[quote=SK in CV][quote=Allan from Fallbrook]
You’re right about it not being Boston PD, but, rather, Cambridge PD (tony suburb in MA). However, you failed to note that Sgt. Crowley (the arresting officer) was flanked by a Hispanic officer and a black officer during the altercation and they both support his contention that Gates was verbally abusive to Crowley throughout.
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A transgression which, by the way, Sgt. Crowley was attempting to figure out. Like it or not, Cambridge is largely white and affluent and Crowley had two black men in a darkened house. He had no way of knowing their intentions and was following procedure, which calls for a police officer to bring the subjects or suspects into the open or outside where he can determine if they’re armed and pose a threat to him.
As far as Gates being arrested because he was black and displayed “contempt of cop”, that’s utter bullshit. That particular offense, as far as cops are concerned, knows no color. You act like a dipshit and attempt to humiliate a cop in front of his peers and bystanders, well, you’re gonna get hooked up, and not in a good way.
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Being verbally abusive to a cop is a good reason to be arrested? Seriously? Two black men in a house in a white neighborhood is worthy of investigation? You really think that “cop humiliation” is a crime? Should be a crime? Felony assholishness?
(And no I don’t hate cops. My brother is a cop, as is his wife. This particular cop needed a cooler head.)[/quote]
SK: Yeah, well, I DO hate cops and I have a little history with law enforcement as well. However, that being said, I also respect the difficulties of the job they do and the stresses it puts on them.
As a former soldier, I know all about the “unknown” in terms of clearing a house or building and having no idea what’s around the next corner. I would imagine Crowley was more than a little nervous and jumpy and Gates escalated what should have been an easily resolvable situation into one that became far worse.
Should Crowley have had a cooler head? Yup, no argument from me. Do people, regardless of color, get arrested for “contempt of cop” everyday? Yup, they do. Does it make it right? Nope. But it does happen, for good or ill.
My argument is that Obama did not have full possession of the facts and for someone who fancies them a critical thinker, that’s completely unacceptable. Given his position, he should have demonstrated a cooler head himself and realized the effects of his pronouncement.
