Archive for July 25th, 2009

By now, you’ve probably all heard about the arrest of prominent black academic Henry Louis Gates, Jr. in his home by a Cambridge police officer. If you haven’t, or even if you have, I suggest reading the police report. The short version is that a neighbor called the police after witnessing Gates and his driver attempting to force open the front door of Gates’ home, which was apparently jammed. A police officer responded to a possible break-in, and, seeing Gates, demanded that he step outside. Gates refused, saying something to the effect of, “This is what happens to black men in America.” Some more bluster followed from both sides, and eventually Gates explained the situation but was arrested anyway for disorderly conduct.

Naturally, Gates and the officer tell slightly different stories, but the general consensus seems to be that both overreacted. Gates, understandably upset by being accused of breaking into his own home, called the officer a racist and, to some extent, refused to cooperate. In all likelihood, simply stepping outside and explaining the situation would have prevented any escalation.

The officer could have ignored the comments and left after identifying Gates as the legitimate occupant of the home. Instead, he chose to escalate the situation by arresting him for “disorderly conduct”  Read the complete post...