Monday, July 27, 2009

Harvard Professor Gates arrested at HIS OWN home

Race? Disorderly conduct? More likely police misconduct How easy to hide a misbehaving officer behind the heroes who do their job every day. Sure the officer was doing his job when he arrived at Dr. Gates home but once he was there he forgot for whom he was working. The officer is employed by the public. Which other employees are allowed to mistreat their employers? As soon as Dr. Gates identified himself, the authority was only his not the officer's. From that moment on, the officer was speaking to his employer and owed him all the respect afforded to him. We must not forget that police officers receive their temporary authority from the public; and that authority always belongs to the public. When the officers forget that basic premise, they begin to believe that they are the law... or worse that they are above the law.

There is a lesson in here, apologizing to the ungracious is not particularly productive. Obama over stated his support for Dr. Gates (almost every comment I’ve read in the last 2 days has also been overstated one way or another). So far as I can tell no one knows who baited who here, yet there is an amazing amount of certitude. At least Obama seems to know that he doesn’t know. This shows a level of maturity not commonly found on the internet.
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8 comments:

  1. jay sonJuly 29, 2009 at 9:36 PM

    most cop cars have slogans on them like 'to protect and serve' or something similar. that does not mean these men and women are your servants to verbally or physically abuse. i know gates didn't hit the officer. as far as respect goes, respect afforded is respect earned (reciprocated). as far as obama knowing what he doesn't know(?), is that before or after he said the cambridge police department acted stupidly? most cops don't want you to kiss their ass, just to treat them decently. how mad would gates, or the rest of us be, if cops didn't come to our homes at the report of a burglary-suspicious character, because we hate the police, and then we were victims of a burglary? i agree with you on one point and would never apologize to gates. also, by the by, you can be arrested in your own residence, without a warrant, in all 50 states, based on probable cause.

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  2. dmarksAugust 3, 2009 at 1:14 PM

    I see you are waging your war one troll-comment at a time.

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  3. Me, Myself, And IAugust 10, 2009 at 5:32 AM

    More made up shite from “progressive” liars.

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  4. crazy4coensAugust 17, 2009 at 5:17 PM

    why are you picking on dmarks? he is a kind person.

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  5. It Just Doesn't Make Any SenseAugust 26, 2009 at 7:49 AM

    Are you out of your friggen mind?

    Don't bother to answer, I already know that you are

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  6. The Prophet Dervish Z SandersSeptember 4, 2009 at 10:35 AM

    You can't arrest someone for disorderly conduct in their own home. Which is why officer Crowley had him step outside. My guess is that he didn't think Professor Gates was paying him proper respect and decided to teach him a lesson.

    No matter what Gates said I think it was officer Crowley's responsibility to keep a cool head. He was the one on the job and I think he did a poor job representing the police department.

    It doesn't appear to me that Crowley did what he did for a racist reason, but he certainly did act stupidly.

    If you believe Crowley's account of events -- that Professor Gates was verbally abusive towards him -- he still did not have grounds to make an arrest. According to Wikipedia, "Contempt of cop" is law enforcement jargon in the US for behavior by citizens towards law enforcement officers that the officers perceive as disrespectful or insufficiently deferential to their authority. And, according to professor of criminal justice at John Jay College Jon Shane -- officers are supposed to handle "contempt of cop" as a first amendment right under the U.S. Constitution.

    Clearly officer Cowley owes Professor Gates an apology -- which he never gave. Professor Gates could (and perhaps should have) sued for false arrest.

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  7. The Prophet Dervish Z SandersSeptember 4, 2009 at 10:40 AM

    j summ said... by the by, you can be arrested in your own residence, without a warrant, in all 50 states, based on probable cause.

    It was false arrest. There was no probable cause because Professor Gates provided ID. AND you can't be arrested for disorderly conduct in your own home.

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  8. jay sonSeptember 20, 2009 at 10:42 PM

    try playing your music too loud, have the neighbors complain, refuse to turn it down and come back and let me know how that "can't be arrested" thing worked out for you whirling d.
    also is jon shane a professor or a supreme court justice?

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