Harvard Professor Jailed; Officer Is Accused of Bias

[WillowTree]

I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what this officer did wrong. What did he do that violated standard procedure? What should he have done differently? You can sympathize with Gates all you want (personally I don't), but how exactly does Officer Crowley's actions constitute racism or racial profiling?

He was born a white guy! basically.

 

[Ravi]

You ask them outside for safety. You don't know who else could be in the house or if the suspect has a weapon inside the house.

You should research police procedures before you make such asinine statements.

Maybe you should. You can't arrest someone for disorderly conduct inside their own house...but you can when they are outside, in public.

you're kidding, right?

Um, no. The cops had no right to go into his house unless they believed they were stopping a felony. DC is a misdemeanor. How exactly would they justify arresting someone for disorderly conduct while they were inside that person's house without a warrant?

 

[Coloradomtnman]

After learning more about this, here's what I think happened:

Someone saw two blackmen forcing open a door and called the police. Probably someone with latent racist tendencies.

I'm calling bullshit.

The only reason to conclude latent racist tendecies is if you assume they wouldn't have bothered calling the cops if the two mean forcing open the door were white. I don't believe that for one second. If you do, that says more about your own latent racist tendencies than it does anything else. No offense.

I only assume that they might have called the cops because of latent tendencies. I can't know with any certainty. They might have called just because they saw what appeared to be to men breaking into a house. But they might have called because the men were black. It is a wealthy white neighborhood and it is Boston...I'm just sayin'.

 

[manifold]

After learning more about this, here's what I think happened:

Someone saw two blackmen forcing open a door and called the police. Probably someone with latent racist tendencies.

I'm calling bullshit.

The only reason to conclude latent racist tendecies is if you assume they wouldn't have bothered calling the cops if the two mean forcing open the door were white. I don't believe that for one second. If you do, that says more about your own latent racist tendencies than it does anything else. No offense.

I only assume that they might have called the cops because of latent tendencies. I can't know with any certainty. They might have called just because they saw what appeared to be to men breaking into a house. But they might have called because the men were black. It is a wealthy white neighborhood and it is Boston...I'm just sayin'.

Hey everyone, according to CMM, wealthy white people are racists. What a bigoted thing to say.

 

[del]

Maybe you should. You can't arrest someone for disorderly conduct inside their own house...but you can when they are outside, in public.

you're kidding, right?

Um, no. The cops had no right to go into his house unless they believed they were stopping a felony. DC is a misdemeanor. How exactly would they justify arresting someone for disorderly conduct while they were inside that person's house without a warrant?

b & e is a felony here in the liberal oasis, so that dog won't hunt, sorry.

 

[manifold]

And just to sprinkle a little irony on the subject...

We're talking about Cambridge, Massachusetts. If ever there was a ranking of police forces based on highest awareness, sensitivity and adherence to political correctness, Cambridge would probably top the list.

 

[Lonestar_logic]

Maybe you should. You can't arrest someone for disorderly conduct inside their own house...but you can when they are outside, in public.

you're kidding, right?

Um, no. The cops had no right to go into his house unless they believed they were stopping a felony. DC is a misdemeanor. How exactly would they justify arresting someone for disorderly conduct while they were inside that person's house without a warrant?

They had probable cause to go into the house if needed. Please educate yourself on police procedures, until then STFU.

 

[Coloradomtnman]

I only assume that they might have called the cops because of latent tendencies. I can't know with any certainty. They might have called just because they saw what appeared to be to men breaking into a house. But they might have called because the men were black. It is a wealthy white neighborhood and it is Boston...I'm just sayin'.

Hey everyone, according to CMM, wealthy white people are racists. What a bigoted thing to say.

Manifold, I never said that wealthy white people are racists. I implied that wealthy white people are more likely to call the cops when black men are apparently breaking in to houses in rich, white neighborhoods. Is that really so unbelievable?

 

[Coloradomtnman]

And just to sprinkle a little irony on the subject...

We're talking about Cambridge, Massachusetts. If ever there was a ranking of police forces based on highest awareness, sensitivity and adherence to political correctness, Cambridge would probably top the list.

Cops are cops everywhere.

I used to live in Boulder, Colorado. As much as people who live in Colorado wish to believe that Boulder is a liberal paradise (and in someways it is), its filled with rich, white, fearful, pseudo-liberals who think its cool to appear liberal but who don't really have the convictions of true liberals. And the cops there are just as white, mustachioed, oakley-wearing, power-tripping assholes as they are anywhere else (except Mayberry).

Sounds like Cambridge to me.

 

[manifold]

I only assume that they might have called the cops because of latent tendencies. I can't know with any certainty. They might have called just because they saw what appeared to be to men breaking into a house. But they might have called because the men were black. It is a wealthy white neighborhood and it is Boston...I'm just sayin'.

Hey everyone, according to CMM, wealthy white people are racists. What a bigoted thing to say.

Manifold, I never said that wealthy white people are racists. I implied that wealthy white people are more likely to call the cops when black men are apparently breaking in to houses in rich, white neighborhoods. Is that really so unbelievable?

I didn't say it was unbelievable. I'm saying that it is a stereotypical generalization and therefore a bigoted thing to say.

 

[WillowTree]

we would be better off without any white cops!

 

[manifold]

CMM,

I get your point about cops, but in Cambridge they're much more likely to be scrutinized IMO. And this story certainly doesn't refute that.

And another point about bigotry. Just because a statement might be accurate, doesn't absolve it from being bigoted. Remember Jimmy the Greek?

 

[del]

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/...1docket_redacted_revised__1248200728_6644.pdf

arrest report

 

[Coloradomtnman]

Hey everyone, according to CMM, wealthy white people are racists. What a bigoted thing to say.

Manifold, I never said that wealthy white people are racists. I implied that wealthy white people are more likely to call the cops when black men are apparently breaking in to houses in rich, white neighborhoods. Is that really so unbelievable?

I didn't say it was unbelievable. I'm saying that it is a stereotypical generalization and therefore a bigoted thing to say.

Well, I'm stickin' with it. In my opinion, wealthy white folks are more likely to call the cops when they see what appears to be black men breaking into a house in their neighborhood than if the men apparently breaking into the house were white. In fact, I think that white people in general are more likely to call the cops if black men are seemingly breaking into a house in a white neighborhood than if white men seem to be forcing their way in through the front door of a house in the same neighborhood.

I don't call that bigotry, I call it probability.

 

[Coloradomtnman]

CMM,

And another point about bigotry. Just because a statement might be accurate, doesn't absolve it from being bigoted. Remember Jimmy the Greek?

I don't know if I agree with that, Manifold. Could you provide an example?

Who was Jimmy the Greek? Sounds familiar but I'm not making the connection.

 

[manifold]

Manifold, I never said that wealthy white people are racists. I implied that wealthy white people are more likely to call the cops when black men are apparently breaking in to houses in rich, white neighborhoods. Is that really so unbelievable?

I didn't say it was unbelievable. I'm saying that it is a stereotypical generalization and therefore a bigoted thing to say.

Well, I'm stickin' with it. In my opinion, wealthy white folks are more likely to call the cops when they see what appears to be black men breaking into a house in their neighborhood than if the men apparently breaking into the house were white. In fact, I think that white people in general are more likely to call the cops if black men are seemingly breaking into a house in a white neighborhood than if white men seem to be forcing their way in through the front door of a house in the same neighborhood.

I don't call that bigotry, I call it probability.

So what do you call it when someone says that a randomly selected black man is likely to have a lower IQ than a randomly selected white man?

 

[ba1614]

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/...1docket_redacted_revised__1248200728_6644.pdf

arrest report

Why would the dumb fucker not just show his id? Why would the cop NOT want to see id when responding to a reported b&e?
There's gotta be more to this because that just doesn't make sense. I'd like to see the other cops report.

 

[Ravi]

you're kidding, right?

Um, no. The cops had no right to go into his house unless they believed they were stopping a felony. DC is a misdemeanor. How exactly would they justify arresting someone for disorderly conduct while they were inside that person's house without a warrant?

b & e is a felony here in the liberal oasis, so that dog won't hunt, sorry.

I know that. But disorderly conduct isn't a felony.

The cops actually had a reason to go into his house yet they did not...why? Because they knew by looking at him he wasn't a burglar? Then why harass him.

 

[Anguille]

Now you're just being intentionally dense.

Gates had just busted down his own door in broad daylight. No clairvoyance required to surmise how that might look to people who don't know you.

The fact that the officer's first words to Gates were to ask him to step outside, indicates he intended to arrest him.

You ask them outside for safety. You don't know who else could be in the house or if the suspect has a weapon inside the house.

You should research police procedures before you make such asinine statements.

They also ask them to step outside because certain types of arrest are easier to justify later to a judge when they are made on public property instead of private property. Arresting a homeowner inside his own hom when no crime has been committed and the officer does not have a search warrant is risky behavior on the part of the officer.

Mr/Ms. Know-It -All....

 

[Ravi]

And just to sprinkle a little irony on the subject...

We're talking about Cambridge, Massachusetts. If ever there was a ranking of police forces based on highest awareness, sensitivity and adherence to political correctness, Cambridge would probably top the list.

I thought they'd gotten in trouble in the past for racial profiling?