Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates arrested for yelling at Cambridge police officer (Police report attached)

Let's cut to the chase . . .

A White female neighbor of Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. called the police on the night of July 20, 2009 to report a possible break-in at the home of Prof. Gates.

She reported seeing two Black men on his porch. That much is undisputed.

Here is the actual (redacted) police report (PDF) documenting the incident from the arresting officer's perspective.

And here is Prof. Gates' lawyer's statement on his arrest, courtesy of TheRoot.com of which Prof. Gates is the Editor-in-Chief.

Here's a taste:

Comments

[A Real Black Person]

Gates is a perfect parody of the African American academic. He's not a scientist or a medical doctor so his value to Harvard,to me , is puzzling at best.( Yeah, I don't think African America Studies is a legitimate academic subject anymore than "Film Studies." and especially at one of the most expensive schools in the world.)If he was hired because of affirmative action,to fill some diversity slot, that would be terrible because Harvard has a reputation of weighing professors heavily on merit and I don't know if you noticed, I don't think much of Gates.

[Reggie Greene / The Logistician]

We have three observations about the Harvard professor incident:

1. We find it interesting that the fact that this was the professor's home was evidently not established early on way before the dispute escalated;

2. We find it fascinating that the versions of two members of society, who most would ordinarily view as responsible and honest citizens (this obviously does not include politicians), would vary so dramatically from a factual point of view.

3. Finally, considering that the reading and viewing public were not present at the scene (and thus have no first hand knowledge), and that there is no video tape to our knowledge of the sequence of events and what was said, how so many have formed conclusions, and made assumptions, about who did what and who was wrong.

There are some things which Professor Gates might have considered upon the arrival of the police, no matter how incensed he may have been.

[Shawn]

Funny...no mention of the "this is what happens to a black man in America" phrase, nor the "talk with your mama".

So I understand it correctly, Mel Gibson says it's the Jews fault for the problems, and he's the one at fault. This guy says, "this is what happens to a black man in America" and the black police officer (one of the three was black if you didn't notice) is racist.

Interesting how that double standard works out for the benefit of the minority AND how the president backs it up without having any evidence or proof beforehand.

Interesting indeed...

[Slice]

It sounds like he was caught doing something he shouldn't. People don't get "loud" for no reason.

[Mandaue]

I believe Mr. Gates owes an apology to the Cambridge Police Department. He should be ashamed of himself for viewing a rational question of identifying himself, so the Police could be sure he was the home owner, as racist. It sounds like Mr. Gates is a racist. Racism is not isolated to one race Mr. Gates. I believe Mr. Gates deserves a disorderly conduct charge.

[Chris R]

The person who called the police was visiting from out of town. If anyone was profiling it was her.

But she wasn't. She saw what she thought was a break in. I suppose she thought it was better to be safe than sorry. Maybe she thought that if they did own the house they would say so to the police, but he didn't. He could have given his ID but he didn't. He was angry and wanted to make a point.

Police are generally assholes but in this case the police were just doing there job and the good doctor was acting like a child. "You don't know who you're messing with" What an arrogant statement.

I would personally be thankful if my neighbor called the police on someone breaking into my house. even if that person was me.