Harvard Professor Arrested

[donkey87 0]

I don't for a second mean to imply I think he did something wrong, but it wasn't the only option. The guy wasn't dangerous, he was being an ass. If he had made an physical threats then I agree he HAS to arrest the guy, but he still would have been doing his job by driving away because the situation is defused by doing so. They guy was clearly in the wrong, I'm just saying the cop had other options that would still allow him to have done his job and it would have lead to a quicker end to the situation instead of what it turned into.

Driving away really wan't an option for the officer. You have a person who is causing a scene and drawing a crowd. What happens if the officer drives away and then a fight breaks out. That officer would then be held responsible. Driving away might have defused the situation, however the situation could have further escalated after the officer left. Police officers make these types of arrest every day. If you don't want to go to jail then don't break the law.

[Monty22 833]

I don't for a second mean to imply I think he did something wrong, but it wasn't the only option. The guy wasn't dangerous, he was being an ass. If he had made an physical threats then I agree he HAS to arrest the guy, but he still would have been doing his job by driving away because the situation is defused by doing so. They guy was clearly in the wrong, I'm just saying the cop had other options that would still allow him to have done his job and it would have lead to a quicker end to the situation instead of what it turned into.

Call your local or State law enforcement agency and ask if you can do a ride along. IT will give you a whole new perspective.

[shooter27 116]

At the end of the day, my opinion is that walking away would have ended the situation. Nobody has ever said the guy threatened physical violence towards anyone, and I highly doubt that he would have caused a physical confrontation after the cop left. I think the cop would have made his job and life easier by just driving away, thats the extent of the conversation.

We all agree that the guy was being an idiot, I just think the cop had another option that didn't involve making an arrest, you all seem to think he didn't have a choice. It doesn't make either of us right or wrong. I can see how you have that opinion, I just have a different one. Thats the beauty of this country, we can all have differing opinions and express them without fear of repercussion

[ktang 34]

I don't for a second mean to imply I think he did something wrong, but it wasn't the only option. The guy wasn't dangerous, he was being an ass. If he had made an physical threats then I agree he HAS to arrest the guy, but he still would have been doing his job by driving away because the situation is defused by doing so. They guy was clearly in the wrong, I'm just saying the cop had other options that would still allow him to have done his job and it would have lead to a quicker end to the situation instead of what it turned into.

I can kind of put it in hockey terms. Here it goes:

If a player or coach beaks at a ref, and the ref uses the "that's enough" phrase and the player or coach continues, the ref has to give the unsportsmanlike.

If the ref doesn't do so, then players and coaches on both sides will start protesting every little call. And the net. Then, in the next game, they will give that ref a hard time, too.

When the ref gives the unsportsmanlike, after the warning, he lets ALL the players and coaches know that it is the ref's judgement, and that it's not up for further disputing or interpretation.

If he doesn't give the unsportsmanlike, then he is signaling that yelling at and being confrontational to the on-ice officials is OK. He is also making it harder for the on-ice officials of the next game, and the community of on-ice officials would think that this ref is a non-confrontational wimp.

-----

If Sgt. Crowley had not done the arrest, after the warning, he is setting the precedent that yelling at and being confrontational to law enforcement is OK. This would be seen by all of the citizens who were present. Then, in crowd control / traffic control / area evacuation scenarios, citizens would be conditioned to ignore law enforcement orders. For safety, at the very least, this can't happen.

Also, if Sgt. Crowley had not done the arrest, his fellow officers in the Cambridge police department and those in the Harvard Campus department would think that he didn't have the stones to do the right thing.

-----

I think this professor has probably done this before to other people before: crying racism to get what he wants and push people around. It probably worked all the time for him. This time it didn't work. So he wants revenge on Sgt. Crowley and went crying to Obama ("I'm telling on yoooouuuuuuuu.... you're meeeeeaaaaaaannnnn... waaaaaaaaaaaa").

[fieldofdreams 0]

KTang, I like your take on this. Put it in terms that everyone can understand.

Here's another perspective, we had a black guy on our team. Everytime he got a penalty, he ALWAYS said to the ref, "You just called that because I'm black!!" Of course after a few seconds, he let on to the ref that he was kidding, but the the situation made the refs uncomfortable until he laughed and relaxed them. But can you imagine what an ass he would be if he said that every penatly, and MEANT it?

That, in essence, is what this Gates character has done/is doing.

[chippa13 1844]

Since I live in the area, this story was news for about a week before you folks chimed in. My take is that both sides let their egos escalate what should have been a very simple and easily ended situation. The professor first refusing to show his ID and talking a little uppity to the cop sure didn't help and the cop letting that get to him and arresting the guy once he stepped outside didn't help. If the professor wants to play the race card then he should point his finger at the person who called the cops in the first place.

Moral of the story: just give the cop your ID and no lip from the outset and the rest doesn't happen.

[Tailboard Jockey 25]

If the professor wants to play the race card then he should point his finger at the person who called the cops in the first place.

Why is that? The 9-1-1 tapes prove that at no time was race ever mentioned in the call.

[chippa13 1844]

Because the call was made in the first place. Would the call have been made if it was a pair of white guys trying to get into the house? You don't have to mention race to commit an action based on it.

[Monty22 833]

The caller has stated she only saw two men from behind, and could not tell what color they were, only that they were breaking into the house.

[chippa13 1844]

Interesting, the reports that I was hearing locally last week were that the caller reported seeing "two black men". Well, that puts the race card back in the deck on this one.

[Tailboard Jockey 25]

Because the call was made in the first place. Would the call have been made if it was a pair of white guys trying to get into the house? You don't have to mention race to commit an action based on it.

Seriously? Calling 9-1-1 is a racist act? A housekeeper across the street seeing two men allegedly breaking into a house should just shut the curtains and go back to work? If I was Gates, I would thank her for calling the police.

[chippa13 1844]

Depends on what she saw. Heck, this lady could have thought a guy fumbling with his keys was breaking into a house, for all we know.

[Chadd 916]

Depends on what she saw. Heck, this lady could have thought a guy fumbling with his keys was breaking into a house, for all we know.

Just heard a clip on CNN and she said a number of things, most of them conflicting. They were braking in, they may live there, they put a shoulder into the door to force it open... The cop couldn't have had much of an idea what he was getting into.

[shooter27 116]

I can kind of put it in hockey terms. Here it goes:

If a player or coach beaks at a ref, and the ref uses the "that's enough" phrase and the player or coach continues, the ref has to give the unsportsmanlike.

If the ref doesn't do so, then players and coaches on both sides will start protesting every little call. And the net. Then, in the next game, they will give that ref a hard time, too.

When the ref gives the unsportsmanlike, after the warning, he lets ALL the players and coaches know that it is the ref's judgement, and that it's not up for further disputing or interpretation.

If he doesn't give the unsportsmanlike, then he is signaling that yelling at and being confrontational to the on-ice officials is OK. He is also making it harder for the on-ice officials of the next game, and the community of on-ice officials would think that this ref is a non-confrontational wimp.

-----

If Sgt. Crowley had not done the arrest, after the warning, he is setting the precedent that yelling at and being confrontational to law enforcement is OK. This would be seen by all of the citizens who were present. Then, in crowd control / traffic control / area evacuation scenarios, citizens would be conditioned to ignore law enforcement orders. For safety, at the very least, this can't happen.

Also, if Sgt. Crowley had not done the arrest, his fellow officers in the Cambridge police department and those in the Harvard Campus department would think that he didn't have the stones to do the right thing.

I understand your point, I just don't agree. In the hockey scenario, there is a large audience that the ref has to send a message to in order to effectively do his job (the players). In the case of this arrest, there is no audience to send a message to. I'll give you the 5-10 people that are around looking at the situation would know what happened, but RATIONAL people, which the professor clearly was not, would not think that the cop walking away gives them the ability to abuse police officers. Whereas in the middle of a hockey game you can't always expect people to act rationally. In society at large, in my opinion, people are generally rational beings.

[TBLfan 25]

You really think those people watching some lunatic go off on a police officer, who then walks away and leaves don't tell their friends about the story? If I saw that, I'd be calling up city officials complaining about the officer.

[ktang 34]

I can kind of put it in hockey terms. Here it goes:

If a player or coach beaks at a ref, and the ref uses the "that's enough" phrase and the player or coach continues, the ref has to give the unsportsmanlike.

If the ref doesn't do so, then players and coaches on both sides will start protesting every little call. And the net. Then, in the next game, they will give that ref a hard time, too.

When the ref gives the unsportsmanlike, after the warning, he lets ALL the players and coaches know that it is the ref's judgement, and that it's not up for further disputing or interpretation.

If he doesn't give the unsportsmanlike, then he is signaling that yelling at and being confrontational to the on-ice officials is OK. He is also making it harder for the on-ice officials of the next game, and the community of on-ice officials would think that this ref is a non-confrontational wimp.

-----

If Sgt. Crowley had not done the arrest, after the warning, he is setting the precedent that yelling at and being confrontational to law enforcement is OK. This would be seen by all of the citizens who were present. Then, in crowd control / traffic control / area evacuation scenarios, citizens would be conditioned to ignore law enforcement orders. For safety, at the very least, this can't happen.

Also, if Sgt. Crowley had not done the arrest, his fellow officers in the Cambridge police department and those in the Harvard Campus department would think that he didn't have the stones to do the right thing.

I understand your point, I just don't agree. In the hockey scenario, there is a large audience that the ref has to send a message to in order to effectively do his job (the players). In the case of this arrest, there is no audience to send a message to. I'll give you the 5-10 people that are around looking at the situation would know what happened, but RATIONAL people, which the professor clearly was not, would not think that the cop walking away gives them the ability to abuse police officers. Whereas in the middle of a hockey game you can't always expect people to act rationally. In society at large, in my opinion, people are generally rational beings.

OK, I understand your point too now. It's OK to disagree. I guess that I'm more cynical than you (bad for me), and you believe in the goodness of the common man.

[eric42434224 1]

The 911 caller didnt say anything about race until asked specifically by the 911 operator.

The cop(s) responding to a call about 2 men possibly breaking and entering will respond and question the possible suspect on the scene even if the person was pink.

Until the cop(s) knew exactly who the person was and confirmed that he lived there, they had a duty to ask for ID and treat the person as a suspect, regardless of color.

If a person continues to yell at officers in public, after repeatedly being told to stop, they can, and will be arrested for disorderly conduct and/or disturbing the peace.

Other than the professor yelling "racism", I dont see how the police could have handled this situation any different.

I was pulled over by the cops driving some PA equipment in a friends truck. I had a suspended license. I gave them my brothers name and DOB, and said I left my license at home. They said "great....get in the police car, and lets drive over to your house and get your license".

Busted....and spent five hours behind bars.

I am a white, middle-class, educated male.

Cops doing their fuc*ing job, plain and simple.

This professor should have shown police officers the respect they deserved for the job they do, and quietly comply with their requests. Period and end of discussion.

They responded to a legitimate 911 call. Show them your license with a fuc*ing smile, and thank them for protecting the neighborhood and his own fuc*ing house and property.

I cant believe racism was brought into this. That professor should be ashamed of himself.

[Chadd 916]

This professor should have shown police officers the respect they deserved for the job they do, and quietly comply with their requests. Period and end of discussion.

They responded to a legitimate 911 call. Show them your license with a fuc*ing smile, and thank them for protecting the neighborhood and his own fuc*ing house and property.

I cant believe racism was brought into this. That professor should be ashamed of himself.

Hey, the professor could have been an asshole and whined or bitched at the cop a little for annoying him and still wouldn't have been a front-page story.

[eric42434224 1]

I hope everytime this professor gives a white kid a bad grade, the kid goes ballistic and yells racism.

:)

[chippa13 1844]

Not for nothing but doesn't Obama have a few slightly more important things to worry about than holding this ridiculous "Beer Summit". Gee, I don't know, maybe worry about fixing the economy, healthcare, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan first and then get back to stroking the ego of your buddy in the Harvard faculty. The only reason this is still news, Mr. Obama, is because you talked without the details and made it so.

[kosydar 0]

Not for nothing but doesn't Obama have a few slightly more important things to worry about than holding this ridiculous "Beer Summit". Gee, I don't know, maybe worry about fixing the economy, healthcare, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan first and then get back to stroking the ego of your buddy in the Harvard faculty. The only reason this is still news, Mr. Obama, is because you talked without the details and made it so.

Especially because nobody apologized over the incident. I expected to hear a little humility from Gates, but it seems like that didn't happen.

[ktang 34]

Not for nothing but doesn't Obama have a few slightly more important things to worry about than holding this ridiculous "Beer Summit". Gee, I don't know, maybe worry about fixing the economy, healthcare, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan first and then get back to stroking the ego of your buddy in the Harvard faculty. The only reason this is still news, Mr. Obama, is because you talked without the details and made it so.

Especially because nobody apologized over the incident. I expected to hear a little humility from Gates, but it seems like that didn't happen.

I didn't expect Gates to have any humility. I'm betting that he'll be using these 15 minutes of fame.

I think that Obama, as POTUS, can't admit to making mistakes, so he needed this "Beer Summit" to end this issue (that he created).