The Curious Incident of Professor Gates Trying To Enter His Own Damn House While Black

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 11:26am

Ya know, the interesting thing about the arrest of Professor Gates for living in a house in Cambridge while black is that his neighbor called the cops to report two black men trying to push open the front door but apparently no one called a damn cop to report the incident that damaged the f*cking door in the first place.
via Angry Black Bitch

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 11:46am

My local news (Boston) is saying that the charges against him will be dropped. And the door was stuck, not damaged. (Humidity, most likely)

Word is that there were even Harvard Security there that vouched for him as well, and the police wouldn't "let it go'.


I smell a lawsuit!

Posted: 7/21/09 at 11:55am

I've read three different reports of this incident and had more questions each time. It certainly seems the cop messed up big time, but if a cop came to my house because a neighbor called thinking someone was breaking in, I'd hug the cop and offer to buy him dinner, not yell at him.
Updated On: 7/21/09 at 11:55 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 11:58am

But supposedly, the cop didn't just "let it go" even after it had been proven that it was his home.

Posted: 7/21/09 at 12:01pm

Absolutely. I was just saying that a cop coming to investigate a burglary at MY home would be treated as a hero not an adversary. Not even if I were the suspected burglar

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 12:07pm

Professor Gates immediately called the Harvard Real Estate office to report the damage to his door and requested that it be repaired immediately. As he was talking to the Harvard Real Estate office on his portable phone in his house, he observed a uniformed officer on his front porch. When Professor Gates opened the door, the officer immediately asked him to step outside. Professor Gates remained inside his home and asked the officer why he was there. The officer indicated that he was responding to a 911 call about a breaking and entering in progress at this address. Professor Gates informed the officer that he lived there and was a faculty member at Harvard University. The officer then asked Professor Gates whether he could prove that he lived there and taught at Harvard. Professor Gates said that he could, and turned to walk into his kitchen, where he had left his wallet. The officer followed him. Professor Gates 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.

Professor Gates then asked the police officer if he would give him his name and his badge number. He made this request several times. The officer did not produce any identification nor did he respond to Professor Gates' request for this information. After an additional request by Professor Gates for the officer's name and badge number, the officer then turned and left the kitchen of Professor Gates' home without ever acknowledging who he was or if there were charges against Professor Gates. As Professor Gates followed the officer to his own front door, he was astonished to see several police officers gathered on his front porch. Professor Gates asked the officer's colleagues for his name and badge number. As Professor Gates stepped onto his front porch, the officer who had been inside and who had examined his identification, said to him, "Thank you for accommodating my earlier request," and then placed Professor Gates under arrest. He was handcuffed on his own front porch.
Gates' Side of the Story

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 12:16pm

Very little of what you posted above has been reported in the Boston Media.

However, at the end of the news it sounds like it is over from both sides now. (Sorry, I couldn't catch any quotes.)

[Perfectly Marvelous]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 12:17pm

Hm. Sounds to me like the police screwed up.

[Jon]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 12:22pm

Those cops need to watch more PBS. Gates is pretty damned recognizable.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 12:22pm

Especially on his driver's license!

[Perfectly Marvelous]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 12:24pm

Not to mention his Harvard identification!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 12:37pm

Why did he need the officer's name and badge number at that point? It sounds to me that at that point in the incident, the cop hadn't done anything wrong. He showed up to investigate a break-in, and was verifying that the man in the home actually resided there.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 12:39pm

Well, why SHOULDN'T he provide that information?

[blueroses]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 12:47pm

Isn't a police officer required to present identification if asked? I don't see what the problem is.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 12:49pm

Oh my God, this is not just any professor, this is THE Henry Gates who is one of the most (if not the most) contemporary African-American scholars in academia. I took an African-American literature seminar in the Spring and we read a number of literary theory by Gates, I've studied his work and even used a lot of his theory to analyze the literature, etc. I am in shock that this man who is such a prominent figure in the African-American literary movement is dealing with this. It's pretty absurd.

[degrassifan]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 12:59pm

"Hm. Sounds to me like the police screwed up."

Agreed! Forgive my ignorance, but with this incident and the one that occurred in Philly a couple of weeks ago with those kids and the pool, I didn't know that the North also had problems with race.

Posted: 7/21/09 at 1:07pm

I think we should all stop, watch an episode of COPS and then rejoin the debate.

Posted: 7/21/09 at 1:46pm

BOSTON (AP) ? Prosecutors dropped a disorderly conduct charge Tuesday against prominent black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., who was arrested at his home near Harvard University after a report of a break-in.

The city of Cambridge issued a statement saying the arrest "was regrettable and unfortunate" and police and Gates agreed that dropping the charge was a just resolution.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 2:23pm

I'm guessing that in hindsight, perhaps Mr. Gates DID overreact to being asked for his identification. (Just from the way they "have both agreed" to this ending)

I've heard of Mr. Gates, but know that I would not know what he looked like if shown pictures. I don't think it's fair to think that EVERYONE would (or even SHOULD) be able to identify him.

I would really like to hear from Mr. Gates...and I'm hoping he will grant an interview soon and hear his thoughts after the fact.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 3:15pm

All's well that end's well, I guess. Although let that be a lesson to you all - If a cop asks you to prove you live in your house and doesn't like your proof, you can be arrested for disorderly conduct on your own porch.

[Barney Stinson]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 3:22pm

The other side of the story - from CNN.com

"The police report offers a different account of the incident.

Gates refused to step outside to speak with the officer, the police report said, and when Crowley told Gates that he was investigating a possible break-in, Gates opened the front door and exclaimed, "Why, because I'm a black man in America?" the report said.

"While I was led to believe that Gates was lawfully in the residence, I was quite surprised and confused with the behavior he exhibited toward me," he said, according to the report.

The report said Gates initially refused to show the officer identification, but eventually produced a Harvard identification card, prompting Crowley to radio for Harvard University Police.

Gates followed the officer outside and continued to accuse him of racial bias, the report said. After Crowley warned the professor twice that he was becoming disorderly, the officer wrote he arrested Gates for "loud and tumultuous behavior in a public space."

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 3:45pm

Thanks Dan! I thought it would work here...
How Not to get you ass kicked by the police.

[danmag]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 3:48pm

LOL! I think it does!!!!