UPDATE: Gates, Crowley To Join Obama For Beers On Thursday

UPDATE:

There are several reports that the beer diplomacy between President Obama, Cambridge police sergeant James Crowley and Henry Louis Gates Jr. will take place on Thursday.

The Boston Globe reports:

Charles Ogletree, one of Gates's lawyers, tells the Globe that the meeting will be on Thursday and that both Crowley and Gates can bring family members. The White House would not immediately confirm those details.

******************************************************

When President Obama said last week that the whole incident involving Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge police department could be worked out over a beer at the White House, he wasn't speaking figuratively. CNN is reporting today that the White House has confirmed that the president is to meet with the two men this week to do just that.

As Press Secretary Robert Gibbs explained on "Fox News Sunday," "the president believes this can be a teachable moment." And what better way to begin putting things in perspective in the dog days of summer than to serve a cold beer.

As for drink orders, CNN says Obama will be having a Bud and Crowley a Blue Moon. No word yet on Gates' beverage of choice.

Comments

[Sean Hurley]

Narrgansett Beer dropped a case of beer on Gates' porch yesterday.­.. I hear he doesn't drink beer, but it's interesting that this might have turned into a marketing opportunity for the old new england brew. Is it over the line? - there's a breakdown of this over at economixt -

http://www.economixt.com/narragansett-beer-now-a-part-of-the-gates-crowley-obama-trifecta

[RButler]

To add to this mess, Gate's supporters are claiming that Sgt. Crowley is not a US citizen. They are called 'premature birthers'.

[wilray]

Does non-inflammable mean the same thing as.

1. inflammable
2. flammable
3. non-flammable
4. in flames

[britethere]

If the cop is as bad a guy as some of you seem to think our President is a spinless lying wuss kissing up to him and praising him. Just something to think about. Like if you got it right he sure as hell has got it wrong.

[wilray]

Frank Reynolds has exactly 1 friend at My Space. It's Tom. There is a lesson for you there.

http://www.myspace.com/frankreynolds

[wilray]

Funny I am looking at the pictures above, and to be fair I would have used differant shots of President Obama and Officer Crowley. Professor Gates photo seems apropos.

[slb83]

I would argue that most folks, particularly the ones who have personal problems with Gates, didn't know about him until this situation was publicized. They haven't read any of his books and they judge things just because these things are focusing on the experiences of people in this country who are not white like they are, and they are so offended by that. I'm starting to believe that Gates is right, and that the police report is pure fabrication, especially since the report suggested Gates said things about Crowley's mother. I didn't believe that for one second, and it appears this cop was trying to write the next sequel to Soul Plane. That police report makes the most stereotypical inferences that I've ever seen. Who writes such a thing? Their is one characterization of Gates as being a pompous Harvard blow hard, and there is another one by way of the report characterizing him as some 1920s black cartoon character. And many of you assumed that this later characterization was true without question, however you then say you're not racist because you have "black friends" or Crowley is not racist because he gave mouth-to-mouth to a black man, or the one black male cop who was at the scene at the arrest backs Crowley, so Crowley must not be a racist. How typical. Please keep up with the racially justifiable excuses for maintaining your racist fundamental assumptions.

[wilray]

I havent read anyone quite putting things the way that you have but I ten to agree. The police report reads like the officer met George Jefferson or Dave Chappelle, instead of Professor Gates. When you think about that for a second then you would think that Oprah Winfrey or even Barack Obama himself would be answering the Officer with "Yo Mama" yet when I listened to the recording I never heard this. The Officer's credibility is diminished once you learn that he falsified the report. I mean exactly when should he stop his dissembling. Then the people who side with the officer begin using the same stereotypical tricks, disregarding the fact that when you take out race and distill this incident down to the salient factors, Officer Gates made an unlawful arrests. Although, I am not an attorney, I have a brother who is and a sister who is, and I myself took a couple of classes in law during my academic career. I read case law and I prepared legal briefs. I also took courses in philosophy and logic, and I made A's in all these courses. The people who are against the Professor continue to toss red herrings, and demand that you pay attention to irrelevancies, which in the end only highlight their own prejudices,

[okayigive]

What is the world coming to when some will and are bringing up a professor's writings in AA studies as a defense for the behavior of Officer Crowley by pointing the finger at Professor Gates as if his scholarly writings based on evidence, experience and history of AA justifies how he has been treated based on said writings. You hold up a police officer as the only standard of representing respect, and having qualifications on AA, while negating the qualifications of Prof. Gates on this issue. Let me repeat you negate an international Prof. Of AA Studies and praise someone who has certificates to train on racial issues. Hmmmm!!! The more I read some of these statements the more I become disheartened, upset and outraged that clearly some whites will never be able to comprehend the AA plight, and the treatment and injustices they live and why they feel the way they do. The bottom line it doesn't matter whether or not Professor Gates interjected race into this issue. He didn't deserve the treatment and humiliation of an arrest. The term "race baiting" is just an excuse to deal with the truth.

[yodaveg]

Yup. Character assassination, plain and simple. Current MO of the right wing.

[wilray]

I bet they don't even get what MO means, they are scratching their heads.

[vsign]

Professor Gates interfered with an investigation and injected racial discord into the situation. He was more than humiliated - he was so so proud that he advertised his outrage with being humiliated with blog writings and interviews and bashed the arresting officer and still is bashing him. Then he appealed to the President and got the President in trouble.

This is not a man that deserves our respect with how he handled this arrest situation. He made it into something quite different than what it was - Professor Gates interjected race into the situation. He had no regard for the life and career of a white working class man. After all he is so much better than the other man.

The President is trying to help these older men with their situations and it is their insistence on using race to get advantage that hurts all of us. The President is everyone's President - he should not let himself get used by these older men. It will only hurt the President and all of us in the long run. Please think ahead in time.

[wilray]

When exactly did Professor Gates appeal to the President? And which older men are you talking about?

[dhinds]

"Professor Gates interfered with an investigation"

By showing Crowley his ID?

By asking Crowley for his name and badge number?

By believing Crowley when Crowley promised to show Gates his name and badge number outside?

NO evidence has been presented that substantiated that false claim.

"and injected racial discord into the situation.­"

He was well within his rights and did NOTHING illegal Personally, I recognize this as a clear-cut case of police abuse in which race may or may not have played a part.

Crowley should be removed from his beat. Anything less will encourage other crooked cops to entice, entrap and arrest anyone else that questions their authority, as Crowley did with Gates.

[slb83]

No police officer has the right to go into someone's house unless they have a warrant. This was in response to a possible burglary not a drug bust. The police was investigating "a possible break in" not an "actual break in." There is a difference. Which means that once it was clear and that there was no break in, his job was over. There is a reason that we have laws that protect folks from unreasonable searches and seizures, laws that require police to show badges and identify themselves, and laws that say that it is illegal for police to enter a residence unless there is a warrant or if danger is imminent. The reality is that those charges were dropped against Gates. The ball is in his court now to decide rather he wants to pursue this through legal action against this officer. In the end, this officer's attempts to maintain and justify his actions has not worked out in his favor. No court supports this arrest. In fact, the decision was made to drop it before it even went that far. No DA could have successfully prosecuted Gates on those charges. That's the undeniable truth!

[ishok]

If I am in my home... alone... can I disturb peace?
(Outside of noises, smells or violent flashes of light)?

Why don't we just start arresting the "tacklers" after the first play of a football game for assault?

[wilray]

If a tree falls in the forest ...?

[southernsepia]

Cops can't ignore the rules they don't like. These guys have got the whole country in an uproar over a falsified report.

Falsifying a police document is against the law!

If you don't like it do something about it.

617-349-3378 Cambridge Office of the Commissioner
CNN [phone]

[AguynamedWayne]

and you seem to ignore the facts you don't want to hear. Maybe you should stop messing with the middle men and call the Boss. President Obama has made clear that he supports Sgt. Crowley and believes he is a "good man" and an "outstanding officer".

Tell it to the Boss.

[Strega]

(-)

[britethere]

Right-on Wayne. I fear though that common sense and the real facts are wasted on some who make it up as they go.

[southernsepia]

I have already found that responding to you is futile since you refuse to deal in logic but I'll try again.

We live in a country that is governed by the rule of law. If an officer falsifies his report he has broken the law. For this reason alone an investigation should be launched by the Cambridge police. We are to rely on the officers version of the facts but that is impossible in this case because the officer is at odds with the witness statements.

It doesn't matter what Obama has said or what Black officers have said.
Their comments do not change the fact that:

It is against the law to falsify a police report.

Unless you are advocating allowing cops to wing it and make up facts what is your point?

[wilray]

Irrelevant. Barack Obama has nothing to do with the case, he happened to be in Washington, DC at the time of the incident.

[dhinds]

The "Boss" in this case is the District Attorney and possibly the Cambridge Police's Department of Internal Affairs. Crowley should be arrested and removed from the force for falsifying a police report, harrasing the house's legal occupant and making a false arrest.

Until that happens, anyone in or traveling to Cambrige remains in danger.

[britethere]

What "whole country"? 20 posters on HP?

[britethere]

Latest on investigation as related to AA cops and findings based on witness and other officer statement. taken Sunday evening (36 hours ago). Anyone with link to more recent AA cops comments please post. Keep us up to date with hot off the press releases please. Thanks.
link to CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2009/07/26/nr.comrade.in.arms.cnn

[AguynamedWayne]

Fact: Prof Gates has a long history of writing racially derogatory (clearly r@cist) statements about White Americans:

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=104&pid=0&sid=1725138&page=2

[RustyGranite]

Doesn't make him a criminal.

Doesn't make fudging a police report legal.

Doesn't un-drop his charges.

Doesn't undo the apology from the police chief and the mayor.

[AguynamedWayne]

But it clearly shows that Gates is the one who has a long history of r@cist attitudes towards white Americans. His words speak for themselves.

[RButler]

It does, however, support the officer's and Whalen's and other witnesses version of the police report that Gates was shouting. Now, what was he shouting-his To Do list? Sports scores? TV listings? Recipes?

[k6007]

If you can show me where that is against the law? Shouldn't they have arrested r.ush, by now...

[AguynamedWayne]

I think they should have, but that's another story.

[3dtrix]

Doesn't look like folks are buying it, W. What else you got to sell?

[AguynamedWayne]

only the truthful facts. I know they are not that popular around here.

[britethere]

Most in the real world including the President are on the same page as Wayne....u­nless we are to call the President a phoney and a liar....Be­er on Thursday .

[wilray]

This is a red herring.

[dhinds]

Totally irrelevant to this case.

[IAM4CLINTON]

With all due respect, I would hope that the President's time is spent on more worthy pursuits. It was a mistake for President Obama to wade into this issue in the first place and any more involvement on his part is counter productive.

[RustyGranite]

He was asked a pointed question about race, he answered honestly and even avoided claiming it was race-based.

I like honesty and frankness in a President.

[Strega]

co-sign

[dhinds]

How about this for honesty and frankness: What would a POTUS make a public statement regarding a local, legal issue that was currently undergoing investigation?

[wehrke]

Please, Gates and Crowley both acted like jerks. Hopefully both can put egos aside, admit as much, shake hands and enjoy their beers together. This has been blown up WAY OUT OF Proportion.

[mzelaine1]

I agree!!

[RustyGranite]

Yes, a 58 year old man being pulled from his home and given a police record because of the ego of a police report-fudging cop that refers to himself in third person is "blown out of proportion".

FOH.

[wehrke]

Correction, a 58 year old man that acted like a belligerent jerk to a cop just investigating a potential break in. As I said, neither party is innocent on this one.

[wilray]

AT the end of the day if the Professor doesn't have a record already this incident won't give him one. It will be expunged.

[steamboat]

I got to admit if I was Crowley I'd probably want to knock that arrogant professor on his rear-end. Settle it like men. We need more of that instead of these sociologists telling everybody whats best for them.

[dhinds]

THAT could get you put in jail, steambloat.

[britethere]

AA Cops unite in support for Crowley. They have the witness statements and report from other involved officers. See CNN video here:

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2009/07/26/nr.comrade.in.arms.cnn

[RustyGranite]

Facts:

Crowley lied on an official police document:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/27/gates.arrest/index.html

Charges dropped:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124819548233769057.html

Mayor apologizes to Gates:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/23/gates.arrest.mayor/index.html

Police chief "deeply regrets" arrest:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/23/officer.gates.arrest/index.html

Massachusetts statute does not support arrest:
http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2009/07/gates-gate-whats-the-law-say.html#comment-6a00d8341cce2453ef0115723467f8970b

[AuntiepoppyCock]

If they support a lie...it makes them no different than Pat & Bey.

[britethere]

Does that mean the President too? ooops....t­ime to "re-calibrate"

[mcantwell]

Yes, I saw that. I notice that the video is dated Sunday the 26th. The female individual said that she would not be supporting Crowley if she thought he did anything wrong.

Yesterday the 27th, Ms. Whalen's Attorney revealed that Crowely not only LIED about meeting ans speaking with Ms. Whalen prior to entering Gate's residence, but he delliberatley FALSIFIED the Police Report, which is illegal.

I wonder how this female Officer feels NOW about Crowley's wrong doing?

[AguynamedWayne]

There were TWO WOMEN! Ms. Whalen was not the only witness.

[Strega]

Thanks for giving up-to-date facts & not pulling days old b.s. out

[britethere]

When all the cops change their statment of a day and a half ago and refute the witnesses testimony and other cop reports please post. Always open to links to the latsest and hot off the wire info. Thanks.

[WillieLynch]

Black people do not concern you.

[k6007]

Only when they can be useful.
Like these people that have decided they need their jobs.

[AguynamedWayne]

President Obama knows the truth. And he fully supports Sgt. Crowley as the "outstanding officer" that he is.

Obama got it right on this one, once he got all the facts and "re-calibrated"

[Strega]

[RustyGranite]

Facts:

Crowley lied on an official police document:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/27/gates.arrest/index.html

Charges dropped:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124819548233769057.html

Mayor apologizes to Gates:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/23/gates.arrest.mayor/index.html

Police chief "deeply regrets" arrest:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/23/officer.gates.arrest/index.html

Massachusetts statute does not support arrest:
http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2009/07/gates-gate-whats-the-law-say.html#comment-6a00d8341cce2453ef0115723467f8970b

[k6007]

Bravo.

[AguynamedWayne]

Fact: Gates is r@cist against white people. His own writings make it VERY CLEAR. He refers to all white peole as "Whitey" and cast them all as power hungry and bent on the control of African Americans. His writings are openly racially hostile to white people.

Fact: President Obama, after reviewing all the facts (and I'm sure he has a lot more access than the rest of us do) put his support behind the police officer who he has repeatedly stated was an "outstanding officer and a good man".