Allegations of racial profiling after Harvard professor arrest

Allegations of racial profiling after Harvard professor arrest

www.necn.com

There are allegations of racial profiling in Camrbidge, Massachusetts after the arrest of a prominent black scholar.

Police arrested Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr as he tried to get into his own home. Cambridge Police aren't commenting on the incident.

But the professor is accusing the officer who came to his home of racial profiling.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This to me is more a case of disorderly conduct than racial profiling. But the Prof will possibly sue the police for racial profiling and walk away with millions and a disreputed police department

There is racial profiling in the US and I have seen this after 9/11 in New Jersey and New York where Arabs and other Muslims were racially profiled.

This case will be very interesting to follow and we will have to see what the court decided on this, IMO the Prof will walk free and the police department will have the officers dismissed.

www.necn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Yes there is racial profiling, I've seen it many times. BUT I agree this doesnt appear to be a clear cut case of profiling.. It pisses me off when people pull the race card out about everything and I'm a half black dude and I say that!

People who pull the race card for everything make the real cases of racial profiling not appear as legitimate, imo.

btw I cant remember but I think I already saw this on here.... cant remember though..

Peace!

[edit on 21-7-2009 by jeasahtheseer]

Rolling eyes. I wish i could blame everything on racism

I agree... whether he was a harvard proffessor or a construction worker it was understandable that the cops had their suspicions and called him to identify himself, to which he didnt cooperate. he did himself in.... instead of going on about whether his black or not he should have just responded in an orderly fashion to the requests of the police who were looking for suspects at a house.

I hate when people say that the police were "racially profiling" just because they want to get out of trouble. I also wish i could blame everything on my race.

I dont think its racism but I do think the cop was probably being an idiot as much as the home owner. Cops are always on a power trip. To that end I think the guy has a right to scream whatever he wants if the cop can't mind his own business when the guy tells him he lives there.

I think the cop was pissed that the guy disrespected him... Screw the cop.

[edit on 21-7-2009 by northof8]

A neighbor calls the cops after seeing two guys trying to break into a house. The cops show up and for one reason or another he gets arrested.

The cops weren't profiling. They responded to a possible breaking and entering. He should have been thankful the cops showed up before he was able to get in, that kind of reaction time is rare. Instead he goes off on a tantrum.

Originally posted by northof8
I dont think its racism but I do think the cop was probably being an idiot as much as the home owner. Cops are always on a power trip. To that end I think the guy has a right to scream whatever he wants if the cop can't mind his own business when the guy tells him he lives there.

I think the cop was pissed that the guy disrespected him... Screw the cop.

[edit on 21-7-2009 by northof8]

Let's see. Police are called to a possible break in progress. Police approach and ask the man to identify himself. Man says he lives there. Police ask for proof. Man produces ID, police verify he lives there, police leave.

^ That is how it should have gone.

How many times a day do police respond to similar incidents and are confronted by "I live here" only to find out that they DONT live there and are an ex-husband or boyfriend or someone who should not be there? It happens all the time which is why the person is asked to provide ID to verify it.

If you are a homeowner, one would believe that this is a good thing....that the cops wont just let someone pry their way into your house unless they can verify you belong there.

This man instead had a fit over the cops protecting his property, and got himself a disorderly charge. Then has the stones to call profiling.

I read alot of anti cop stuff here on ATS and much of it is credible and embarrassing to read about. This is one time that you cant blame the cops.

[edit on 21-7-2009 by SwatMedic]

Originally posted by kingoftheworld
I hate when people say that the police were "racially profiling" just because they want to get out of trouble. I also wish i could blame everything on my race.

What trouble was he in? He was trying to get in to his own house?

Now I agree that if he didn't provide some sort of ID out of being stubborn that it wouldn't qualify, but to get out of trouble?

Oh jeez...
More non-black ATS members that don't believe in racism.
Even though it's all around us, and they themselves make hateful statements, they still claim that folks "blame" things on racism.

Maybe we should switch places. That would be a good punishment for you. Oh, wait.. those invisible agents that control the planet would see to it that you didn't find out about the racism, so that might not work.

Oh, well. I guess the ignorance of not being black American is bliss.

reply to post by SwatMedic


Too bad the article clearly states that he produced ID. That's why your argument doesn't work.

Not only did he produce two forms ID, but he wasn't arrested for anything like that. If you read the article, you would see that he was arrested for "Loud behaviour", for cooperating.

reply to post by SwatMedic


Oh, but you can blame the cops. The only thing this guy did wrong was come out of the house after he was in. He was already in his home when the SS squad arrived. He should have told them to go fly a kite and stayed in the house.

This cop was on a power trip and probably loved the idea of taking a well to do black man to jail. "That will teach him who his massa is right?"

This cop and most others need a real lesson is approachability. Taken in the context of a neighborhood full of well to do people he should have left this guy alone if he was already in his home. I say the cop needs to be brought up on trespassing and false arrest charges.

I'll bet the cop was confrontational right from the start like most are. After all you are guilty until proven innocent in the eyes of most pigs. He most likely had a attitude with the guy and the guy was already irritated to begin with. He should have went back tot he pig farm.

Screw that cop. Hopefully one day he will get his and he won't be a cop anymore. If we are real lucky he won't be among the living...

Listen to this guy.. The last minute or so is very disturbing.



What the hell is this world become?

Yes -- racial profiling among individual cops exists (of course it does -- Humans are naturally judgmental, and cops are human) -- HOWEVER, I don't think this was a case of racial profiling.

Here are the facts:
-- The cops got a call from a neighbor that someone was breaking into a house.
-- The cops arrived to find this man in the house.
-- During questioning he became belligerent and antagonistic.

What are the cops supposed to do? I think anyone -- white or black -- would have been taken into custody -- and perhaps arrested -- under those circumstances.

If my neighbor told the cops that someone was breaking into my house and when the cops arrived, the person in my house started off by being belligerent, then I would think that the cops would take that guy into custody, also.

It seems to me that the man wanted to make a scene (perhaps to make a point?)



[edit on 7/21/2009 by Soylent Green Is People]

A similar thing happened to my brother. He left his keys house keys in his home when he went to work. He came home at lunch as usual.

He knew that his bathroom window could be opened, so when he got home, he went in through the bathroom window. His neighbor saw just his feet going through the window so called the police.

My brother fixes himself a sandwich and sits down to watch the TV before he has to go back to work. The next thing he hears is a bull horn saying "COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP, WE'VE GOT THE HOUSE SURROUNDED"

Wondering what is going on he peaks out the living room window and realizes that it is his house that the police are all in front of.

So, the real question is what do you do when confronted with that situation. You can be a jerk or you can come out with your hands up slowly. That's what my brother did. He came out of his front door, with his hands up. He was immediately handcuffed. He explained that he was the home owner and the police confirmed his identity.

That's pretty much the end of the story. He didn't antagonize the police. He worked with them.


I think that if the professor had worked with the police there would not have been an incident. The police were just doing their job.

So I see they dropped the charges now huh? Pure B.S. charge is what it was. This was a case of some white cop that couldn't stand the fact that some black man had more intelligence and earned a better living that he did.

So if they dropped the charges are they going to charge the white cop for kidnapping and false arrest? Seems to me they should go to that cops house in the middle of the night, roust him out of bed and drag him away in chains.

That cop is a POS liar and the charges being dropped proves it. I hope he sues the hell out of the city and 10 cops are laid off for it.

Yes - it looks like the charges are now dropped.

Charge Dropped Against Harvard Professor Arrested After Robbery Mix-Up

Prosecutors formally announced the decision to drop the charge on Tuesday, following a recommendation by police.

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

"This incident should not be viewed as one that demeans the character and reputation of Professor Gates or the character of the Cambridge Police Department," the statement said

Be interesting to see if this just dies down now or if it keeps going.

Originally posted by MegaCurious
reply to post by SwatMedic

 

Too bad the article clearly states that he produced ID. That's why your argument doesn't work.

Not only did he produce two forms ID, but he wasn't arrested for anything like that. If you read the article, you would see that he was arrested for "Loud behaviour", for cooperating.

While the OP's link is abridged, the National News reported differently.....

Link

Supporters say Gates was the victim of racial profiling. Police responded to the home Gates, 58, rents from Harvard on Thursday after a woman reported seeing two black men trying to force open the front door.

Gates said he returned from a trip overseas and found his front-door jammed. By the time police arrived, Gates was already inside. Police say he refused to come outside to speak with an officer, who told him he was investigating a report of a break-in. "Why, because I'm a black man in America?"

Gates said, according to a police report written by Sgt. James Crowley. The Cambridge police refused to comment on the arrest Monday. Gates — the director of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research — initially refused to show the officer his identification, but then gave him a Harvard University ID card, according to police.

"Gates continued to yell at me, accusing me of racial bias and continued to tell me that I had not heard the last of him," the officer wrote.

So now he gets off of the charges because he threw a tantrum and used the race card and the police dont want the aggravation. Yes he was initally arrested on basically a disorderly but his initial refusal to produce ID and not cooperate is what turned this from routine to radical.

[edit on 21-7-2009 by SwatMedic]

Sorry to be THAT girl, but there is already a thread on this going on [url=http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread484110/pg1]here[url].

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