Henry Lewis Gates, Black Harvard Professor arrested

dvd-r · Post by **dvd-r** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 3:43 pm

what do you think? should Law Enforcement have arrested the man for disturbing the peace or not?

In an incident that raised eyebrows from coast to coast, Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., a prominent scholar and author, was arrested by the Cambridge Police Department after officers responded to reports that black men were breaking into his house. Gates had just arrived home from China and was trying to force open his jammed front door with the help of his hired driver when a neighbor called the police.

Exactly what happened after that isn't clear. News reports quoting the police say that Gates, the head of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, was uncooperative and "disorderly" while an officer was investigating a possible burglary. That's nonsense, Gates maintains. The real problem is that his color trumped everything else, including his prominence, his familiarity with the house and his identification showing that he lived there. It demoted him from citizen to suspect.

Even after seeing his Harvard ID and Massachusetts driver's license, Gates told the Washington Post, the officer's questions continued. Gates asked questions too, insisting that the officer divulge his name and badge number. That request, he maintains, led to a back and forth between them, ending in his arrest. Ultimately, the professor was released on $40 bail. The police call the incident "regrettable," and prosecutors have dropped disorderly conduct charges against the scholar. But it's not over. The incident illustrates how fraught relations remain between black men and police officers.

The police say Gates asked if the officer knew "who he was." That may sound arrogant, but many a black man in the same position has asked a similar question. It means: "Can you see who I am, not just what I am?" Because regardless of their achievements, wealth or status, they are vulnerable to the universal black male experience -- finding themselves in handcuffs first and charges dropped later. Was Gates fed up and frustrated? Loud and assertive? Even disorderly, as police maintain? Possibly so. It's tough being a perpetual suspect.

Apollonaris Zeus · Post by **Apollonaris Zeus** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 4:07 pm

If he goes by the name of DVD, then sure

and if the guy was being billigent and obstructing an investigation then sure.

ON the surface it sound like racial profiling, but what if the professor had just been locked out by a woman that he drugged and was going to cut her up into little peices. then managed to close and lock the door. Or maybe he was breaking into his house that his wife has received by separation and he could be breaking into to it to kill her.

The officer has a right to properly ascertain the situation. One of Jeffrey Dahmer's victim excaped ran up to a cop car tying to ask for help only to be given back to good ol jeffrey because he said that they were lovers and the guy had mental problems. The problem was that he had a hole drilled into his skull and had acid burning away his brain. Of course, Jeffrey served him up with some farba beans.

Also the chambridge cop taught classes against racial profiling.

Sounds like the Professors when off the deep end according to witnesses.

AIIZ

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 4:10 pm

dvd-r wrote:what do you think?

What? Is he coming to BM?

Oldguy · Post by **Oldguy** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 4:34 pm

Naw, it's a too long a way for a Cambridge cop to drive just to roust a few black professors. Perhaps the professor should go out and meet his neighbors so they won't call the cops on him...or... maybe they did meet him.

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 4:51 pm

Here we go with more armchair quarterbacking.

<pulling>

Apollonaris Zeus · Post by **Apollonaris Zeus** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 4:52 pm

Oldguy wrote:Naw, it's a too long a way for a Cambridge cop to drive just to roust a few black professors. Perhaps the professor should go out and meet his neighbors so they won't call the cops on him...or... maybe they did meet him.

He's black better not let the children or my wife near him. he will seduce her with his black massive cock!

I really feel sorry for black guys with normal cocks. It must be real let down for him and date!

Actually, the person reporting the incident was a woman passing by that didn't live near him!

that should be a good topic, Are Cops at burning man profiling attendees!

Yes, I think its true.

think'boutit. They only stop and harrass People that are inside the event or are coming or going to the event.

Why?

dvd-r · Post by **dvd-r** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 5:22 pm

Does anyone remember this event.

Anthony Dwain Lee (July 17, 1961 â€“ October 28, 2000) was an African-American actor. His acting career spanned from the 1990s up to shortly before his death in 2000, which garnered significant media attention at the time. Lee was shot and killed by LAPD officer Terriel Hopper under mysterious circumstances during a Halloween party while wielding a toy gun.

LAPD Officer Terriel Hopper was summoned to a Halloween party by neighbors who were complaining about the noise. While walking along an exterior walkway behind the house, he shined his flashlight through a window and onto Lee. Lee, possibly thinking the officer was another costumed party goer(there were reports of patrons wearing police costumes), allegedly pointed his replica gun at the officer. The officer emptied his service pistol into the room Lee was in within two seconds. Of the nine rounds fired, four struck Lee, three in the back and one in the back of his head, killing him instantly.

The resulting police investigation concluded that the shooting was a justified reaction by the officer, who mistakenly believed the costume gun to be real. One proposed scenario maintains that Lee pointed the prop at the officer, whose first five rounds missed, giving Lee time to turn around and attempt to run, resulting in the gunshots sustained to the back of his body.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 9:57 am

Arm-chair quarterbacking of course...

Regardless of whether my ancestors are African or Cimmerian, or Visigoths, if I am accessing my own castle and the constable comes along to check on the situation, and I produce the legally required identification, I want his ass off the grounds of my damn castle, INSTANTLY, regardless of my attitude! If he arrests me, then he is STUPID!

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:20 am

That's how I'd see it too, Dougy. However there is evidence that the Cambridge police may be onto soomething.

DVD Burner · Post by **DVD Burner** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:47 am

dvd-r wrote:Does anyone remember this event.

Anthony Dwain Lee (July 17, 1961 â€“ October 28, 2000) was an African-American actor. His acting career spanned from the 1990s up to shortly before his death in 2000, which garnered significant media attention at the time. Lee was shot and killed by LAPD officer Terriel Hopper under mysterious circumstances during a Halloween party while wielding a toy gun.

LAPD Officer Terriel Hopper was summoned to a Halloween party by neighbors who were complaining about the noise. While walking along an exterior walkway behind the house, he shined his flashlight through a window and onto Lee. Lee, possibly thinking the officer was another costumed party goer(there were reports of patrons wearing police costumes), allegedly pointed his replica gun at the officer. The officer emptied his service pistol into the room Lee was in within two seconds. Of the nine rounds fired, four struck Lee, three in the back and one in the back of his head, killing him instantly.

The resulting police investigation concluded that the shooting was a justified reaction by the officer, who mistakenly believed the costume gun to be real. One proposed scenario maintains that Lee pointed the prop at the officer, whose first five rounds missed, giving Lee time to turn around and attempt to run, resulting in the gunshots sustained to the back of his body.

yeah I remember this.

joel the ornery · Post by **joel the ornery** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 11:42 am

Badger wrote:Here we go with more armchair quarterbacking.

<pulling>

well, my only observation is... for a guy with sooooo much education, he sure acted stupidly with the LEO.

DVD Burner · Post by **DVD Burner** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 3:26 pm

joel the ornery wrote:
Badger wrote:Here we go with more armchair quarterbacking.

<pulling>
well, my only observation is... for a guy with sooooo much education, he sure acted stupidly with the LEO.

Hey you know, you are right. If he had acted like normal people he would have let the cop know he was trespassing then gone and picked up the 22 Winchester pump. Especially after giving the cop proof he was in his own house.

Hell yeah!

DoriumLux · Post by **DoriumLux** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:55 pm

well, my only observation is... for a guy with sooooo much education, he sure acted stupidly with the LEO.

You were actually there? Observing? Well, I'll be damned...

DoriumLux · Post by **DoriumLux** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 9:05 pm

dvd-r wrote:what do you think? should Law Enforcement have arrested the man for disturbing the peace or not?

In an incident that raised eyebrows from coast to coast, Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., a prominent scholar and author, was arrested by the Cambridge Police Department after officers responded to reports that black men were breaking into his house. Gates had just arrived home from China and was trying to force open his jammed front door with the help of his hired driver when a neighbor called the police.

Exactly what happened after that isn't clear. News reports quoting the police say that Gates, the head of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, was uncooperative and "disorderly" while an officer was investigating a possible burglary. That's nonsense, Gates maintains. The real problem is that his color trumped everything else, including his prominence, his familiarity with the house and his identification showing that he lived there. It demoted him from citizen to suspect.

Even after seeing his Harvard ID and Massachusetts driver's license, Gates told the Washington Post, the officer's questions continued. Gates asked questions too, insisting that the officer divulge his name and badge number. That request, he maintains, led to a back and forth between them, ending in his arrest. Ultimately, the professor was released on $40 bail. The police call the incident "regrettable," and prosecutors have dropped disorderly conduct charges against the scholar. But it's not over. The incident illustrates how fraught relations remain between black men and police officers.

The police say Gates asked if the officer knew "who he was." That may sound arrogant, but many a black man in the same position has asked a similar question. It means: "Can you see who I am, not just what I am?" Because regardless of their achievements, wealth or status, they are vulnerable to the universal black male experience -- finding themselves in handcuffs first and charges dropped later. Was Gates fed up and frustrated? Loud and assertive? Even disorderly, as police maintain? Possibly so. It's tough being a perpetual suspect.

Disturbing the peace? Contempt of the police is more like it. "Disturbing the peace" is such a malleable charge. It's just a petty way for a cop to arrest you for pissing him off.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:08 pm

dvd-r wrote:what do you think? should Law Enforcement have arrested the man for disturbing the peace or not?

And you care because... you did your PhD work under Prof. Gates?

Oldguy · Post by **Oldguy** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:03 am

: thumbs chest : My cave...mine!

goathead · Post by **goathead** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 2:26 am

DVD Burner wrote: Hey you know, you are right. If he had acted like normal people he would have let the cop know he was trespassing then gone and picked up the 22 Winchester pump. Especially after giving the cop proof he was in his own house.

Hell yeah!

22 Wincheser pump?
Quick way to be dumb and dead.
Evolution?

I guess I must be abnormal, always shown my ID, always treated them as I would like to be treated.

Never have had a problem.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 7:43 am

Neither have I. But then when I have broken into my house, I haven't been "caught."

And I just gotta wonder, airplane trip=taking off shoes, worrying about luggage, perhaps short of sleep and a bit stressed, stiff from the crowding, not the best frame of mind. Perhaps the African-American cabbie is the only one who'd take him, perhaps not. Come home to find out someone has tampered with your front door, perhaps stolen something, perhaps not, but still your sanctuary has been invaded and you want to see what the damage is.

I don't know what happened. It seems to be possible that there is a expectation here that no matter what the circumstances an African American man--even a professor in his 60s (that's a guess, I'm not sure)--might have to act more calm, more respectful, than a white man in the same circumstances.

Again, I don't have enough information to be sure. Again, I'm pretty damn sure that when I get home from a trip I pretty much want to go to bed, not get involved in proving my very right to be in my own home.

dvd-r · Post by **dvd-r** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 8:18 am

The police report is interesting in that the Cop doesn't say at what point he entered the house.

Here is one way to look at it and this is all from the cops report.

His first words to the owner of the house were. "Step out on the porch"

Right there the situation became negative. If the officer had treated the home owner with respect and first Identified himself and the reason for his visit it would have been more like life is supposed to be.

I would not want some cop order me out of my house.

Also, according the the police report, the officer asked a few questions prior to asking for ID. The cop asks if anyone else is in the house and then says how confused he got by Gates reply that it was none of his business. It wasn't any of this cops business if anyone else was in the house, he only needed to determine if the people in the house had the authority to be there.

I think the reason Gates followed the officer on the porch while requesting his name and badge number (don't all leo's have business cards today?) was that he thought he was being mistreated by this officer and other cops would see this mistreatment and help him.

DoriumLux · Post by **DoriumLux** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:52 am

theCryptofishist wrote:Neither have I. But then when I have broken into my house, I haven't been "caught."

And I just gotta wonder, airplane trip=taking off shoes, worrying about luggage, perhaps short of sleep and a bit stressed, stiff from the crowding, not the best frame of mind. Perhaps the African-American cabbie is the only one who'd take him, perhaps not. Come home to find out someone has tampered with your front door, perhaps stolen something, perhaps not, but still your sanctuary has been invaded and you want to see what the damage is.

I don't know what happened. It seems to be possible that there is a expectation here that no matter what the circumstances an African American man--even a professor in his 60s (that's a guess, I'm not sure)--might have to act more calm, more respectful, than a white man in the same circumstances.

Again, I don't have enough information to be sure. Again, I'm pretty damn sure that when I get home from a trip I pretty much want to go to bed, not get involved in proving my very right to be in my own home.

Well said....

There are a lot of things handled differently when it comes to whites. Don't think so? Try "driving while black." I'm fairly certain someone wouldn't call the cops on me if I was seen busting into my own house (which I have) quite blatantly. It's called white privilege. I'm also certain that the cops would come and most likely treat me a bit differently. It's depressing.

I hate how people always complain that minorities always play the race card. I'm certain it's hard to decipher when someone is being racist or not when you have been subjected to racism all your life and often treated less than equal.

Hell, my hispanic boyfriend has been pulled over in front of his house after returning from the store. The cop demanded to know where he was going and didn't believe that the driveway he had pulled into was his. They handcuffed him while they checked his ID. It kills me.

DVD Burner · Post by **DVD Burner** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 1:38 pm

It's nice to see the amount of rational over the irrational in this thread. As usual, the usual suspects are are here complaining how this issue is not such a big deal and the rational expressing the logic behind how one could have a better outcome from the same situation.

Kinda sorta new here for eplaya this year.

Evolution in the making.

DVD Burner · Post by **DVD Burner** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 1:40 pm

goathead wrote:
DVD Burner wrote: Hey you know, you are right. If he had acted like normal people he would have let the cop know he was trespassing then gone and picked up the 22 Winchester pump. Especially after giving the cop proof he was in his own house.

Hell yeah!
22 Wincheser pump?
Quick way to be dumb and dead.
Evolution?

I guess I must be abnormal, always shown my ID, always treated them as I would like to be treated.

Never have had a problem.

I think you missed the general point of that but this is not new.

dvd-r · Post by **dvd-r** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 2:24 pm

goathead wrote:
DVD Burner wrote: Hey you know, you are right. If he had acted like normal people he would have let the cop know he was trespassing then gone and picked up the 22 Winchester pump. Especially after giving the cop proof he was in his own house.

Hell yeah!
22 Wincheser pump?
Quick way to be dumb and dead.
Evolution?

I guess I must be abnormal, always shown my ID, always treated them as I would like to be treated.

Never have had a problem.

What might be a friendly encounter with LEO can go bad if when they ask you for ID and you go to retrieve it from your bedroom where your wife is asleep and as you walk into your bedroom you realize the cop is right behind you, walking into your bedroom with you, where your wife lays sleeping. You might find yourself mad, since it is your house.

Thecatman · Post by **Thecatman** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 2:34 pm

What seems to be the issue right now is what the messiah said about the Cambridge P.D. acting stupidly. And now inviting Mr. Gates and officer Crowley to the White House for a beer.
Whos gonna pay their travel expenses?

DVD Burner · Post by **DVD Burner** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 2:47 pm

Thecatman wrote:Whos gonna pay their travel expenses?

I would but I can even get to the man this year.

Something I noticed and have been thinking about and fear this whole thing could have been staged.

Anyone ever notice the officers name? Jim Crow?

James Crowley?

MozyBonz · Post by **MozyBonz** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 4:02 pm

Wow just a simple hide-a-key in a rock is all Iâ€™m saying.
Life is not that tuff folksâ€¦ sometimes itâ€™s just the simple things in life.

DVD Burner · Post by **DVD Burner** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 4:48 pm

Hey here's a thought, wonder what Obama and Gates think of the O.J. case?

cowboyangel · Post by **cowboyangel** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 7:18 pm

Bama's ineptness at handing tense situations is starting to show. And, the cop should have just let the guy be. There probably was a shouting match and cops hate that. All the while, Tim Geithner and friends continue to rob us blind and get away with it.....while we fixate on Gates, Michael Jackson and American Idol..... go figure.....

goathead · Post by **goathead** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 10:38 pm

DVD Burner wrote:
goathead wrote:
DVD Burner wrote: Hey you know, you are right. If he had acted like normal people he would have let the cop know he was trespassing then gone and picked up the 22 Winchester pump. Especially after giving the cop proof he was in his own house.

Hell yeah!
22 Wincheser pump?
Quick way to be dumb and dead.
Evolution?

I guess I must be abnormal, always shown my ID, always treated them as I would like to be treated.

Never have had a problem.

I think you missed the general point of that but this is not new.

So what is the point?

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 10:56 pm

Thecatman wrote:blah, blah, blah...what the messiah said abou...blah, blah, blah.

Everyone knows the Messiah is up in Alaska serving her last day in office before she goes on to unveil herself in her true glory.

Henry Lewis Gates, Black Harvard Professor arrested

Henry Lewis Gates, Black Harvard Professor arrested

Re: Henry Lewis Gates, Black Harvard Professor arrested

Re: Henry Lewis Gates, Black Harvard Professor arrested

Re: Henry Lewis Gates, Black Harvard Professor arrested