Stop That Cop!

Once again the rush to judgment is rearing its ugly head over allegations that white racist cops manhandled an innocent African-American, arrested him, and hauled him off to jail for no reason other than racial animosity. More proof that we need to work on racial sensitivity because America is still a racist nation. Or is it?

The way the mainstream press and TV coverage have it, there is no question that the country is still crawling with racist police officers who profile African-Americans, assume they're committing a crime, then act accordingly regardless of the facts on the ground. And this situation plays right into that perception. No street thugs involved here. No hip-hop, bling-bling loudmouth with a lengthy conviction record. No urban yoots (sorry, Vinnie). The innocent victim of this vicious racist act is none other than Henry Louis Gates Jr., director of Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research.

Since the police officers are white and Hispanic, and the victim is black, we already know where this is going. And then it gets worse. The cops arrested this upstanding citizen in his own home! Case closed. Get out the police department dismissal papers, the handcuffs, and put those cops in jail where they belong. As a result of this maltreatment, the victim should be awarded at least a gazillion dollars in a civil suit, and the NAACP should immediately be put in charge of the local police department. Perhaps we could get an advisory opinion from Sonia Sotomayor.

Here's how the Boston Globe reports the situation at Cambridge, Massachusetts which surrounded the incident. "One of the nation's pre-eminent African-American scholars was arrested about 1 PM at his home near Harvard Square by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in. The incident raised concerns among some Harvard faculty that Gates was a victim of racial profiling. Friends of Gates said he was already in his home when police arrived. He showed his driver's license and Harvard identification card, but was handcuffed and taken into police custody for several hours."

Typical of liberal journals nationwide, those were the words that followed the headline. If that were the news, we would all have reason to believe that the cops were out of control and dead wrong. Also typical of liberal journals, the Globe relied on the headline and the story to make its opinion look like conclusive evidence. Confident in its ability to make up readers' minds for them, the Globe also briefly reproduced the report in highly-redacted form on its website, then removed it entirely. Fortunately, the Cambridge Chronicle was not so reticent. Those who read the article and suspected something didn't sound right may or may not have gone on to read the police report and witness statements.

Here's what the report actually says: The police responded to a call of a break-in by a woman on the sidewalk who said she's seen a black male "wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry." The responding officer reported that "I could see an older black male standing in the foyer. As I stood in plain view of this man, later identified as Gates, I asked if he would step out onto the porch and speak with me. He replied 'no, I will not.' He then demanded to know who I was. I told him that I was 'Sgt. Crowley from the Cambridge Police' and that I was investigating a report of a break-in in progress at the residence. While I was making this statement, Gates opened the front door and exclaimed 'Why, because I'm a black man in America?' I then asked Gates if there was anyone else in the residence. While yelling, he told me that it was none of my business and accused me of being a racist police officer. Gates also said 'Yeah, I'll speak with your mama outside'." Harvard humor, I suppose.

Is the picture beginning to change slightly for you yet? As it turns out, Gates had indeed locked himself out of his residence, and did have to break in. No crime, of course, but for the lady who had no idea who he was, all she saw was a break-in in progress. Crowley's backup officers, including the Harvard Campus Police, describe Gates yelling repeated accusations of racism while asserting that the officer "had no idea who (he) was 'messing' with." Correct, Professor--the officer did not know whom he was questioning, which is why he asked in the first place.

Despite the officer's request during an investigation of a break-in, Gates initially refused to produce any identification confirming his residence. Although Gates finally supplied a Harvard faculty ID, he still refused to show his driver's license which would confirm his residence, although he did ultimately produce it. By now, a large crowd had gathered to see what the commotion was all about. As Gates got louder, more agitated, and more pointed in his accusations of racism, the officer advised him twice that he was becoming disorderly, and all they wanted to do was confirm the circumstances surrounding the break-in. Gates kept it up, refusing to cooperate with the police questioning. Sgt. Crowley then placed Gates under arrest.

As they were leaving, Crowley asked if he would like an officer to take possession of his house key and secure Gates's front door. Gates responded that "the door was impossible to open or secure properly because of a previous break-in attempt at the residence, of which the local residents all aware. Hmmm. Is it at all possible that the police and the neighbors were a bit on edge because of the previous break-in?

Since the Globe recited the version most favorable to Gates and his charges of racism, here's what the other side has to say. The Cambridge Fraternal Order of Police was more pointed than the police report. The police, they say, were confronted with a reported break-in, encountered a man shouting racial remarks at them for attempting to investigate reasonably, and their investigation was hampered by an uncooperative man who refused to identify himself although by now it was apparent that there had actually been a break-in. The man continued to refuse to cooperate, and when he finally agreed to come outside the house, he continued to shout, threaten and blame the officers for his agitated state. Disorderly conduct charges were perfectly appropriate. The executive director of the FOP, Jim Pasco, said that "Gates was the provocateur because he called Officer James Crowley a racist instead of producing identification as requested."

There are two sides to every story. And as yet, the matter hasn't been thoroughly vetted, although Gates is already threatening massive civil lawsuits. But that didn't stop our post-racial President from getting his nose into the matter. When asked if he was aware of the situation, Obama could simply have said "yes, but I don't know any of the details so I won't comment on it." Rather than choose the high ground, the Racial Healer-in-Chief, a friend of Gates, made a public statement at a press conference in which he said, "anybody would be angry, the police acted stupidly." He went on to say "it highlights ongoing problems with race relations in the United States." Yes, Mr. President, it does. And you are a major part of that problem. This was nothing more than a reprehensible charge of racism made by a President of the United States who is also an alleged lawyer who ought to know better.

Bill Cosby appeared on a local Boston radio station this morning, and was asked what he thought of the President's remarks. His reply was "I was shocked to hear the president making this kind of statement. If I'm the President of the United States, I don't care how much pressure people want to put on it about race, I'm keeping my mouth shut." Cosby was also questioned later on a local Boston TV station, and moderated his statement slightly. He said "People who have not been there, people who don't know are beginning to have their own personal feelings, but they weren't there." Yes, Mr. Cosby, and we have a President who will make sure those feelings get good and stirred up, even though he wasn't there either.

Obama had also added that "Blacks and Hispanics are picked up more frequently and often times for no good cause, which is suspcious even when there is good cause." Aside from the fact that the statement makes no sense, what does Obama think he's up to? Given the statistics on crime by race and ethnicity, what does he expect any reasonable police officer to do? "Oh, you broke into the house, and you say that you live there, and we have witnesses who saw the break-in, but since you're black, we'll just take your word for it that you aren't a burglar."

One final word from my years in criminal defense practice. Police can be arrogant and occasionally cross the line. But when someone gets in your face and starts throwing racial epithets, there is such a thing as normal human reactions. I represented over thirty defendants who were arrested for reasons very similiar to those in this case. The charges filed with the District Attorney ranged from disorderly conduct to assault on a police officer. What actually occurred in each case is what we defense attorneys jokingly refer to as "contempt of cop." And we occasionally remind officers that there is no such crime. In only one of those cases was my client actually convicted of anything, and in that case the charge was reduced to disturbing the peace. One additional fact: all those clients were white. People who get unreasonably vocal or physical when a police officer is merely doing his job should not be surprised when the officer has just simply taken all he's going to take, and puts on the cuffs.