Who's to blame in the arrest of Henry?

phrannie, one can not be arrested for disorderly conduct IN YOUR OWN HOME!!! As utopia said, he was arrested AFTER he had already proven it was his house. What is so hard to understand about this? The cops were wrong. Period.

*Henry is responsible for Henry’s arrest…When a cop asks for ID…give it to him…and save yourself a trip to jail.

Phrannie, Professor Gates DID give the officer his ID. The 911 tape was released and it clearly indicates that the officer confirms that Gates was where he should be…in his own home.

Henry is responsible for Henry’s arrest…When a cop asks for ID…give it to him…and save yourself a trip to jail.

Obama should have stayed out of the frey…

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I think that either party probably could have diffused the situation.

It probably would have been better if President Obama didn’t comment on it but he does have a relationship with the professor so to him it may be a bit personal.

President Obama spoke too soon without knowing the whole story. This isn’t something he should have commented on anyway… he has bigger fish to fry right now. I think Prof Gates is to blame because it could have simply been solved by showing his ID… end of story. The cop was doing his job, and received no cooperation.

*I think Prof Gates is to blame because it could have simply been solved by showing his ID

Professor Gates DID show his ID. He handed both his Harvard University identification and his valid Massachusetts driver’s license to the officer. Both include Professor Gates’ photograph, and the license includes his address.

I agree with fillet. Both sides could have diffused this. As far as the President… I find it refreshing to hear a President speak his mind, not just spew rhetoric. Using the word “stupidly” in describing the police behavior might not have been the best choice but as they are friends, it is understandable.

The Officer is to blame because he should have left after he realized that Prof. Gates was indeed the resident and not an intruder. Although I agree with Obama, he probably should not have said anything because of the hell he is catching. I do hope that Obama does Not apologize for his comments.

Prof. Gates, according to the police report, was a bit over the top for a simple investigation of a break in report. However, since when is it a crime to yell in public? I know the police are targets of many emotional outbursts, and Sgt. Crowley, who offers racial profiling training, was probably put off by the suggestion that his action was racially motivated. That does not require handcuffs to resolve. On the other hand, Prof. Gates might have been a little more thankful if two black men really were breaking into his home and Sgt. Crowley arrived on the scene with the same perspective. This case is just two obstinate people butting heads. Unfortunately, it has again exposed the complete discomfort that we Americans have with talking about race.

What gates did is irrellevant. He did not commit a crime. One can not be charged with disorderly conduct when you are INSIDE YOUR OWN HOME. He can scream, bust up furniuture, or what ever he wants to do INSIDE HIS OWN HOME. Once it was determined that it was his house, the cops should have apologized and left immediately. But instead they asked him to step outside, and then they cuffed him. They did that because they couldn’t arrest him for disorderly conduct while he was INSIDE HIS OWN HOME. We do have a fourth amendment, but these cops completely disregarded it.

And what is with the person reporting the burgalry in the first place? Did she not know who he was, and just figured 2 black men must mean they are robbing the place. How come the press are just ignoring that part of it, and not talking to them?

There is no excuse for the cops to have done what they did. Gates did nothing illegal. Not liking what he saying to you when you are standing INSIDE HIS HOME is not a crime. I hope he sues the hell out of them.

At this time, its hard to say- we have a Harvard Professor with all sorts of diplomas whos a friend of the President. Then we have not one, but several Officers who support the arresting officers version- also, the arresting officer taught race sensitivity training.

Based on my own experience with Harvard Professors- I was a lowly copying machine technician and I was fixing a large 50 copies per minute machine when one of their Physics Professors came in and started telling me how to do my job.

I turned around, smiled, gave him my tool kit, and told him heres my tool kit- you fix it. Also, I’ve taught physics at the University Level- I got tired of the butt kissing and the very small paychecks so I decided to get a real job.

So, in this case- a black man who teaches law and supposedly ethics at Harvard vs some poor cop who makes 60,000 a year to get shot at? I’m going with the cops version

Both parties are two blame, two people with over blown egos, butting heads, but one has the power to put the other in jail, so the person said it’s because he was black, not because he was yelling and screaming.

Obama’s comment was extremely unprofessional and not needed, and he could not have apologized fast enough.