911 Caller: I'd Do It Again

When Lucia Whalen picked up the phone and dialed 911, she had no idea that the call would set off a national story involving race, police abuse, and even the president himself. And Whalen would do it all over again. Whalen, who has been swept up in the maelstrom of media coverage surrounding the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. in the last few days, said in a press conference that the recording of her call shows that she "tried to be careful and honest with my words." Whalen has hired a lawyer—though it is unlikely she'll need one—and has said she was "personally devastated" by accusations that she is racist. She also has hired a spokeswoman, who said to the media, "While the three men will have a beer at the White House, 'The one person whose actions have been exemplary will be at work tomorrow in Cambridge...Maybe it's a guy thing. She doesn't like beer, anyway.'"