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Black officer at scholar's home supports arrest

tlmorg02 said:
Did he infringe on the rights of others? No, so as long as that is not breached, he sure as hell can do whatever he wants on his own property. This is America, not China or the Soviet Union.
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So those are the only circumstances that someone can be arrested on their own property? Sorry, that is a legally incorrect statement, IMHO.
 
celticlord said:
There's not a place in the US where a person can stand outside, even on their own property, and yell at people and call them racist.
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The KKK and opponents regularly assemble in front of courthouses and do just that.
 
aps said:
So those are the only circumstances that someone can be arrested on their own property? Sorry, that is a legally incorrect statement, IMHO.
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Where is the law stating otherwise?
 
tlmorg02 said:
The KKK and opponents regularly assemble in front of courthouses and do just that.
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And when they do it too much they regularly get arrested as well. Gates ran his mouth too much, and earned himself the nickel bracelets.

Maybe next time he'll remember that all-important right of the citizen--the right to remain silent.
 
Councilman said:
breaking news - national news - world news - azcentral.com

Jul 24, 1:57 PM EDT
By BOB SALSBERG
Associated Press


This should put to rest the BS about the arresting officer being the racist.
In this story there are two racists Obama and Gates.
Obama should be forced by public pressure and opinion to apologize on National TV.
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Not to be ironic, but this "story" is the same kind of race-baiting nonsense that the Harvard snob was engaged in.

Oh, a black man says it wasn't racist so that makes it so!

I don't need a minority to validate my opinion. I know there was nothing racist about this arrest. Silly article.
 
aps said:
I just posted a link describing disorderly conduct.
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fortunately, we are still a republic, and each state is different.

a generic link regarding disorderly conduct isn't really cutting it.
 
Anima said:
Well, this officers opinion is certainly different than that of his employer, Cambridge PD, who have not only decided against persuing charges on this matter but have called the hole matter "regretable" and have said it should not be seen as demeaning Gates' character.

Not to mention that the officer in question stated that he believed he was dealing with a home-owner after presented with Gates' idea, yet continued to escalate the situation. Gates was right in refusing the officer entry to his home; under US law, officers CANNOT demand entry to your home without a warrant. Good on the professor for exercising the few rights Americans still have regarding privacy and property.

Source:
Charges dropped against Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.; arrest was 'regrettable'
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I agree that the Sgt's opinion differs from that of his employer, but I disagree with Gates refusing the officer entry. The officer most certainly had every right to enter the home without Gates consent given the nature of the 911 call. He thought he was investigating a burglary in progress.

I absolutely disagree with the arrest for a multitude reasons, but the officer was well within his right to enter the residence, demand Gates I.D., and even handcuff him during the contact based upon all the circumstances.
 
Ethereal said:
Not to be ironic, but this "story" is the same kind of race-baiting nonsense that the Harvard snob was engaged in.

Oh, a black man says it wasn't racist so that makes it so!

I don't need a minority to validate my opinion. I know there was nothing racist about this arrest. Silly article.
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****ing spot on man...thank you.
 
ARealConservative said:
fortunately, we are still a republic, and each state is different.

a generic link regarding disorderly conduct isn't really cutting it.
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FIrst of all, I am addressing the general statement that people can yell all they want if they are on their own property.

I posted the Massachusetts law yesterday. It's written very archaicly. You can keep saying the arrest was wrong. I'll feel differently. You use the mayor as your rationale for saying it was wrong. I'll use the Cambridge Police Commissioner (who likely knows a teeny tiny bit more about the law than the mayor) for my position.
 
Councilman said:
breaking news - national news - world news - azcentral.com

Jul 24, 1:57 PM EDT
By BOB SALSBERG
Associated Press


This should put to rest the BS about the arresting officer being the racist.
In this story there are two racists Obama and Gates.
Obama should be forced by public pressure and opinion to apologize on National TV.
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:lol: Irony. This article does not help. When you point out that a black man agrees with white man cop, all you are doing is playing the same race card our president did and this professor did.
 
aps said:
FIrst of all, I am addressing the general statement that people can yell all they want if they are on their own property.

I posted the Massachusetts law yesterday. It's written very archaicly. You can keep saying the arrest was wrong. I'll feel differently. You use the mayor as your rationale for saying it was wrong. I'll use the Cambridge Police Commissioner (who likely knows a teeny tiny bit more about the law than the mayor) for my position.
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I'll go with the fact that they didn't pursue the case - which likely came from the people that actually know how to apply the law - the DA's office.
 
Reverend_Hellh0und said:
:lol: Irony. This article does not help. When you point out that a black man agrees with white man cop, all you are doing is playing the same race card our president did and this professor did.
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Bingo.

;)
 
ARealConservative said:
I'll go with the fact that they didn't pursue the case - which likely came from the people that actually know how to apply the law - the DA's office.
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Okay. I was caught speeding and they dropped the charges since I had a perfect driving record otherwise. So I guess I didn't break the law, did I?
 
aps said:
Okay. I was caught speeding and they dropped the charges since I had a perfect driving record otherwise. So I guess I didn't break the law, did I?
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so you were arrested for speeding? How long were you detained?

:spin:
 
aps said:
It can be.
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I think the fact it is called a "catch all" law says it all. It gives police the power to arrest on whim. The fact that the charges were dropped show that they had no legs to stand on. Gates was pissed, first of all that he locked his keys in his house and could not get in, thenhe was asked to show proof of living there. I would be happy that the police actually came to check on my house and after showing I.D. would have said thanks to the officer and let him go. Is Gates an idiot for ranting, yes. But the arrest was still BS.
 
aps said:
Excuse me? Did you read the police report? The facts you present are WRONG. Thank you, and have a nice day.
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Yep, I did. The officer stated that after presented with Gates' ID, he felt he was dealing with a "homeowner, albeit a disruptive/non co-operative one", or words to that effect. I'll find the report and get the exact wording, if you like.

So no, thanks.
 
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celticlord said:
The whole matter was regrettable. Don't think anyone really argues that. Gates may be a race-baiting blowhard, but I haven't seen anyone arguing he's a scuzz-bucket criminal lowlife, either. Getting arrested for going full retard on a cop means little more than Gates had a bad day. I can't count the number of times I've had to bail friends out of jail because they've had similarly bad days, and I've never thought less of them because of it.

People get angry, then they get stupid, then they get embarrassed. It happens--this is only a big deal because Gates decided to make it a big deal, and then Dear Leader decided to one-up his buddy and make it a nationwide deal.

Gates and Dear Leader == Dumb and Dumber.
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I agree, in part. I'm not going to come out and say I believe the officer actions were racially motivated; it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility, but I don't feel qualified to say it was, so I'm not going to.

I very much agree that while the officer in question behaved poorly, Gates also could have behaved better. Arguing with the police isn't the safest of activities to engage it. When you consider that the police shoot and tazer a hell of a lot more black men than white, then it certainly wasn't the wisest choice on Gates' part. There was nothing to stop him co-operating with the officer, regardless of his opinion on his behaviour, and then ldging a formal complaint afterwards if he felt the need. But yeah, neither Gates nor the officer in question come out of this in a very good light.
 
tlmorg02 said:
I think the fact it is called a "catch all" law says it all. It gives police the power to arrest on whim. The fact that the charges were dropped show that they had no legs to stand on.
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It shows that cops and the DA have better things to worry about than piss-ant professors.

Gates disturbed the peace. He got himself a four-hour time out at the police station to ruminate on the relative wisdom of calling cops racist in public.

The cops asked the DA to enter nolle prosequi in the case--like they do in a number of disturbing the peace cases--because once everyone calms down, there's no compelling need to haul his ass before a judge.

It's not a BS arrest. It would be a BS prosecution if the DA pursued it, but that doesn't make it a BS arrest.
 
Anima said:
But yeah, neither Gates nor the officer in question come out of this in a very good light.
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Sergeant Crowley doesn't come off looking bad at all, in my book....and that's saying something because cops and I generally do not get along.

He investigated a report of a break-in, Gates went full retard because he saw a white cop standing on his porch (never mind that the reason he was there was because a white neighbor saw what looked like a someone breaking into Gates' home and called the cops about it--doing basically what good neighbors are supposed to do, which is look out for each other), and when Gates wouldn't put his mouth in neutral, Crowley did the next best thing and put it in park.
 
celticlord said:
It shows that cops and the DA have better things to worry about than piss-ant professors.

Gates disturbed the peace. He got himself a four-hour time out at the police station to ruminate on the relative wisdom of calling cops racist in public.

The cops asked the DA to enter nolle prosequi in the case--like they do in a number of disturbing the peace cases--because once everyone calms down, there's no compelling need to haul his ass before a judge.

It's not a BS arrest. It would be a BS prosecution if the DA pursued it, but that doesn't make it a BS arrest.
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Gates did not disturb the peace, if they felt he did, then make a charge stick.

Otherwise he is innocent of any such accusation.
 
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