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Obama Defends Criticism of Cambridge Police in Arrest of Gates

Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

The man was falsely accused and treated poorly by the police, he had every right to be angry and every right to speak out.

The "crime" that he commited here was nothing more than "contempt of cop".
The cop should have simply admitted his mistake and walked away. Instead his ego got the best of him and he asked the man to step outside simply for the purpose of arresting him.

Bad cops should never be supported....it only encourages more bad cop behavior...and diminishes the service of the good officers that serve our communities daily.

Nothing was stopping him from filing a complaint with the police department. That would have been the correct way to deal with the officer if he felt he was being treated poorly. Gates is a loud-mouthed crybaby. :roll:
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

How was Crowley in the wrong?

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Police Report - July 23, 2009

Should Crowley have not investigated the report of a break-in at Gates' home?

Should Crowley have not ascertained Gates' identity to confirm he did, in fact, live there?

Crowley did not do anything wrong that I can see. The one in the wrong was Gates, who couldn't keep his foot out of his mouth.


He should have investigated and left.

You post the police report...you don't think that it was altered at all to put the best possible spin on it that Crowley could?

The man should have left...instead he continued to escalate the situation, called the man to step outside and then instead of being a professional officer and leaving (as no crime had been committed), his arrogance wouldn't allow him to do so. He had to arrest the man for having the gall to speak angrily towards him, i.e., Contempt of cop. Thank God the DA saw this case for what it was. The man should be sanctioned and should be forced to undergo some additional training.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

The man was falsely accused and treated poorly by the police, he had every right to be angry and every right to speak out.
Gates wasn't "accused" of anything.

There was a report of a break-in at Gates' residence. Crowley was investigating that report. Of course he's going to verify Gates' ID. How else is he supposed to verify that the person he sees in the house is, in fact, the owner of the house?

There was no accusation, and certainly not by the police. They were investigating a report of a break-in. I'm no fan of police, but everything that I have read indicates Crowley did not do anything that wasn't appropriate to investigating a break-in.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

Nothing was stopping him from filing a complaint with the police department. That would have been the correct way to deal with the officer if he felt he was being treated poorly. Gates is a loud-mouthed crybaby. :roll:

May be true...but its not a crime. And the cop should have had the professionalism to know that. Unfortunately, there are those in our community that believe that people should just "shut up" and take it when cops engage in abusive behavior. We are taught to cower in submission to their unlimited authority. Until they are placed in check, this pattern will continue.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

Gates wasn't "accused" of anything.

There was a report of a break-in at Gates' residence. Crowley was investigating that report. Of course he's going to verify Gates' ID. How else is he supposed to verify that the person he sees in the house is, in fact, the owner of the house?

There was no accusation, and certainly not by the police. They were investigating a report of a break-in. I'm no fan of police, but everything that I have read indicates Crowley did not do anything that wasn't appropriate to investigating a break-in.


Oh please. Are you naive enough to believe that he wasn't immediately treated as a suspect/accused? Maybe so. Maybe you've never had run ins with the police. The behavior is ALWAYS accuse first ask questions later.
 
Just a couple of things.

#1. Obama is a RACIST
#2. Protocol dictatates that you cuff all prisoners.
#3. The RACICIST Gates never identified himself as being at home or anything else.
#4. Obama is a RACIST!

:damn
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

He should have investigated and left.

You post the police report...you don't think that it was altered at all to put the best possible spin on it that Crowley could?

The man should have left...instead he continued to escalate the situation, called the man to step outside and then instead of being a professional officer and leaving (as no crime had been committed), his arrogance wouldn't allow him to do so. He had to arrest the man for having the gall to speak angrily towards him, i.e., Contempt of cop. Thank God the DA saw this case for what it was. The man should be sanctioned and should be forced to undergo some additional training.
According to the report, Crowley was leaving. He told Gates he was leaving and that if Gates had anything else to say he could say it outside. That's not "calling" anyone outside. That's maintaining his composure when someone's going full retard in his face for doing his job.

Had Gates stayed in the house, had Gates kept his big mouth shut, had Gates not been so quick to play the race card, Gates would not have been arrested.

Now, unless you have some other evidence that can impeach Crowley's and Figueroa's reports, those are the facts of the matter.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

Why?

We need a President that will actually stand up and call police out on this type of thing. What is wrong is wrong and the police in this case were clearly in the wrong.

Until someone has the guts to stand up and confront the arrogance of police officers who think that they are above the law and above criticism, then we will never progress as a country.

Obama just needlessly created controversy by spouting off at the mouth despite not knowing anything about the facts. Rather than learn the facts yourself, you appear to have decided that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

According to the report, Crowley was leaving. He told Gates he was leaving and that if Gates had anything else to say he could say it outside. That's not "calling" anyone outside. That's maintaining his composure when someone's going full retard in his face for doing his job.

Had Gates stayed in the house, had Gates kept his big mouth shut, had Gates not been so quick to play the race card, Gates would not have been arrested.

Now, unless you have some other evidence that can impeach Crowley's and Figueroa's reports, those are the facts of the matter.


What planet are you on. "If you've got something more to say....step outside"...isn't calling someone outside?

The cop is supposed to be a professional....not a thug. He escalated the situation because his arrogance wouldn't lend him to admit he made a mistake and apologize.

Unlike you, I don't accept Crowley or any other cops report as Gospel. Cops lie just like any other citizen. You have to read through the lines whether they are a citizen or a cop.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

Obama just needlessly created controversy by spouting off at the mouth despite not knowing anything about the facts. Rather than learn the facts yourself, you appear to have decided that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

I know the facts as well as you do. That doesn't stop you from believing that your somehow have superior knowledge now doesn't it?
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

He should have investigated and left.

You post the police report...you don't think that it was altered at all to put the best possible spin on it that Crowley could?

The man should have left...instead he continued to escalate the situation, called the man to step outside and then instead of being a professional officer and leaving (as no crime had been committed), his arrogance wouldn't allow him to do so. He had to arrest the man for having the gall to speak angrily towards him, i.e., Contempt of cop. Thank God the DA saw this case for what it was. The man should be sanctioned and should be forced to undergo some additional training.

Yes, because it's absolutely certain that cops spin things to benefit their point of view and absolutely absurd to imagine that a guy who considers outrage and persecution to be his profession would do something similar.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

Yes, because it's absolutely certain that cops spin things to benefit their point of view and absolutely absurd to imagine that a guy who considers outrage and persecution to be his profession would do something similar.


I don't doubt that either version is without spin. The reality though is...no crime had been committed. Even if you accept the fact that Gates was angry and saying horrible things to the cop....short of an assault or a threat, no crime was committed and the cop should have left. Instead, his arrogance got in the way and he escalated the situation and then attempted to use his "unlimited power" to arrest for a non-crime. Thank god the DA recognized this.
 
I know the facts as well as you do. That doesn't stop you from believing that your somehow have superior knowledge now doesn't it?

And yet you're incapable of reading the report and comprehending what happened.

Instead his ego got the best of him and he asked the man to step outside simply for the purpose of arresting him.

The man should have left...instead he continued to escalate the situation, called the man to step outside

This never happened, sorry.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

Oh please. Are you naive enough to believe that he wasn't immediately treated as a suspect/accused? Maybe so. Maybe you've never had run ins with the police. The behavior is ALWAYS accuse first ask questions later.
Dude, I've been jacked up by cops so many times it's not funny. I've been stopped for doing things like walking down the street, riding my bicycle at 2AM, going to the local IHOP in the middle of the night for apple pie and coffee, or just down to the store to get something to eat. One time I got thrown up against a wall and patted down because some creepazoid was giving me grief at an auction, so as I was leaving I said some unpleasant things about him. Apparently the cop thought I was trying to start a fight (that whole scene was a joke because when the cop patted me down he completely missed the lockblade knife in my back pocket)

I've been asked a lot of dumb questions ("Why are you walking down this road?" Answer: "my house is back there and the store's over there".) by cops, but I've never been accused of anything before being asked those dumb questions by cops.

Gates put his mouth in full retard and got a trip to the police station for his trouble. I don't have much use for cops, but I can't see what Gates hoped to accomplish by putting his mouth in full retard that way.
 
And yet you're incapable of reading the report and comprehending what happened.





This never happened, sorry.

Then you are denying the facts. Read the report yourself. Even the cop admits to this.

The reality is. There is no law in this country that says Cops are entitled to unlimited respect.

No crime was committed here except a made up crime of "Contempt of cop".

Thank God that in reality THAT is not a crime.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

I don't doubt that either version is without spin. The reality though is...no crime had been committed. Even if you accept the fact that Gates was angry and saying horrible things to the cop....short of an assault or a threat, no crime was committed and the cop should have left. Instead, his arrogance got in the way and he escalated the situation and then attempted to use his "unlimited power" to arrest for a non-crime.

My apologies, I didn't realize we were living in your fantasy world where disorderly conduct is not a violation.

Surprisingly, the fact that you think a law is stupid doesn't make it any less of a law.

Thank god the DA recognized this.

As a side note, I always find it hilarious when far-lefties are so quick to scream about how Republicans like Bush and Cheney are so well connected that they just pull the strings to get things their way, but are willfully ignorant to the fact that other people do the same goddamn thing.

If you think that the DA's decision to drop these charges had anything to do with what actually happened and was not based 100% on who it happened too, you're naive.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

Dude, I've been jacked up by cops so many times it's not funny. I've been stopped for doing things like walking down the street, riding my bicycle at 2AM, going to the local IHOP in the middle of the night for apple pie and coffee, or just down to the store to get something to eat. One time I got thrown up against a wall and patted down because some creepazoid was giving me grief at an auction, so as I was leaving I said some unpleasant things about him. Apparently the cop thought I was trying to start a fight (that whole scene was a joke because when the cop patted me down he completely missed the lockblade knife in my back pocket)

I've been asked a lot of dumb questions ("Why are you walking down this road?" Answer: "my house is back there and the store's over there".) by cops, but I've never been accused of anything before being asked those dumb questions by cops.

Gates put his mouth in full retard and got a trip to the police station for his trouble. I don't have much use for cops, but I can't see what Gates hoped to accomplish by putting his mouth in full retard that way.


Then I respect what you say because obviously you have some experience. But sadly, you have been "beaten" psychologically into submission that when you are confronted with a cop "keep you mouth shut". It shouldn't have to be that way. The public should not have to live in fear of thugs with a badge that believe that the uniform entitles them to intimidate and demand respect and submission to their unlimited authority.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

My apologies, I didn't realize we were living in your fantasy world where disorderly conduct is not a violation.

Surprisingly, the fact that you think a law is stupid doesn't make it any less of a law.



As a side note, I always find it hilarious when far-lefties are so quick to scream about how Republicans like Bush and Cheney are so well connected that they just pull the strings to get things their way, but are willfully ignorant to the fact that other people do the same goddamn thing.

If you think that the DA's decision to drop these charges had anything to do with what actually happened and was not based 100% on who it happened too, you're naive.

You need to study the law. Speaking back to a cop does not rise to the level of disorderly conduct.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

What planet are you on. "If you've got something more to say....step outside"...isn't calling someone outside?
Considering how there was nothing else Gates needed to say, it's not. Gates was not required to go outside, and he wasn't dragged out kicking and screaming by Crowley. He chose to be stupid enough to treat Crowley's words as the challenge some drunk makes in a bar when he's hoping to impress the ladies, and then he chose to be stupid enough to take up that challenge.

The cop is supposed to be a professional....not a thug. He escalated the situation because his arrogance wouldn't lend him to admit he made a mistake and apologize.
Apologize for what? For investigating a report of a break-in? As often as folks (including me) rail on the cops for not doing their job, you want to get on Crowley's case for doing his?

Unlike you, I don't accept Crowley or any other cops report as Gospel. Cops lie just like any other citizen. You have to read through the lines whether they are a citizen or a cop.
If you have factual information to impeach Crowley's and Figueroa's reports, let's have it. If that's not the way the arrest went down, and you can back it up, let's have it.

Take your time with the contradictory evidence.....I can wait.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

You need to study the law. Speaking back to a cop does not rise to the level of disorderly conduct.
Yelling that the cop is a racist out in public does.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

You need to study the law. Speaking back to a cop does not rise to the level of disorderly conduct.

My bad dude, I forgot that you're an expert on the ins and outs of MA disorderly conduct laws.

What was I thinking, daring to point out that you don't seem to know what the **** you're talking about. I mean, you said it plain and simple - the cop is wrong.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

Then I respect what you say because obviously you have some experience. But sadly, you have been "beaten" psychologically into submission that when you are confronted with a cop "keep you mouth shut". It shouldn't have to be that way. The public should not have to live in fear of thugs with a badge that believe that the uniform entitles them to intimidate and demand respect and submission to their unlimited authority.
:rofl:rofl:rofl

Yeah, I'm a real submissive kinda guy.....NOT.

I don't cower.....but I don't go full retard in a cop's face either. When dealing with the cops, I am a firm believer in exercising my right to remain silent. If Gates had done the same thing, he'd have avoided the nickel bracelet set.
 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

May be true...but its not a crime. And the cop should have had the professionalism to know that. Unfortunately, there are those in our community that believe that people should just "shut up" and take it when cops engage in abusive behavior. We are taught to cower in submission to their unlimited authority. Until they are placed in check, this pattern will continue.

Did Gates's behavior absolutely require that he be taken into custody? No, but anybody with half a brain knows you don't follow a cop outside (especially one that is in the process of leaving) while screaming and calling him/her names. Further, anyone with a modicum of self-respect and maturity doesn't resort to playing the race card when faced with the consequences of their moronic behavior. This was not a case of racial profiling. If Gates felt that the officer's actions were inappropriate, he should have dealt with it as an adult rather than disturbing his neighbors by throwing a public tantrum.

 
Re: Obama Surprised by Controversy Over Remark About Arrest of Black Scholar

Did Gates's behavior absolutely require that he be taken into custody? No, but anybody with half a brain knows you don't follow a cop outside (especially one that is in the process of leaving) while screaming and calling him/her names. Further, anyone with a modicum of self-respect and maturity doesn't resort to playing the race card when faced with the consequences of their moronic behavior. This was not a case of racial profiling. If Gates felt that the officer's actions were inappropriate, he should have dealt with it as an adult rather than disturbing his neighbors by throwing a public tantrum.


You have a point that had Gates acted more like an adult, everything would be fine and dandy. But I also have to consider that the officer could have just as easily been an adult and walked away. Gates should have controlled his temper, the officer should have walked away, and Obama should have just punted the question.
 
Gates is a loud black man with a persecution complex.


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