US News
Obama apology demanded by police unions in brewing racial storm
Jul 24, 2009, 17:36 GMT
Washington - Massachusetts police unions and organizations Friday called on President Barack Obama to apologize for calling local police stupid for arresting a high profile black Harvard professor who is a good friend of the country's first black president.
'We deeply resent the implication and any suggestion in this case that (police) allowed a person's race to direct their activities,' said Dennis O'Connor, president of the Cambridge Police Superior Officer Association, in broadcast remarks.
O'Connor and Steve Killian, president of the Cambridge Police Patrol Officers Association, said that Obama as well as Governor Deval Patrick, another black politician who also denounced the arrest, should apologize to Cambridge police.
'I think the president should make an apology to all law enforcement personnel,' Killian said.
At issue was the arrest last week of Henry Louis Gates Jr, a leading scholar and one of the country's top authorities on African- American history.
Police responded to a call from a neighbour who reported that a black man was trying to break into Gates' Cambridge home. In fact, it was Gates himself, arriving home late at night from China, where he had been filming a public television documentary.
His front door was stuck shut, and Gates enlisted help from his taxi driver to assist in prying it open. When police arrived, they demanded that Gates identify himself and an altercation ensued.
Obama jumped into the fray Wednesday night at the end of a news conference, saying police had 'acted stupidly' and that the arrest showed that 'race remains a factor in this society' and 'still haunts us.'
The white police officer, Sergeant James Crowley, arrested Gates for disorderly conduct and took him to the police station to book him. The charges were later dropped amidst the outcry over the arrest of such a prestigious black university professor.
Crowley has defended his actions, saying he 'really didn't want to have to take such drastic action because I was afraid it would bring unwanted attention.' He told a television interviewer that Gates had provoked his own arrest by not cooperating and becoming belligerent.
The Cambridge police commission said it will convene a panel to investigate.
Gates has demanded an apology and launched a protest campaign, calling his arrest an 'educational opportunity for America.' In broadcast remarks Thursday, he called Crowley a 'rogue policeman.'
'If this can happen to me in in Harvard Square, this can happen to anybody in the United States,' Gates said. 'What it made me realize is how vulnerable black men are ... vulnerable to capricious forces like rogue policemen, and this man was a rogue policeman.'
In his remarks Wednesday night, Obama admitted he may be 'a little biased' because Gates is a personal friend. He admitted he had not seen all the facts to know exactly 'what role race played' in the incident.
'But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and number three, what I think we know, separate and apart from this incident, is that there is a long history in this country of African Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact.'
The police union's O'Connor noted that both Obama and Governor Patrick conceded they did not have all the facts.
'I would expect the next words to be, 'So I cannot comment.' But both proceeded to insult the handling of this case by the Cambridge police department,' O'Connor said.
Alan McDonald of the Massachusetts Police Coalition, who moderated the news conference that showed police union support of Crowley, backpedalled a bit about demanding an apology of the president.
'We're not demanding an apology from anyone. Our view is that we think that when Governor Patrick and President Obama review all of the facts which they did not have before them, that they would have commented differently.
'We're hopeful that upon reflection, they realize their comments were misguided and they would take appropriate steps in the form of an apology.'
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Older Talkback
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Did they arrest him because the police didn't like his attitude?? How would most people react in a situation like this - not very quietly I'd imagine.
The perfect, do-no-wrong EVER police!
what a bad sign, to see SP open his hole and spew a whole bunch of crap. Remember this, EssPee: (cleaned up for public consumption) 'Well f*ck me in the *sshole and call it dinner.' Your various orifices and their usage is very unclear to you. So, EssPee, when you open your gob, all we can expect is crap.
Who are these worms above who rant about the other posters but have no point of view of their own? Who do they work for?
President Yobama just forgot who the police work for: the same people he does.
When talking about worms above, who are you referring to, SP4? In which case you should say 'worms below' because SP is nothing but a gutter crawling, racist, bigoted, brain dead drug addict, who is beneath contempt.
As you are new here, you may be forgiven for your lack of awareness. However, you could easily be another one of SP4's sock puppets. If the latter is the case, as I suspect it is, then go intercourse yourself, female cur.
Who somebody works for is none of your bloody business. At least they have a job and pay taxes. Do you have one? Or are you a welfare dog like SP4? Oops, that was unfair. SP4 doesn't collect welfare, he makes money selling drugs to school kids.
Clearly race is not an issue in the US and never was.
There is no historical evidence to prove the black people were ever discriminated against.
They were treated equally along with all the other slaves and still are.
These theories of discrimination hold no meaning and are false communist propaganda.
otherwise they're going to pop a cap in your buttocks.
Incredible!
Then again, it's obviously an open and shut case. The prof was caught black-handed, and flagrantly in possession of tight curly hair!
overlooked;SP4 admitting that the right fringe turned this issue into a trap .
Or at least is doing it's best to do so.That is if they find somebody stupid
e enough or simply biased to claim there is no such thing as police intimidation of bias towards coloured people .And that there never was a person called Rodney King ever.Or any other cictim of police brutallity .
No ,of course not.THe professor simply failed to cooperate to his unlawfll arrest in his own house .WE all now you have to cooperate with the police,even if they insult you,intimidate you or transgress the borders of the law.
Of course there are people within the police force that have no place within the force,they are a minority but they exist .Everybody knows that ,especially the racist right wing idiots suddenly calling the incident 'reverse racism' .Who do you think you are fooling SP4 ?
AS usual you won't miss the occasion to attack somebody more intelligent than you:especially a black professor,that must be an oxymoron to you,right ?
...who do you think they work for now?
...50,000 times a day some cop walks up to a car, or house or something always with the possiibility that he can potentially encounter anything from a kid with a lollipop to an armed robber with a 12 gauge shot gun. He usually wears a uniform to show he's law enforcement a double-edged sword at best. In most cities, including this one, so few police are on the job at any given time, they are protocoled into making choices about which call to answer first, and frequently let offenders walk or charge them with lesser infractions to cut booking time.
Now, however, we are supposed ot believe the libnazi template that some fat bellied sherriff, miraculously, apparantlyl the only law enforcement officer in America with nothing to do, sauntered over to some poor black person's house and hassled him, as if it was 1953 and the professor was in Alabama. Now, we are asked to believe this stretch of the truth by buying this little agitator's story, an the President who is just like he is, jerks himself at the prospect of pimping this.
What it reinforces is that this little man, who has a job created by white folk exclusively to employ the token black person to sate their liberal guilt from a time before they were alive (their are no 'white Studies' professors....are there...?)thinking that somehow they can right the scales of injustice by creating this sham, of a position for a man only qualified to operate in the playpen created for him.
The end result is a small minded little man who feels his power only when confronted with power, or handed it by clearly what are his superiors (in every way) failing to fight it with wisdom he clearly lacks and never acknowledging the glaring fact that the dumb ol officer was risking his life given the facts he had at hand. Honestly, Harvard should hire Louis Farrakan as a professor...but I doubt his self-respect would allow him to do it.
It's always the people who aren't directly involved in a situation who think they have all the answers. Both the police and Gates each have their own version of the incident, and it's the public and media who will blow this into outrageous proportions. There will always be those who are anxious to stir the pot as vigorously as possible.
SP tralking to his imaginary friend, again.
to get along with SP4. I'd really like to see any validity in his posts. I'd really like to be able to show some respect for him and his positions. Unfortunately, I can't. I can't ram my head up my ^ss, let alone ram it up that far.
Just what was your point here. Do you talk just to hear yourself? Do you really think you are right about anything, all you do is rant and shove right-wing talking points on everyone? God no wonder everyone picks on you.
@ SP4: aboutJul 25th, 2009 - 17:36:26
Just what was your point here.
SP4 - you actually missed the point(s)?????
Do you talk just to hear yourself?
SP4 - you call this talking, where you come from?
Do you really think you are right about anything,
SP4 - of course... after all, who'd opine if they thought they were wrong?
all you do is rant and shove right-wing talking points on everyone?
SP4 - why do you think they are right wing?
God no wonder everyone picks on you.
SP4 - let them...it's a free country and unlike you, I do not need to be liked by people I do not even know.
By the way...learn to use a question mark where required.
'SP4 - you actually missed the point(s)?????'
The reason the points were missed is because you ramble and make no sense.
'SP4 - you call this talking, where you come from?'
No, I call this talking to yourself, because no one else is listening. You do not make sense, you ramble, have horrible sentence structure and misspell most everything---no sense!
'SP4 - of course... after all, who'd opine if they thought they were wrong?'
There you go with your 'big boy' word. 'Opine' you must be proud to have found this word, do you think it actually makes you sound smarter?
'SP4 - why do you think they are right wing?'
Your 'opinions' are for sure not center or anywhere near the left. I guess common sense led me to this conclusion.
'SP4 - let them...it's a free country and unlike you, I do not need to be liked by people I do not even know.'
Liked? How about hated. I could care less if you walked off a bridge tomorrow, but I would defend your rights to your 'opinion'. I also defend my rights to tell you when I think you are more than full of crap. I also defend my right to call you on your lies and made up quotes. The sad thing, is that there is tons of stuff you could use out there to make your points that are true, you are just too lazy to go find it and use accurate information to help you sound a bit more studied.
'By the way...learn to use a question mark where required.'
And you giving anyone advise about anything even remotely close to spelling or sentence structure is laughable. Thanks for the laugh SP4. Why not come up with some ideas that have validity and quit using Rush as your encyclopedia. Believe it or not, he does most of what he does to make fools like you join his fan base and make him money. He could really care less about you or your kind. He has a huge house in West Palm Beach (just down the road from Donald Trump), he has private jets, he never drives and has limos that take him everywhere, has body guards cause he is afraid of getting his as* kicked, charges a fortune to spout his lies, and has not given even 1% to charities. Your hero is a drug addict bigoted lying fool. Quit quoting him there is better material out there and you would not sound so stupid.
Still crawling out of G.W.Bush's asshole for a breath of fresh air and a quick look around to see whats happening on this Planet? Well done SP:4 .Now when are you going to retreat. Jesus .H.Christ when will you understand that YOU have completely f~~~~~d this website and sent all rational debate away.There are NO visitors.Theres nothing left...I suggest M&C wraps up.FINIS.
The right fringe idiot SP4 i doing his best to turn a 72 year old professor needig a cane to walk ninto some potential terrorist that needed to be arrested in his own house by a cop ,hoping we are just as biased as he is .I presume the fact that this guy is black and also a personal friend of Obama has nothing to do with it at all.Read the article SP4 and tell us how this elderly person consituted a danger for the cops.A hint:no charges were pressed against the professor at all,the cops admitted their mistake,so tell us why he needed to be arrested,for being lvack and more intelligent than you ?In your world yes he would be .
because people just dont want to give up the race card and affirmative action. The only way we will truely be over the whole racism thing in the US is if Whitey and cracker are the slaves.
As usualJul 26th, 2009 - 11:17:31
The right fringe idiot SP4 i doing his best to turn a 72 year old professor needig a cane to walk ninto some potential terrorist that needed to be arrested in his own house by a cop ,hoping we are just as biased as he is .
SP4 - yes, if you're stupid enough to judge the situation by what we know now as opposed to what the police knew then...
I presume the fact that this guy is black and also a personal friend of Obama has nothing to do with it at all.
SP4 - that's the difference between you and me, monkey boy...I try not to presume...
Read the article SP4 and tell us how this elderly person consituted a danger for the cops.
SP4 - absolutely none, if, again (..and again..and again...)you use the facts now available to makke a judgement instead of correctly using the facts at the time of the arrest to make your judgement
A hint:no charges were pressed against the professor at all,
SP4 - sure...AFTER the incident had played out...
the cops admitted their mistake,
SP4 - no, actually they did not. They simply let him go because they knew, correctly, that he's not be convicted, even though disordely conduct is EXACTLY what he perpetrated.
so tell us why he needed to be arrested,for being lvack and more intelligent than you ?In your world yes he would be .
SP4 - what's 'lvack'?..I am not aware of such a word..and like I said, I do not presume him to be more intelligent than I because...
When a cop stops me, I try to comply with his requests, answer his questions and keep my hands in plain view. The police, in this day and age, rarely know the person they are detaining or questioning. They are advised to be authoritative and pointed as a way to establish dominance. Understand, this is POLICY, just like clearing a home if you do not know the person in it, or he chooses not to identify himself and then creates a scene.
The esteemed professer may actually be more intelligent than I, but he failed to facilitate a public servant who was, correctly, following protocol established for his safety. He ignored the fact that the officer answered a legitimate break-in call, where he potentially risks his life.
This is a good lesson for you, monkey boy, intelligence is the first step to wisdom. The professor's wisdom failed him. You and your libnazi ilk see the police as disposable humans, obligated to take unnecessary risks to satisfy some politically correct decision. I suspect people like you feel the same way about soldiers, firemen, etc., who are in your mind, simple cannon fodder for your society.
'SP4 - yes, if you're stupid enough to judge the situation by what we know now as opposed to what the police knew then...'
And what is the difference between what this poster did than what you have done. I guess this makes you stupid because you judged the situation by what you knew instead of what Mr. Gates knew? You jumped on the officers side without all the facts on the table, guess you are stupid?
'SP4 - that's the difference between you and me, monkey boy...I try not to presume...'
Right. There is really no difference if you judge by your jaded yardstick. You are just as stupid as you presume this poster is.
'SP4 - absolutely none, if, again (..and again..and again...)you use the facts now available to makke a judgement instead of correctly using the facts at the time of the arrest to make your judgement'
And again and again and again you jumped on the policeman's side before you knew the facts, what's the difference?
'SP4 - sure...AFTER the incident had played out...'
No, liar! This incident is about the President's comments. The charges were dropped within two hours of the arrest, your point here is invalid.
'SP4 - no, actually they did not. They simply let him go because they knew, correctly, that he's not be convicted, even though disordely conduct is EXACTLY what he perpetrated.'
When charges are dropped, there is a mistake. Charges are not dropped for nothing. Either the law was broken or it was not. There is no grey area. The policeman would have been much better off if the charges had not been dropped so soon---that would have proven some validity.
'SP4 - what's 'lvack'?..I am not aware of such a word..and like I said, I do not presume him to be more intelligent than I because...'
This is funny. You are lecturing someone because they do not make sense, then your entire paragraph does not make sense???
'When a cop stops me, I try to comply with his requests, answer his questions and keep my hands in plain view. The police, in this day and age, rarely know the person they are detaining or questioning. They are advised to be authoritative and pointed as a way to establish dominance. Understand, this is POLICY, just like clearing a home if you do not know the person in it, or he chooses not to identify himself and then creates a scene.'
Your point here is invalid. Mr. Gates was arrested after he had proven it was his house. Both Mr. Gates and the Policeman are at fault here. Mr. Gates is to old to be mouthing off to the police, and police are suppose to be trained to handle this type of jabbering from people. Please get the point SP4, it is kind of like your head. Both are wrong and should have handled things better---that said, who is more in control a 60 year old man who walks with a cane or a policeman who has a gun? The policeman should have laughed and walked out the door.
'The esteemed professer may actually be more intelligent than I, but he failed to facilitate a public servant who was, correctly, following protocol established for his safety. He ignored the fact that the officer answered a legitimate break-in call, where he potentially risks his life.'
'The esteemed professer may actually be more intelligent than I'---now there is an understatement. Again, the policeman should have left after he established the fact that Mr. Gates was in his own home, that is what they are trained to do.
'This is a good lesson for you, monkey boy, intelligence is the first step to wisdom. The professor's wisdom failed him. You and your libnazi ilk see the police as disposable humans, obligated to take unnecessary risks to satisfy some politically correct decision. I suspect people like you feel the same way about soldiers, firemen, etc., who are in your mind, simple cannon fodder for your society.'
Like you would know intelligence. You are the guy who quotes Rush Limpbaugh---that is in no way intelligent. The rest of this statement is out of the 'conservative idiots' playbook, I guess by this premise only conservatives are policeman, soldiers and firemen? Stupid statements only make you look stupid SP4, when are you going to learn?
'..what the hell is 'lvack' boner boy??? Did you have a lapse? Do you not know? Certainly, this Is not tooo hard..is it? I suspect this is why you do not know about brevity: the small mind (very small indeed) with little to say must hide in verbosity.
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SP4: oh boyJul 24th, 2009 - 20:42:57
...what a bad sign to see a president step into a big bear trap so easily.
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