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[quote="Guest"]I disagree with some of the posts here and don’t believe they are consistent with the available facts.

1) None of us know exactly what happened in the Gates house that night except those that were there.  Since their stories vary substantially, it is unfair to assume either version is the completely honest one; neither party is more entitled to a presumption of credibility.  Police officers are people like everyone else, some honest, some not, some noble and responsible, some not.  Same for Harvard professors.  But there are available facts not in dispute between the two parties or are not subject to the interpretation of either party.

2) Gates (and Obama) stated publicly, from day one after the incident that they applauded the person who called the police for being a good, concerned citizen, and that they applauded the police for coming to investigate.  Again, there is a strong difference in the stories of what happened in the house, but from the next morning Gates is already publicly on the record as saying he thought it was completely appropriate for the officers to ask to see his ID.  So those believing that Gates is declaring racism over being profiled for trying to break into his house or being asked to prove his residence are not observing the available facts.  Again, who knows what he did or didn’t say in his house that night, but clearly subsequent to that event his allegations of profiling have been narrowly limited to the officer, not the caller, and have been focused only on the fact that the officer required him to leave his house subsequent to proving his identity and in still arresting him despite having proof of his identity.

3) It is not in dispute that Gates eventually provided his ID and proof of residency at the house BEFORE he was arrested.  So regardless of whose version of events you believe, it is a fact that a police officer arrested a person in their own home who was not physically threatening anyone, who was not brandishing any weapon, who was not showing any signs of illegal substance abuse and who has made no actionable declaratives (i.e. “I’m going to kill you” etc.) – none of this is alleged by the police report.  Even if you accept entirely the police version of events, it boils down to him being arrested for being verbally abusive to the police in his own home and for not cooperating with their orders to step outside his own home.

4) The charges were dropped hours later, before the media firestorm.  Why were they dropped so quickly if the basis for the arrest was solid?  Police officers are not supposed to use their positions to “make and example” or “teach a lesson,” so if the arrest was done with the belief that the charges would later be dropped, by definition the police offers acted inappropriately.  They had an obligation not to arrest him unless they believed his charges would stick and survive prosecution.  The fact that it was so quickly determined by their superiors that the charges should be dropped at least suggests that the cool-headed conclusion behind the scenes (whether by senior police officials or the district attorney’s office is unclear) was that Gates was either inappropriately charged, over-charged or his charges did not have enough supporting evidence to survive prosecution.

5) It is interesting that the woman who called 911 has since said that the police office is lying about his interaction with her too.  Her 911 call clearly shows she has zero interest or focus on race and resists attempts by the police force to identify the people on that basis.  Yet officer Crowley insists she focused on the people being black when he interviewed her outside before going in to investigate, which she says it never happened.  What’s her motivation to lie about it?  I don’t know, but am merely pointing out that there are two independent parties directly involved that are questioning the officer’s honestly in recalling the events that night.

Now my opinion, based on the available facts not in dispute:

Gates almost certainly over-reacted in his anger during the incident.  And he probably said some inappropriate things and probably didn’t show the officers, who by his own admission were correct in coming to his house to question him, reasonable respect from the outset

That said, the officers absolutely over-reacted in arresting him.  They are supposed to be trained not to get emotional and not to overreact, which most private citizens (including Harvard professors) are not.  So all things being equal, there is a reasonable greater expectation on the police not to overreact in this situation than Gates.  I am not justifying Gates anger or reaction, but it ultimately is immaterial.  Since it is not in dispute that the officers knew it was his home before they handcuffed him and arrested him, and since it is not in dispute that there was no threat or physical violence or any other illegal activity involved, to arrest him for being verbally abusive him his own home is outrageous.  Put aside your emotional reaction to not like Gates for his overreaction, his quickly throwing out the race card and for his not being respectful – do you really believe it’s appropriate for someone to be arrested for what they say in their own home?  I don’t.  His arrest was wrong, regardless of what he said.  Period.

Was it racist?  I doubt it.  There certainly is no compelling evidence it was racially motivated beyond the obvious circumstantial fact that it is exceptionally rare for ANYONE to be arrested under such circumstances so the fact that it happened to be a black person when there is statistical proof the blacks and Hispanics are disproportionately arrested relative to their proven crime rate.  More likely it went down like this: Gates was rude and uncooperative with the officer which made the officer mad.  Gates then gets bent out of shape and asks to see the officers ID.  The officer feels this is an attempt to take control of the situation from him and refuses to comply until Gates does what he asks and leaves the house.  By the time Gates demonstrates his residency everyone is emotionally pumped up and Gates probably says something that puts Officer Crowley over the top and he decides to take control of the situation and teach Gates a lesson by arresting him, figuring it would be dropped later but after Gates is humbled by the process.  He’s not doing this because he’s black, he’s doing this because Gates is acting like an A-hole.  The problem is, that’s not okay.  Once he knew Gates was the resident, he needed to just remove himself from the scene.  If Gates was yelling at him, he needed to simply response, “you have a nice day, sir” and walk out.  Arresting him was an abuse of power.  He obviously didn’t realize it would ignite such a firestorm, but that’s irrelevant.  He shouldn’t have done it even if Gates was a nobody.

That said, it’s impossible for us to put ourselves in Gates situation and know how he interpreted it.  I know many very smart, grounded African-Americas who are absolutely convinced it was racially motivated (and some who aren’t) – not the call or the police coming to investigate, but the fact that he was arrested in his home after proving it was his house.  Most Black people in this country have been profiled based on their race during their lives.  So their personal experience makes it logical for them to assume when they are being singled out for an unjust action that the motivation is race.  That’s completely logical based on their experiences.  Even when you read the statements of those Black leaders and opinion makers who are critical of Gates’ reaction, the gist of their position has more to do with their concern that any accusation of race when the virtue of the Black person is not pristine damages the cause of equality.  In other words, at the core they are acknowledging racism and saying they only want media attention when the “wrong” is black & white (no pun intended) lest racist America have an excuse for anything other than unequivocal sympathy and support.  So Gates hurt their cause not because he was in the wrong but because he was human and contributed to the problem.[/quote]

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