Obama in racist cop row

Post by **faceless** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 4:33 pm

[web]https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07 ... /comments/[/web]

Reading some of the comments there is pretty sickening. Do these people who say you should just obey the police and say 'yes sir, no sir' really think they live in a free country? To them it seems that living in a permanent state of fearful pressure from authority is perfectly acceptable.

pirtybirdy · Post by **pirtybirdy** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 12:03 am

The professor was wrong, plain and simple, and Obama made a big mistake by opening his gob before he knew the facts......no surprise there.

Post by **faceless** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 12:17 am

He was wrong to question a cop in his own house?

The cop was a jobsworth rather than someone who takes each situation on its merits. An arsehole with a badge.

Aja · Post by **Aja** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 1:29 am

pirtybirdy wrote:The professor was wrong, plain and simple, and Obama made a big mistake by opening his gob before he knew the facts......no surprise there.

Did you really say that

Post by **Skylace** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 2:53 am

pirtybirdy wrote:The professor was wrong, plain and simple, and Obama made a big mistake by opening his gob before he knew the facts......no surprise there.

Oh come on Pirty, I mean like he's the first politician to make a comment on something or pass judgment before all the "facts" are there. There's still no WMD and the two words "Mission Accomplished" spring to mind. And I could list of both republican and dem presidents that have spoken out of turn. You're just speaking like all the people you got on to about Bush. I am personally sick of the bi-partisanship on both sides. And it's your attitude and the attitude of other democrats that keep this all going and keeps pulling us back.

someguy · Post by **someguy** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 7:13 am

pirtybirdy wrote:The professor was wrong, plain and simple, and Obama made a big mistake by opening his gob before he knew the facts......no surprise there.

I'm not sure if you really understand how terrible it is that H. Louis Gates neighbor called the police just because two black men with backpacks were trying to enter a house. If it would have been two white men she probably would not have even taken a second look at them. I do think it was not the best thing for the President to say what he said, or at least the way he said it, but it's pretty F-ed up if a well respected professor from an ivy league university is treated like a common criminal. I think the President could have used a little more tact, but Gates has a right to be pissed.

luke · Post by **luke** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 7:43 am

i'm a bit confused as to whats happened, the fox article is a little sparse on the actual details, and the link to the police report from the fox page doesn't work.

what was the professor actually arrested for - what was the 'disorderly conduct'? why was that charge later dropped?

without knowing the events step by step i can't really make a judgment.

edit - looking at other news sources i found this;

Professor Gates attempted to enter his front door, but the door was damaged. Professor Gates then entered his rear door with his key, turned off his alarm, and again attempted to open the front door. With the help of his driver they were able to force the front door open, and then the driver carried Professor Gates’ luggage into his home.” Both Gates and his driver are African-American. According to the Cambridge (Mass.) police report, a white woman saw the two black men attempting to enter the home and called police.

The officer asked Professor Gates whether he could prove that he lived there and taught at Harvard. Professor Gates said that he could, and handed both his Harvard University identification and his valid Massachusetts driver’s license to the officer. Both include Professor Gates’ photograph, and the license includes his address.” Police Officer James Crowley reported that Gates responded to his request for identification: “Why? Because I’m a black man in America?” Despite his positive identification, Gates was then arrested for disorderly conduct.

if that account is true, then its does seem wrong for him to be arrested. regarding obamas comments i don't see anything controversial about him saying 'I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry, Number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home.'

obama later said "i'm surprised by the controversy surrounding my statement because I think it was a pretty straightforward commentary that you probably don't need to handcuff a guy, a middle-aged man who uses a cane, who's in his own home."

He said he had heard Crowley was an "outstanding police officer," but added that with all that is going on in the country, "it doesn't make sense to arrest a guy in his own home if he's not causing a serious disturbance."

pirty, what actions of the professor do you see as 'wrong, plain and simple'?

what did obama say in his statement that you think was a 'big mistake'? what parts of his statement, if any, do you disagree with, and why?

someguy · Post by **someguy** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 7:48 am

As far as I have read it was disorderly conduct, and he was released because he is a bourgeois member of that particular community and a friend of the President (prolly his neighbor doesn't know this). It is all a big bowl of wrong.

luke · Post by **luke** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:13 am

californiawildchild wrote:As far as I have read it was disorderly conduct

yeah i saw that, i'd just like to know what behavior or actions of his were deemed 'disorderly conduct'. the definition seems to change state by state and seems to be used as a bit of a catch all, but generally its defined as;

A person who recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally:

(1) engages in fighting or in tumultuous conduct;
(2) makes unreasonable noise and continues to do so after being asked to stop; or
(3) disrupts a lawful assembly of persons;

be good to see the police report and compare it with the statement of what happened by the the professors lawyer. the problem would be if there are differences, which i think there would be - from some reports it seems the cop is saying he was only showed one form of id - without an address, whilst the professors lawyer is saying he showed two - one with his address ... i guess neither can prove they are right and the other is wrong, maybe thats why the charges were dropped.

someguy · Post by **someguy** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:22 am

Honestly, Luke, in this country a police officer may detain you at anytime if they deem you to be a threat to yourself or someone else. So that means it is pretty easy for an officer to say that they felt like there was a direct threat to the community. Which is prolly what happened in this case.

Aja · Post by **Aja** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:27 am

Aja wrote:
pirtybirdy wrote:The professor was wrong, plain and simple, and Obama made a big mistake by opening his gob before he knew the facts......no surprise there.
Did you really say that

as an afterthought .....

I would like U Pirty as An American ........to Live just one day As a Black person in America ....

People like You really piss me off ......

Aja

Sera_6969 · Post by **Sera_6969** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:23 pm

Prof. was pretty stupid to say that to the cop and it's fair to say the cop over reacted but, come on, black or white, English or American being sarky to a cop isn't going to land you in a bed of roses. The only reason to be surprised at this story is if you REALLY couldn't see how it'd end!

"Is this your car sir?"
"I'm driving it, aren't I?"

And trust a politician to stomp in making mointains out of molehills...

Kezza · Post by **Kezza** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 2:18 pm

I just read the police report at "The Smoking Gun." Draw your own conclusions.

My personal opinion: I was struck by the narrative where the police officer states that Gates was yelling at him so the policeman says that if Gates had any further questions, "I would speak with him outside the residence." So Gates is upset and yelling at the officer while complying with the officer's request to speak with him outside. Once outside and in view of other officers and citizens, Officer Crowley tells Gates he is being disorderly.

But wait....Crowley told him that if Gates wished to speak with him, Gates had to follow him outside???? And now that they're outside, Crowley is warning Gates to calm down whilst Crowley "withdrew my department issued handcuffs from their carrying case."

Why couldn't Crowley allow Gates to calm down whilst still in his own home? Gates was angry, for sure, but if Crowley had just let him vent his anger and frustration and not made a public circus out of it, none of this would have blown up the way it did.
My 2p.....

The Smoking Gun - Gates Police Report

buddy55 · Post by **buddy55** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:51 pm

here is the full police report of what took place

https://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/ye ... ates1.html

Post by **faceless** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:57 pm

good god, it seems the man was exhibiting loud and tumultuous behaviour!

string im up! Rambunctiousness will not be tolerated!