police shananigans

[kitos]

I've been following somewhat the story about Prof. Gates of Harvard, who is black, being arrested in Cambridge by Sargent Crawley.  Many thing the arrest had racist overtones, since Gates was arrested for breaking into his own house after showing Crawley ID proving he lived there.   I think I first became aware of this story through the Daily Show

Comments

[vechan]

i know san francisco has the office of citizen complaints. law and order has taught me that officers get suspended and are investigated by some department within the police department called IAsomethingorother. the officer turns in their badge and gun either reluctantly or while filled with rage about the injustice of the situation to their captain. there is usually a dramatic shot of the captain putting the badge and gun in a drawer in their desk and closing it at the very end of the episode. the officer is back in an episode or two because they are.

[kitos]

Thank you--I now understand the checks-and-balances of the American police system.

[vechan]

oh!!! i forgot to mention that none of the real police officers like any of the officers in IAsomethingorother. i get the feeling they think they are rats or something. all the real officers seems to clam up and give them the cold shoulder when they are around.

[mcfnord]

The President had an enormous press conference about medical insurance reform and this smaller matter discussed for 1 minute dominated the news. We see things like this, but at least we see them... giving society a chance to work these things out. People like Crawley get theirs eventually.

Gates conspiracy

[anonymous]

This is absolutely rediculous!!
The notion 'race' and of black men entering a house was IMPLICIT in the 911 call!!
The only thing racist about this whole thing, was the old lady who called 911!!
She apparently believes that when black people are (what appear to be) breaking into a home - that it must not be their own home.

This is the only racial stereotype that happened on this day. Everything else was simply a manifestation of confusion spiraling out of control between two hot heads who are arguably at the top of their professions.

Re: Gates conspiracy

[kitos]

I don't normally respond to anonymous posters who sound like they want to start a flame war, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for the moment.

1) The "old lady" never called 911. The caller, Lucia Whalen, was a neighbor of the old lady who originally saw Gates breaking in. Whalen herself sounds young.

2) I haven't been able to find a recording of the call in it's entirety (the link on CNN's site doesn't work for me), but in all the clips I've heard and all the pieces of transcript I've read, Whalen does not seem racist at all. She doesn't mention race until the operator asks, at which point she says she couldn't tell, but one of them might be hispanic.

3) My point was that the issues here transcend whether there was any racism. Lying in a police report is BAD.

4) Do you have any evidence that Crawley is "at the top of his profession"? I personally don't know much about him.

Re: Gates conspiracy

[angel_boi]

gawker has the entire call
http://gawker.com/5323874/the-911-call-that-got-henry-louis-gates-busted?autoplay=true?skyline=true&s=i

and i may not have read as much as you, and i certinly wans't there but my take on it was closer to annon...
"... simply a manifestation of confusion spiraling out of control between two hot heads who are..."
Crawley was sent over suspecting a break in
Questions Gates probably suspicious right of the bat...
Gates was argumentative right off the bat... playing the race card...
Crawley (like most cops) didn't like being talked down to
and try's to be controlling back
...in the end Gates is dinged along the lines of resisting arrest.
sounds to me like their both assholes
and race was just a small part of the equation

what do you suspect he lied about?

it is totally possible for a crotchety septuagenarian with a stick to be threatening, or at least rabidly argumentative.

Re: Gates conspiracy

[kitos]

Thanks, I've now listened to the entire call. It pretty much backs up the impression I already had

[spiritualmonkey]

It was cops who coined the term "testilying".

Also, MA courts have ruled it is not disorderly conduct to yell abuse at a cop, even while getting arrested. Disorderly conduct is fighting, or acting in a way likely to cause a riot (and things of that nature).

Gates was arrested for not kissing a cop's ass, plain & simple.

EDIT NOTE: I fucking hate switching back & forth between BBCode & html

[kitos]

I knew about that ruling, which is why I said the charge would probably be bogus even if Crowley's description was true.

I had not heard the term "testilying" before. Thanks, that's my "new thing learned" for the day. Still, just because there is a name for it does not mean it's so widespread that it's not unusual here, and I think people should be shocked either way. If we shrug it off when blatant cases come to light, then the testimony of all cops everywhere loses credibility.