Obama-"Cambridge Police acted stupid"

[Resq14]

It simply freaking amazes me that some supposedly "LEOs" are siding with a known racist professor....and not a veteran LEO....

Par for the course around here I guess.....Good f'ing God....

I don't think anyone is siding with the racist professor. I'm not, and I believe 1000 times over that Gates is the only one that played the race card and escalated the encounter that day.

I think there MIGHT be some question about whether the elements of the crime were met, what the motivation was for the arrest, and whether it was the best way to handle the situation -- especially given the outrageous allegations that were being leveled at the responding officers by Gates.

I surely don't want fellow officers losing street credibility by ignoring disorderly conduct. Nor do I want them backpedaling from a possible crime in progress which might allow situations to escalate.

I know most here view it as "arrest made: problem solved." And yes, arrest is certainly a good way to address disorderly behavior. Working in the area I do, I encounter many educated and privileged persons similar to Gates. I've dealt with far worse verbal diarrhea on front porches and yards. In such situations involving grown, sober, angry adults, there's little chance such childish outbursts would compel me to arrest. The yelling wouldn't bother me -- it never has before at least.

Now if a third party complained about it, I would go down the ask/tell/make path. I'd definitely get a complainant's statement in writing, even if it was after the fact. It would have to be more than me perceiving passers-by as "looking alarmed." Why? I don't view warrant-less seizures (arrests) of a person on their own property lightly, and neither do attorneys, judges, and the Constitution -- nor should any of us.

Maybe I would have done the same thing as Sgt. Crowley. Hell, maybe I would've even TASER'd Gates. Like the rest of you, I was not there. Based on my life experiences I just find myself wondering, "Why not just leave the d-bag on his porch pouting and drive away?" *shrug*

[Leo1982]

PtlCop what you said was reasonable. Tough to be a moderate on a conservative forum huh?

My first instinct is to always side with the cop however I think both parties overreacted. Gates became irrate over something that didnt necessarily warrant it and the officer potentially overreacted with the arrest over something that was some ******* mouthing off on his own property. I will as PtlCop already stated side with the cop however I have seen reports that are written to CYA and that report was a long one for a small and otherwise fairly insignificant incident. Obama didnt help the situation one bit but as with anyone, he's human and he might have been quick to jump in the mix to help his good friend. I bet most of us have said/done something to help a good friend and then realized he/we were in the wrong.

I find it interesting that some officers are quick to attack other officer's integrity, ability, or years on the job simply because of a differing opinion. Liberal, moderate, or conservative we all face similar situations, dangers, a.ssholes, etc so lets leave the personal attacks out of the otherwise intelligent discussion and leave this sh1t talking for people like Gates to scream at us from his porch.

On the sidenote, I like the passion with which people stand by their convictions. Be safe all.

[AP Han]

This is definitely a heated argument across the country. I'll begin with I am not going to Monday morning quarterback Sgt Crowley for his actions. As far as believing what the police report says, as I'm sure everyone's reports are, sworn documents that state the incident true and correct to the best of your knowledge. Being as that he is a Sgt and has been employed for many years and is involved in department training, that would lead me to believe that his credibility as an officer has not been tarnished and therefore will believe what is written in his report to be true.

I will agree that Gates' actions definitely fueled a situation that never needed to reach the point that it did. I will say that this is a case where someone wants to pull the race card and claim police harassment and abuse.

From what I read in the report it states that Sgt Crowley asked Gates to step outside and at that point Gates continued to cause a disturbance to the peace causing cars and neighbors to look in their general direction. It also states that Sgt Crowley requested Gates to quiet down several times before he made his arrest. It also states that Sgt Crowley requested to see Gates' ID several times to verify the residence was his. I don't know about anyone else, but I ask nicely once, tell them once, order them to follow my commands or they will be placed under arrest, and if they refuse, take the appropriate actions. Based upon that information I would believe Gates' actions to be disorderly and there for PC for arrest to exist. Was the arrest a P.O.P (**** of the police) arrest? I can't say and won't speculate because I wasn't there. However, what I can say is that if we let one person to act in such a manner to disrupt the peace, do we now allow all people to act that way? Do we permit certain individuals to dictate how we perform our jobs? Police officers have a certain authority entrusted upon them by the public to do the things they don't. We get to deal with the scum of society on a daily basis and the fact of the matter is that the steps that we sometimes take our for our safety and those brothers in blue (or whatever color your uniform may be) around us. If we give the scumbags we deal with an inch, they'll take a mile and then it's an unsafe world for everyone. I have and always will continue to do my job the best I know how, ensuring that every officer I work with gets to go home. I refuse to give the power to the scumbags of the street.

For those that want to criticize the way law enforcement works on a daily basis, I encourage them to come and see what daily life on the streets is like. And I'm not just talking about for one day. But for a year. See the brutality, ignorance, and daily difficulties that face police officers. And yet, remember, we all signed up for this job because deep down we love what we do and we no matter what we say, what to make some kind of a difference, somewhere.

And I leave you with one of my favorite quotes which sometimes makes me remember why I do what I do and allows me to be the officer I am.

"We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm" George Orwell

Be safe out there ladies and gentlemen.......keep fighting the good fight!

[Topace44]

Let me start off with I’m not from Massachusetts. I do know though, that the same/similar laws in other states may essentially be the same, however certain significant elements may be different and what each jurisdiction allows/does not allow differs greatly even within the same state. That being said, lets not assume that a DISCON arrest in Cambridge is the same as a DISCON arrest in your town.

We are all professionals on here. At the end of the day, we all want to see the bad guy in jail – NO MATTER WHAT THE RACE / GENDER / SEXUAL PREFERANCE / RELIGION. It doesn’t make two bits of difference what color anyone in this case was; A police officer responded to a call, found someone matching the description provided by dispatch and an eye witness and attempted to investigate the call. The interaction went south and the officer on scene BASED ON THE TOTALITY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES elected to make an arrest. Let’s leave it at that.

If you have not read the official police report (and I have), I would encourage you to search the web and read it in it’s entirety. This could happen to anyone of us today, tomorrow or next month. Don’t judge other cops actions unless you were there.

My personal opinion of the Presidents reaction to the case is that it was presumtive and ignorant. Don't hold your breath waiting for an appology from any politician on this issue. I only hope that the President realizes what he said was presumtive and that he learns from this mistake so is not be repeated.

[Lockdown912]

we forget Obama is a lawyer

[elchorizo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4kw12qoK7U

Traffic between Sgt. Crowley and dispatcher, starting at the initial dispatch of the call. Guy who posted it, claims its unedited.

[SOCALCOP]

Great job to Officer King, Cambridge PD for standing up for whats right.

http://wakeupblackamerica.blogspot.com/2009/07/black-female-officer-kelly-king-defends.html

[Chris116]

You got that right brother !. If anyone acted stupidly it was Obama.