Who Blew It? President Obama, Professor Gates or Sgt. Crowley

I am figuring that Gates will not be conciliatory,

Gates suggested to the New York Times' Maureen Dowd that he expects an apology from Crowley in their meeting with the president.

"It's clearly not going to be like Judge Joe Brown, OK? 'You tell your side, you tell your side.' We have to agree to disagree. But I would be surprised if somebody didn't say, 'I'm sorry you were arrested,'" Gates told Dowd.

Brandon9000 wrote:

Cycloptichorn wrote:

Brandon9000 wrote:

I can't know exactly what happened on the scene, but Gates looks in a rage even in the photo of him being led off in handcuffs. The police were summoned and had to make some kind of sense of the situation. When the police try to identify and question someone who flies into a rage and refuses even to provide identification, isn't it perfectly normal for them to arrest him? Should he get a pass where another person would be arrested because he's black, or because he has a prestigious job, or should he be treated like any other hostile, aggressive, uncooperative person who yells and refuses reasonable requests?

On the contrary; according to both Gates' report and the police report, Gates did provide ID upon request. The officer, however, did not comply with MA law and provide his identification upon request.

Cycloptichorn

What may have happened is that Gates originally refused to show ID but later did. If it is true that Gates immediately became very belligerent and refused to comply with reasonable requests, then arresting him for disorderly conduct would seem like a common police reaction.

You are simply incorrect, Brandon. Why don't you try reading the actual documentation?

Here is a summary Gawker put together based on the two reports the men gave and two interviews the men gave - this is just an excerpt -

http://gawker.com/5321278/no-henry-louis-gates-is-not-a-railer-a-brawler-or-a-common-street-walker?skyline=true&s=x....
Cycloptichorn

According to the police report, the officer asked Gates to step outside, and he refused, saying "Why, because I'm a black man in America?" and "I'll speak with your mama outside".[14] The police also said that Gates initially refused to provide ID, ultimately showing his Harvard ID. The officer wrote in the police report "Gates continued to yell at me, accusing me of racial bias and continued to tell me that I had not heard the last of him".

According to Gates's version of events, when the officer asked for ID, Gates replied he had to get it inside, and then officer Crowley followed him into his home without permission.[16] After providing both his Harvard ID and his driver's license, each of which having a photo and the latter showing his home address to be the home in which they were standing,[17]Gates repeatedly asked the officer for his name and badge number, which the officer would not provide, instead telling Gates to step outside his home. Gates said that after handing over the two sets of ID, he followed the officer (Crowley) from inside his house onto his front porch, where the officer was able to arrest him for "disorderly conduct" in public. Gates has also denied that he made a reference to the officer's "mama", saying "Does it sound logical that I would talk about the mother of a big white guy with a gun?"

You are wrong again.

The officer's badge and name were visible and according to the Officers statement, he identified himself twice.

However, Mr. Gates was too busy spewing his venom to actually hear the Officer ID himself.

Stop trying to defend the one guilty of escalating this matter.

Stop acting like you know the law - you don't.

Is this a "teachable moment"? Absolutely.