Cop: Obama's Gates Response "Disappointing"

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Cambridge police commissioner says his department is "deeply pained" by President Barack Obama's statement that his officers "acted stupidly" when they arrested a renowned black scholar in his home.

In his first statement since the arrest, Commissioner Robert Haas on Thursday commended the arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley. Haas said Crowley's actions were in no way motivated by racism.

Crowley, who is white, has been criticized for arresting Henry Louis Gates Jr. last week. Police say Gates flew into a verbal rage when officers asked him for identification while investigating a report of a break-in.

On Wednesday, Obama said officers "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates. On Thursday, he softened his stance and said cooler heads should have prevailed.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) – The white police sergeant criticized by President Barack Obama for arresting black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. in his Massachusetts home is a police academy expert on understanding racial profiling.

Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley has taught a class about racial profiling for five years at the Lowell Police Academy after being hand-picked for the job by former police Commissioner Ronny Watson, who is black, said Academy Director Thomas Fleming.

"I have nothing but the highest respect for him as a police officer. He is very professional and he is a good role model for the young recruits in the police academy," Fleming told The Associated Press on Thursday.

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The course, called "Racial Profiling," teaches about different cultures that officers could encounter in their community "and how you don't want to single people out because of their ethnic background or the culture they come from," Fleming said. The academy trains cadets for cities across the region.

Obama has said the Cambridge officers "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates last week when they responded to his house after a woman reported a suspected break-in.

Crowley, 42, has maintained he did nothing wrong and has refused to apologize, as Gates has demanded.

Crowley responded to Gates' home near Harvard University last week to investigate a report of a burglary and demanded Gates show him identification. Police say Gates at first refused, flew into a rage and accused the officer of racism.

Gates was charged with disorderly conduct. The charge was dropped Tuesday.

Gates' supporters maintain his arrest was a case of racial profiling. Officers were called to the home by a woman who said she saw "two black males with backpacks" trying to break in the front door. Gates has said he arrived home from an overseas trip and the door was jammed.

Obama was asked about the arrest of Gates, who is his friend, at the end of a nationally televised news conference on health care Wednesday night.

"I think it's fair to say, No. 1, any of us would be pretty angry," Obama said. "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 – what I think we know separate and apart from this incident – is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that's just a fact."

In radio interviews Thursday morning, Crowley maintained he followed procedure.

"I support the president of the United States 110 percent. I think he was way off base wading into a local issue without knowing all the facts as he himself stated before he made that comment," Crowley told WBZ-AM. "I guess a friend of mine would support my position, too."

Crowley did not immediately respond to messages left Thursday by the AP. The Cambridge police department scheduled a news conference for later Thursday.

Gates has said he was "outraged" by the arrest. He said the white officer walked into his home without his permission and only arrested him as the professor followed him to the porch, repeatedly demanding the sergeant's name and badge number because he was unhappy over his treatment.

"This isn't about me; this is about the vulnerability of black men in America," Gates said.

He said the incident made him realize how vulnerable poor people and minorities are "to capricious forces like a rogue policeman, and this man clearly was a rogue policeman."

The president said federal officials need to continue working with local law enforcement "to improve policing techniques so that we're eliminating potential bias."

Fellow officers, black and white, say Crowley is well-liked and respected on the force. Crowley was a campus police officer at Brandeis University in July 1993 when he administered CPR trying to save the life of former Boston Celtics player Reggie Lewis. Lewis, who was black, collapsed and died during an off-season workout.

Gov. Deval Patrick, who is black, said he was troubled and upset over the incident. Cambridge Mayor Denise Simmons, who also is black, has said she spoke with Gates and apologized on behalf of the city, and a statement from the city called the July 16 incident "regrettable and unfortunate."

The mayor refused Thursday to comment on the president's remarks.

On Thursday, the White House tried to calm a hubbub over Obama's comments by saying Obama was not calling the officer stupid. Spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama felt that "at a certain point the situation got far out of hand" at Gates' home last week.

Police supporters charge that Gates, director of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, was responsible for his own arrest by overreacting.

Black students and professors at Harvard have complained for years about racial profiling by Cambridge and campus police. Harvard commissioned an independent committee last year to examine the university's race relations after campus police confronted a young black man who was using tools to remove a bike lock. The man worked at Harvard and owned the bike.

___

Associated Press writer Melissa Trujillo in Boston contributed to this report.

Comments

[AndyWright68]

Crowley violated Gate's rights, entered his home illegally, falsely arrested him and then lied repeatedly in his report. he does not deserve "a beer" at the white house.

Proof Crowley should be fired and have charges filed on him:
http://www.youtube.com/user/CopsOutofControl#play/uploads/4/gH6SjZ5wEzw

[bernarde]

Gates arrives home hot, bothered after flying from China accompanied by a uniformed ? airport chauffer . Meter is running, tip is growing and he can't get into his OWN house. He gets into the house already hot, bothered is approached by the officer who assumes being a police instructor on racial profiling qualifies him. Words are exchanged and the rest is rapidly becoming history. Obama responds more from "heart than head" and is now forced to replicate the initial insult. ( Recall the officer arrested the prof for not respecting his authority and now he is refusing to respect the President.) They seem naive that there were two very disparate conversations going on civil rights. There was the Martin L. King conversation and there was the Malcom X conversation. Remember too that Gates is a prof of the ideas of WEB Dubois who had his own disparate conversations with ideas of Booker T. Washington. Barack and Gates need to listen to Stevie Wonders 1980 song "Cash in Your Face" ironically from his album "Hotter Than July" ..."you might be a great doctor..you might be a great lawyer...you might possess the key to the city.. or maybe a politician...you might have the cash but you can not cash in your face if we don't want you living in here...

[SumCommonSense]

I don't understand how the police asking for I.D. at the scene of a potential crime after receiving a citizen report of a possible break-in could be considered racial profilng. An officer clearly isn't doing his/her job if they assume they're being told the truth and don't verify it. I'm pretty darn sure that if Mr. Gates had politely showed the officer his I.D. when requested (as is procedure in this kind of situation), the officer would have politely said, "Thank you very much" and been on his way.

When I was in sixth grade living in a rural town in northern CA, one day I got home from school and the house was locked, so I climbed in through the open kitchen window. A sheriff happened to be driving past, so he turned around and came back and questioned me. I didn't have I.D. at that age, so he asked me my last name (which is slavic and multi-syllabic). Then he went to the sign at the front of the driveway and made me spell my last name and verified the spelling. I was an 11-year-old white girl. The police were doing their job. If I had been a 50-year-old black man or a 25-year-old Hispanic man or a 70-year-old Asian woman, the police still would have been doing their job in this situation.

[dhinds]

"The police were doing their job. "

To come to the house to investigate, yes.

To Ask him for his ID, yes.

To lure Professor Gates outside in order to accuse him of a "crime" that requires a public setting;

To arrest him for questioning Crowley's authority (which was implicit when Professor Gates asked for his name and badge number);

NO!

Crowley's job is not entrapment or the fabrication of "evidence" (the fact the Gates was outside) for "pre-existing" crimes.

The arrest was Crowley's reaction to what he considered a threat to his authority, an authority Crowley is unfit to wield - and apparently the USA is full of others as bad or worse.

[kushka53]

The notion that 2 Harvard educated black men are going to sit down with a white blue collar cop and "have a beer together" is a joke, an elitist fantasy of class harmonies. Bottom line: Racial profiling does still exist here in the USA but this case is not one of them. Reading the police report (even if one assumes bias), it's clear that Gates was offended that he, in his exalted status as a well-known Harvard personality, wasn't being deferred to. The cop did his job by the book--and for the record, I'm not a big fan of cops, having had my own issues with them. Gates was behaving exactly the way privileged white men used to behave, except that in 2009 instead of being let off the hook for obnoxious behavior like his white counterparts had been in the past, he was arrested. These politically correct days, a white man would have been arrested also...Gates, get over yourself! And the Prez, knowing one of the people involved, in this particular case, should have kept his mouth shut and let the matter sort itself out on its own...

[Alexander2791]

Another interesting observation was the knee-jerked reaction of Crowley's supervisors and the Cambridge city police commissioner which do suggest that the defensive posture of the police community does not and will not lend itself to any comprehensive and level-headed investigation or review of this matter, notwithstanding their so-called profiling classes, or lead to any constructive solution of this serious matter, since they basically condone it or they are blinded by their core beliefs when it occurs. Finally, it is interesting to note that no mention has yet been made of Crowley’s acceptance of the President’s invitation, which informs us a lot about the extent to which he thinks that he was right and how much he will be unable to critically review his actions and use it as a teachable moment (beer or no beer). Such teachable moment applies only to our (biracial) president and professor Gates, i.e., the black segment of the community which historically has always found itself on the losing end of such interactions

[dhinds]

"the defensive posture of the police community does not and will not lend itself to any comprehensive and level-headed investigation or review of this matter,"

much less correcting, reducing and/or eliminating such all-too-frequent abuses.

[Professorofdesire]

I've never seen a clearer example of a story that lives because the media want it to. In the grand scheme of things, this is an everyday occurrence that is probably repeated hundreds of times with less prominent participants. It reminds us that things are not as post-racial as we sometimes think, but even with the slip of the president, it just doesn't justify the attention.

[dhinds]

"this is an everyday occurrence that is probably repeated hundreds of times with less prominent participants"

and that is exactly what makes it significant and worthy of attention.

Are the police that far out of control because they deny us the right to hold them accountable for their actions, or because we grant them the right to deny us ours.

[notohawks]

Well, this, like so many other situations could be totally avoided if we choose to always treat each other with dignity and respect .

[daytimesky2000]

I believe that the whole incident is due to a failure in communication, on both parts. However, this failure began with Sgt. James Crowley lack of candor in relating effectively the situation to Prof Gates when they first met.

If Sgt. Crowley had shared a little bit about why he was there at the beginning of this incident it would never have escalated to this outcome. The officer could have given Prof Gates some insight into the reason for the request of picture ID and asking him to step outside of his home--Prof Gates would not have to experience any anxiety or misgiving about Sgt. Crowley request. Lets understand Prof Gates did not make any calls to 911 or knew anything about this call. Prof Gates only knew that he was a lone black man living out his worst nightmare with a white cop.

The one thing that concerned me during Sgt. Crowley interview was him saying I was confused by Prof Gates response. I would have thought a person teaching race relations and racial sensitivity could have some understanding of a black man’s fear of unwarranted arrest and police brutality in this country. However, Sgt. Crowley didn’t see this one coming?

Bottom line if the officer would have taken the time to explain the situation first, he could have shown in action his ability in handling situations involving minority citizens. People respect and want to comply with Police officers that value the individuals in their communities.

[dhinds]

"the whole incident is due to a failure in communication, on both parts."

Only one went to jail.

And only one simulated the commission of a crime where none existed.

[NonaG]

When will Americans face up to the fact that there is something rotten in their police forces. The tasering of old people and children, arresting people in their own homes because the dare to ask for your name and badge and all the hundreds of other cases of profiling and abuse are just unacceptable for a group of people paid to protect and serve the public.

[luckygeorgiabrown]

NonaG,

There was nothing rotten about how the Cambridge police handled the professor. The professor decided to get rude and in the face of a cop. Then he had to push it even further by accusing the cop of being raclst. He then correctly got arrested for Disorderly Conduct.

I would love to have a cop like officer crowley to patrol my hood.

[Principaldad]

You do not know any of what you stated to be fact.

Regardless, calling a cop racIst or anything else is not cause for arrest, especially after the investigation is over. There was also no reason for Crowley to ask Gates outside (other than the obvious reason that it would give Crowley a reason to arrest Gates).

Crowley does not deserve to patrol any "hood" or anywhere else. He entrapped Gates by luring him outside and abused his power by arresting him for constitutionally protected free speech.

[goatgirl]

I have no quibble with the actions of the Cambridge police responding to a 911 call. It is cool to live in a neighborhood where those sorts of calls are actually responded to swiftly, no problem with a resident taking vociferous umbridge at having a cop demand ID when in his own home. If Gates had refused or become violent, arrest would be proper.

AT THAT POINT, regardless of what was issuing from Professor Gates' mouth, no matter how loud, rude or insulting he MIGHT HYPOTHETICALLY have been at that moment, the proper behavior on the part of the police would have been to say "Thank you for your cooperation, sorry to disturb you, please call if there is any problem, goodbye,sir." and to WALK THE HECK AWAY.

EVEN IF the police officers felt this guy is really losing it and causing a disturbance to the neighborhood; the appropriate action would have been to drive around the block, and have a second look. Then, if Gates were screaming and railing and scaring the horses, children and old folk... arrest would have possibly been called for. It was UP TO THE POLICE to de-fuse the situation as they had to know that THEIR PRESENCE at that moment was only ESCALATING THE SITUATION.

As for President Obama's myriad responses, I actually think he has handled it quite well and appropriately. The word 'stupid' was a loaded term, true, but he was referring to the ACTIONS not the PEOPLE.

[dhinds]

Goats are far smarter than many people.

[Pat Carroll]

To paraphrase Queen Gertrude in Hamlet, "The gentleman doth protest too much, methinks."

Gates’ behavior seems to have been calculated to create an incident in which he could play the victim. It backfired. He picked the wrong officer, under the wrong circumstances, to fabricate a case of racial profiling. His claims are too elaborate, too extreme, too insistent. To many, Gates seems silly. More cynically, Gates comes across as deceptive and dishonest.

[returnofthejedi]

Your comments seem to suggest that police officers are never to be questioned about their conduct. It seems to say that as long as the police write it in the report that is what happened, nothing else to see. Luckily for the victims of those you seem to consider infalliable that is not how the law is "supposed" to work. Sometimes it does, but that is not how it should ever be.

[luckygeorgiabrown]

Your comments suggest that you did not understand what Miss Carroll wrote.

[luckygeorgiabrown]

Pat,

Unfortunately, the professor decided to make a situation turn into an event. He's probably regretting it now. If he's reasonable that is.

[Principaldad]

To suggest that Gates, a few minutes after returning from China and caught off guard in his own home would have the presence of mind to intentionally fabricate a false case says much about YOU, not Gates.

It is also telling that you would believe the inconsistent claims of Crowley but find Gates to be "too elaborate, too extreme, too insistent" and "decetive and dishonest". Gates statement is completely logical and there is nothing elaborate about it. If you read the police report closely, it is easy to see the stories match. Gates may be downplaying his anger, but Crowley is downplaying his own actions as well.

Crowley contradicts himself in the report. At one point Crowley claims he gave his name twice, but when you read the rest it becomes clear he only gave it once and then only his last name. It is also clear that he did not give his full name and badge number as required by law. Crowley is also inconsistent in the report by not telling how he got inside the house. It is apparent he followed Gates back into the house without permission (as Gates stated). However, since Crowley was not supposed to do that, it is not in the report

I am certain that Gates was upset and he may well have yelled and called Crowley a ra.c.i.st. However, Gates is a private citizen and he speech is protected by the constitution. Crowley should have ignored it and left.

[Chloe33]

Obama himself is very disappointing.

[Ping]

Gates attorney has told CNN, no lawsuit.

[dhinds]

If true, that ends this issue. It's a dead horse.

[dhinds]

Which unfortunately, leaves the problem in place.

[Beefcake]

Probably the most obvious sign the judicial system and law enforcement is messed up is that the Department of Justice is blatantly lying about the racial composition of drug-related prison data:

http://www.tremblethedevil.com/my_weblog/2009/04/even-without-lies-the-damage-is-already-done.html

[luckygeorgiabrown]

Well you had better get in touch with Eric Holder.

[wordvarc]

I'm amazed the following comment was "moderated" and excluded. I'll try again.

Obama can still be doing a great job but have made a mistake with his statement.

When the President of the United States speaks the statement made is far more reaching than to just a single incident. In his surprise at the reaction to his remarks he's now equivocating.
I'll bet he'd now rather have said, "I'm supportive of my friend Dr. Gates, supportive of police, and saddened by what I've heard about the incident. Let's wait to understand more before passing judgment."

[Principaldad]

I don't think Obama's statement was really a mistake. The word stupid was a bit too strong, but it was a correct assessment. The police should have never arrested Gates after they knew he lived there, no matter what he was saying. Police do not get to arrest people just for yelling at them (which is still not proven, by the way).

Obama's statement showed he knew exactly what the police version of the story was and he did not dispute it. He made a judgement based on exactly what the police stated. He did not call it raciaI. He took the opportunity to address profiling in general (but made it clear that is was separate from the Gates case).

Obama's statement was reasoned, thoughtful, and correct.

[wordvarc]

OK. Yet he's now equivocating.

[tantrictim]

i doubt george w. bush would have reacted any differently had a white cop treated dr. condy rice in this manner, it is not just an issue of race here, but also of class, maybe now some "professorial" looking african american males who are not best friends with the prez will now get a break and not be stopped by white thug cops when driving luxury cars...textbook racial profiling