Black Harvard Professor arrested after breaking into his own home?

Gates was acting in a way that created a disturbance outside of his home, in public. You do that and it can get you arrested. That's the law. Gates, just because he is a mature Harvard professor and is black, is not above the law. He has to be subject to it like everyone else - and doesn't get a by because he's black and the officer should be sensitive to the fact that Gates is feeling like a victim.

 

I love that we are taking it further than the parties this actually pertains to, haha. Classic.

 

trying to get into his home?

 

Damn, I thought this thread was slowly going away.

 

sorry, i've been reading it, if obama hadn't answered the question i guess it would have. couldn't help but respond to the texxx post like gates planned this whole ordeal.

it just amazes me how many people feel the cop was justified in arresting the guy because he spoke badly to the cop.

 

No need for apologies, I understand. I honestly can see it both ways but I think the police should have just left then the tensions diminish and the crowd disperses. I mean, what neighbors do you know that will not gather around when several police cars converge upon a house in their neighborhood? Can he arrest him for disorderly conduct? Sure but should he have, I don't think so but what is done is done.

 

"Creating a disturbance" could mean anything. It should be enforced on a case by case basis. In this instance, the only reason a disturbance was created was because the owner was frustrated and angered by the presence of the police officer. There would be no more disturbance if the officer simply left. This differs from your typical case of "causing a public disturbance", where someone is making a racket before the police arrives, and may have good reason to do so after the police leaves.

If a mother's child is run over by a car, and she is wailing on the street and causing a disturbance, should the police follow the letter of the law and arrest her? She has to be subject to the law like everyone else, right? Forget the cops being sensitive to her feelings.

 

has the audio come out yet?

 

They say ev'rything can be replaced,
Yet ev'ry distance is not near.
So I remember ev'ry face
Of ev'ry man who put me here.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.

They say ev'ry man needs protection,
They say ev'ry man must fall.
Yet I swear I see my reflection
Some place so high above this wall.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.

Standing next to me in this lonely crowd,
Is a man who swears he's not to blame.
All day long I hear him shout so loud,
Crying out that he was framed.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.

 

You are comparing this to a mother losing her child???????

Gates had no reason for his behavior. It wasn't motivated from him being fatigued or frustrated - it was his HATRED of cops.

The cops were just trying to do their job. And they DID LEAVE. The left him and gates followed them out and CONTINUED creating a racket. He was even warned not to continued and he did.

 

He was planning to sue and make a movie about how much of a victim he was until Obama called him and then his attitude and plans changed.

 

Well I will just plan to have "bad feelings" every time I have to talk to a police officer (especially if the are investigating a robbery at my home) and they should just leave. Thank you for the helpful advice.

 

The charges were dropped because what Gates did didn't meet the definition of said law.

 

Is that why the charges were dropped?

 

yes, you'd need to go to law school, but it's know as the "because what did didn't" statute.

 

Have they said why the charges were dropped? If not, we can sit here and speculate all day.

 

That is what I am asking

 

I don't think they gave a reason. Honestly, I doubt they will because there is no need to.

 

The police requested the charges to be dropped.

In a joint statement, Mr. Gates' lawyer, the City of Cambridge, Mass., its police department and the county district attorney's office called the July 16 incident "regrettable and unfortunate." The statement added that "this incident should not be viewed as one that demeans the character and reputation of Professor Gates or the character of the Cambridge Police Department" and that "all parties agree this is a just resolution to an unfortunate set of circumstances."

Dropped charges doesn't make an arrest any less valid. All an arrest needs is probable cause.

 

If you believe its ok to act like a jerk just because you may not get arrested, fine. I would hope most citizens understand the difference between having the freedom to do something, and thinking its just fine and dandy to do so.