I'd proven that I lived there. The cops should have left the minute Gates proved it was his house. They didn't.

And shouting about your civil rights to cops has been shown by long court precedent to be legal in Massachussetts. It is not disorderly conduct, breach of the peace, or any other weasely charge the cops normally use when they can't think of anything else to arrest you for.

You can technically be arrested for nothing and "questioned." -During this process you have a right to a attorney.

The neighbor (who most likely lives across from Gates) hailed a walker (who was walking by) who called the Police. "The entitled ones"

The more we learn the funnier the story gets. =These are the people Obama will have over for a Thursday Beer and Brat fry. Obama may take up smoking (again) after this one is over.

Pardon. You are correct on the neighbor, who is distinct from the caller. I am, however, pretty sure you need grounds to arrest someone.

What needs adjusting isn't Gates attitude toward law enforcement: that's between him and the police. The real problem is his presumptuous attitude toward the rest of us. Gates need to stop calling what happened to him a "teaching moment." We're not his students. More importantly, we're not the ones who let our ego get the best of us and went ballistic over a simple and harmless request to provide identification. And how unreasonable is that request, given that Gates house had been broken into on a previous occasion? I bet Gates wonders: "Where were the police then?"