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What I Saw at the Beer Summit
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Alex Brandon / AP Photo
The Daily Beast’s Elizabeth Gates joined her father, Skip, Sgt. Crowley, and the president to raise a beer and bury the hatchet. An inside report from the peace talks.
In a world in which the conversation on race has traditionally taken a back seat to both logic and reason, it’s no wonder that yesterday’s so-called “Beer Summit” at the White House seemed to make little sense at all. It wasn’t because the president was wrong in offering up a few cold ones to my father, Henry Louis Gates, and the now infamous Sgt. James Crowley in an attempt to tame the media blitz around my father’s arrest—it was because like most issues that make their way to TMZ, the reference point had shifted. The debate over Red Stripe and Blue Moon had somehow overshadowed the fact that this story began with a black Harvard professor and a white cop from Natick, Mass.—and as CNN’s countdown clock to the event taunted viewers like a time bomb, it was clear that this day wasn’t going to be the beginning of a serious discussion on human relations but rather a circus-like ending of a misunderstanding between a couple of very decent men.
I can’t say that I was shocked.
My father cut right through the thick tension of hurried salutations and offered the Sgt. his hand and joked, “You looked bigger the last time I saw you.”
As our family rounded the corner to the White House library and I first caught sight of Sgt. Crowley’s lovely daughter; she was wearing an appropriately heavy and charmingly untrained amount of green eyeliner on her lower lashes, and I saw my former self in her. We were instantly transported from the post-racial myth of America in 2008 to the reality of 2009. There they stood, a pleasant family of five, listening patiently to the overzealous tour guide boast about the fully functioning fireplace to the left of the doorframe.
As soon as my father’s foot crossed the threshold of the room, the storm of mediators immediately rushed to introduce us, but true to form, my father cut right through the thick tension of hurried salutations and offered the Sergeant his hand and joked, “You looked bigger the last time I saw you.” Crowley’s cheeks flushed red as a smile dashed across his lips, and his young son, whose cheeks had long since flushed the same muted crimson, looked up at his father and smiled. This wasn’t a family raised on hate. At that moment, right there in the library, they were just like us: a young family groomed to perfection, waiting to learn how to get those damn cameramen off their lawn and to put this sensationalized hell behind them. “I read an article where they called my father, ‘sexy cop.’ It was embarrassing,” his daughter said as we sat down for cookies and Coke. “Yeah,” I replied. He’s pretty cute.” We laughed, as Crowley’s wife rubbed her daughter’s back and reminded her son to mind the gift they had brought for the president. It was a grey Boston jersey, a fitting gift from a young boy to our commander-in-chief.
Moments later, the Sgt. and my father were escorted to the Rose Garden where the press sat waiting “at least 40 feet away” while the rest of us continued on with our tour. As we walked by a set of French doors that gave a clear view of this highly anticipated talk, I saw Mr. Obama’s lean body coolly draped over a lawn chair I wondered what these four men—President Obama, Vice President Biden, Sergeant Crowley and my father—could possibly say to heal this situation and what the press was actually waiting for. Would my father and Sergeant Crowley be reduced to who they were on that fateful day in my father’s house on Ware Street and give us all a glimpse of what really happened? Or could it be that this small collection of men were actually devising some master plan to rid the world of all racist tendencies right there in the presidential Rose Garden over a few brewskis? No. That would have been impossible to achieve—even on Obama’s best day and even if my father had actually finished his Sam Adams.
The vice president made a swift exit, saying that he would have worked late that night but instead had to rush home to Delaware to tend to his wife who had dislocated her shoulder. And as his car swooped away, another came in its place to carry us back to Dulles International Airport, where we snaked our way to Gate B—now devoid of photographers, news reporters and the invasive camera crews. I asked my father what the President had said during their chat and as he slipped off his shoes and reclined his chair, he said: “The president and the vice president are great men, Liza. They did the right thing to invite us there to talk, but it's up to us now to extend this conversation. We have plans to meet in private and discuss things. You know, Crowley’s not a bad guy. He’s not a Joe the Plumber who wants to represent the Right. He would be horrified to be considered a racist.”
Discrimination is the single greatest wound in American history and could never be solved over a beer. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. There are more black men in prison than in college and literally thousands of black men are arrested across this country each day. And while I might agree with the president’s initial statement that the “Cambridge Police Department acted stupidly,” my father is not the first nor will he be the last black man to be arrested for no reason—in his own home or elsewhere—and Sergeant Crowley isn’t the first officer to fudge a police report. They are simply pawns in the rebirth of unfashionable intolerance in a world that likes to think our dashing brown-skinned 44th president has emerged to make nice with the past, present, and future. It’s an impossible task for the president and speaks more to our nation’s vulnerable value system than the unfortunately common situation my father and the Cambridge police found themselves embroiled in. As my father said on the plane yesterday morning on our way to the White House, “there are approximately 800,000 black men in prison and on July 16, 2009, I simply became one of them.”
Elizabeth Gates is a graduate of The New School University, where she cultivated her love for fashion and writing.
How Rich People Smoke Pot
Paul Schrodt is a writer living in New York City. He has contributed to New York magazine, Radar, and Esquire.com.
Justice Clinton?
As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet strategic challenges for candidates, corporations and causes, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Governor Ann Richards, Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong, and Bono. McKinnon is co-chair of Arts & Labs, a collaboration between technology and creative communities that have embraced today's rich Internet environment to deliver innovative and creative digital products to consumers.
Tiger's Thing for White Girls
Elizabeth Gates is a style correspondent for The Daily Beast. She is a graduate of The New School University and a former intern at Vogue magazine.
White Guilt on Broadway
Elizabeth Gates is a style correspondent for The Daily Beast. She is a graduate of The New School University and a former intern at Vogue magazine.
Too Fat to Graduate
Elizabeth Gates is a style correspondent for The Daily Beast. She is a graduate of The New School University and a former intern at Vogue magazine.
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Downriver
Are you saying she could be bias towards one or the other.......Gee, I wonder why??
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
Europeandesigner
Professor Gates never acknowledged the "momma" comment and I believe him.
I am white.. ;))
ynot4tony2
"...including the insulting, "your momma" talk he attributes to Gates who clearly doesn't speak like some sort of Chris Rock stereotype."
Nice parroting of unfounded and disproved talking points. Go to youtube and search "Henry Gates rant 1996". Did you see the video?
Oh, snap! Did you hear that? Gates used "your mamma," the infamous N-word, and laughed about the watermelon stereotype.
Truth trumps talking points.
ChoadNamath
ynot4tony2 -
Did you even watch that video? There was nothing "rant"ish about it at all. And what he said *disproves* your point. Try putting his words in context; he said "...and what we're trying to do is end 'your momma' and 'your daddy' criticism..."
Truth indeed trumps talking points.
case1234
I have found it odd that media largely neglected to mention that Gate was married to a white woman and has bi-racial kids. I am become increasingly cynical of the media ability to not "step on a good story" by ignoring key facts.
Much like they made big deal of the caller not mentioning race, but most media outlets failed to mention that it was the police report that claimed she did.
Finally I wonder how many people who are "pro-Crowley" would have been for Gates if this was cast as a civil liberties issue rather than race. People defending someone being arrested at their own home without committing a crime or being any form of danger scares me a bit.
xlntcat
Gates not only Fudged the report, the first edition was pulled and another edited version submitted per the Cambridge newspaper. No one, whether they knew Professor Gates or not, ever believed the "ya'll momma" insert. I am white live in the deep south and did not for one minute believe that Professor Gates said that. The taped 911 call proved that the "infamous" Sgt Crowley played fast and loose with the truth in his "report" both the orginal and editted versions. I have no knowledge of Crowley's racial views, but a veteran policeman who lacks the skills despite his training to diffuse a situation after determining that no crime has been committed needs a lot more training.
wonkguy
I think it's possible that Prof. Gates might use a "your momma" invective if driven to. I know he doesn't have a problem with black people using the n-word (sadly) b/c he has said so, but that doesn't mean he uses it. I just don't see Prof. Gates pulling a George Jefferson style rant as is described in the police report. Perhaps if the officer had added a "I'm coming to join you Wheezy!" I'd be willing to jump on board.
nellie3ster
Gosh, is that ALL you took away from her piece? I would suggest you re-read, maybe slower this time?
eeyore5662
As long as there are people who jump to conclusions about what they "think" other people mean when they speak, important healing events that might have taken place, could remain status quo and even go backwards. The word infamous, unfortunately, is sometimes used out of context and is used to portray people or events who were relatively unknown and all of a sudden most everyone knows about them. I thought she was extremely warm and gracious when talking of Crowley and his family. If she leaned towards Gates more than Crowley, uh, hello, it's her father. Are you perhaps a tad guilty of being what you accuse her of?
peace111
She is not being sincere. Read between the lines...
bcintn
Yeah, that remark about Sgt. Crowley's "lovely" daughter's "appropriately heavy and charmingly untrained amount of green eyeliner on her lower lashes" was absolutely heartwarming. Would have been difficult to just leave it at lovely - or say nothing at all.
xlntcat
The difficulty in all interpersonal communication between spouses, between parents and children, between neighbors, co-workers etc. is that the listener interprets the words spoken through their own filter and frequently misinterprets. Anyone who is "reading between the lines" goes even further to foster misunderstanding and their interpretation becomes solely about them and has nothing at all to do with the speaker.
Emmy11
Gracious, yes she was. Graciously condescending and shallow. The question is, would you trust her to describe yourself to the public if your father was "infamous" Sgt Crowley?
BobPomeroy
By the same token, ynot4, I recognize the expletive snap as unique to a particular sub-culture. I could infer from that a stereotype, based on my own long affinity with that group, and project a lot more than is there. Weren't you taught not to take offense from a word? Why do you take offense in this case? Relax.
motrbotr
I was just going to say that. Good point!
Obama stated that this was a teachable moment. The only thing it has taught me is to not make a 911 call if I see someone breaking into my neighbors house.
Khrish
If you choose to take a silly slant to the the message, which obviously you do, that's exactly what I would expect of you.
gracie99
Can't expect her be more perceptive or honest than her father, I guess.
She has no proof that Crowley falsified a police report; she maligns him without evidence, yet again, in a little imitation of her father.
And, even worse, she's supporting her father's worst action, which goes far beyond his verbal abuse and obstructive behavior: CRYING RACISM to cover his own wrong behavior.
Misrepresenting a situation that obviously, to any objective observer, had nothing to do with race as racist sets race relations back because millions of people can easily understand what he supposedly couldn't and hence now feel increased mistrust in situations in which people may really have been profiled on the basis of race.
I don't believe that despite his intelligence and sophistication Professor Gates couldn't discern that the officer was carrying out obviously standard police procedures designed to protect him and the officer. He just didn't want to be inconvenienced, wanted to be instantly elevated above that by his wealth and prestige, and lost it when the officer refused to violate standard operating procedure in the face of his loudly self-proclaimed importance.
xlntcat
So, it is your uneducated opinion that a trained law enforcement officer is entitled by law to appear at your door and not identify himself at a private residence by name and badge number. You are suppose to consider his uniform and gun as sufficient identification even though crimes are committed daily by criminals impersonating law enforcement.
You are completely comfortable with law enforcement barging into your private residence without a warrant or your permission. You are totally willing to cede your protection under the constitution even though every week we see law enforcement abusing their authority across the nation. They conspire to frame a motorist for an accident that was their fault, they taser a 72 year old grandmother at a traffic stop, and in Texas law enforcement and elected officials conspire to extort money from motorist passing through by threatening to take their children. You are a naive and trusting soul.
pacifistgunslinger
If that was an example of standard police procedures, we obviously need new police procedures.
JillKVT
Have any of you ever looked at the shirt on a Cambridge police officer? If you do you will see 2 prominent itesm. 1. a name tag that gives you the officers...you guessed it... NAME.. and 2 a badge with a NUMBER on it. Yes...It's the officers badge number. It's there in plain view for you or anyone else to see.
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n--Y--genomegkjonnw32097
ACTUALLY I THINK YOU ARE WRONG, AS AN OLDER WHITE MAN I REALLY FEEL THAT THE POLICE ARE AS BIASED AGAINST THE WHITES AS THEY ARE THE BLACKS BUT THE BLACKS DO GET MORE PRESS OUT OF IT THAN DO THE WHITES AND AS SUCH THE BLACKS PRESUME THAT THEY ARE BEING TREATED UNFAIRLY UNDULY WHEREAS SOME POLICE ALWAYS GO WAY OVERBOARD AND THE REST THROW THE BLUE SHIELD AND THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM UP TO UNFAIRLY PROTECT THEM
wbishop12
When I first read this, I had the immediate same impression. However, I believe she is only giving us insight from her perspective. The idea that he is the villain is based simply because her Father was involved. I believe if Sgt. Crowley's daughter had written the article, the roles would be reversed and Gates would be the "infamous" from her point of view. I don't believe the sentence, that is, the spirit of the words, is meant to portray racism, merely the stress their family had felt towards him. By the end of the piece he is not a bad man. Which means....they are learning.....are you?
dbc4nu
You are correct. And her willingness to bend the truth does her cause a great disservice.
Mr. Gates made the first mistake, in this incident. Had he simply acted like a civil, adult person, thanking the officers for their concern and sending them on their way once his identity was established, there would be no story.
Officer Crowley made the second mistake. Once Mr. Gates became nasty, Crowley should have apologized for the inconvenience (NOT mistake, at that point), wished him 'Good day' and been on his way.
This would not have been about race if Gates hadn't made it so. President Obama wants us to have a dialogue on race. To be honest about it. To begin healing wounds. But without complete honesty on BOTH sides, this can never happen. Until Obama (and Ms Gates and others) acknowledge that the first 'wrong' was Gates', there can be no solution.
xlntcat
If Sgt Crowley appeared at a private residence without properly identifying himself by name and badge number, he made the first mistake.
rjc0825
@xlntcat: Do you mean to say that when an officer is responding to a possible break in at a home he she first give the suspected criminal his name and badge number before investigating the situation? That is ludicrous. He didn't just show up to someone's house to harass them, he was responding to a potential criminal action.
USNewsLink
In my opinion, Henry Gates acted like a prima donna in provoking a confrontation with three officers who were duty bound to answer a call of a possible burglery in progress.
There was no "racial profiling" in holding Gates accountable for his abusive, inflamatory, provacative conduct. The charge of disorderly conduct was the correct one and it should not have been dismissed.
Based upon Gate's unlawful conduct toward the officers, I have no doubt whatsoever that he has engaged in similar inflamatory, provacative, unlawful, conduct towards others - probably MANY times. His abusive, name calling, attack on the three officers was practiced and was very easy for him.
As far as his daughter is concerned, she should include the fact that her opinion piece is just that, her opinion, and it is not necessary fact.
And, I find her biased opinion piece just as provacative as her father and her sense of entitlement is clearly a mirror of her father's. The law applies to everyone, including her father and including her. They BOTH seem to have lost sight of that fact.
Too bad Obama got involved because he lost my vote and my financial support in so doing. I don't want a black president getting personally involved in local black issues. It is not appropriate. The Gates matter is a local matter. The local government should be allowed to deal with Gates according to municipal ordances absence interference from Obama.
Shame on you Obama. And as an aside, I wish Crowley had not participated in that silly confab at the White House. He has more dignity and more professionalism than Gates, Obama, and that other guy put together.
I say let's run Crowley for president and set an example for the blacks in this country who violate the law and expect to avoid prosecution.
Henry Gates AND his daughter make me sick and I have heard enough from them to last a lifetime!
brendansway
I think you are all missing the point - it's not about race really. It's about police arrogance and never ever making a mistake for which they need apologize. The fact the Prof. Gates was black was incidental - oh everybody made a huge deal about it - but it really had nothing to do with why he was arrested. I'm white and I've been arrested for telling a police officer that he was mistakenly writing tickets in a legal parking zone. Anyone see the video of the white grandmother being tazered for talking back to an out of line officer - or the white bartendar beaten up because she wouldn't let a guy behind the bar (he was an off duty officer)? Just look at a cop the wrong way and they can beat you up and get away with nothing more than a warning that would have put anyone else in the slammer. There are no consequences and they have unlimited power and back each other up regardless of the circumstance so they know they can use their power to arrest to punish anyone who dares to question them or their tactics - even if they are in their own home.
xlntcat
Frequently, I am called by law enforcement to diffuse a situation with a mentally ill individual. My contract states that whereas I require the presence and support of law enforcement that I will not work with officers like Crowley who exacerbate rather than diffuse a dangerous situation. Crowley is what is known in law enforcement as a "hot dog", an officer so addicted to the adrenalin rush that they become a danger to self and to others. If he was unable to or chose not to diffuse a situation after determining no crime had been committed with a Harvard professor, what do you think would happen if he were involved in disarming a paranoid schizophrenic. Crowley conduct was unprofessional from the time he stepped on to the premises.
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n--Y--mishi1nickatdabeach
Here is Obama's Kenyan birth certificate. read it & weep.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=105764
Heater771
Ms Gates is blatantly a racist...and could she obsess over Obama anymore?
I might agree with the president's initial statement that the "Cambridge Police Department acted stupidly
our dashing brown-skinned 44th president
makes me a little sick
Nottinghoff
No matter how unjust any given police officer is, you should never loose your temper or attempt to talk back to him/her at the time of confrontation. The police officer is just simply represents the community at large. This is the basis of our laws, the police exist to help and carry out the laws that we voted for. On the other hand, if your confrontation with the police have been unjust and one sided, you have the option of bringing the said incident and that police officer to court for justice.
The damage control in the guise of a "Beer Summit" sickens me and I somehow feel marginalized in a whole new way. As the omnipotent Lord of the Universe, I would mandate ball-gag therapy for President as a reminder not to impromptu comment on random issues; raise a Board of Directors meeting on tenure issues at Harvard University regarding professor for loosing his s*%t to a public officer; and for the cop, an hour long jar-head style bitch out followed by a three hour jail sentence to see how it feels to be in hand cuffs unjustly and not using his common sense.
But since God is an imaginary concept and this is America, where being marginalized is routine, I'll go along and try to move forward with race relations. Plus, there's nothing like cold beer as a positive reinforcement for bad behavior for all parties involved.
althea
the most disappointing part of this whole incident is that the whole country has missed the point. this was never about race. It was simply about the fact that in America, you can not talk back to a police office. Most people with street smarts know this.
I am white and I grew up in an upper class town. I was with some two friends one Saturday night. My friend decided to talk back to a police officer. Before you knew it, we were charge with 'assaulting a police office'. We had to hire lawyers, go to court, etc, etc.
People ask the question, what if Gates were white. Well here's the answer: he would have been arrested! This was never about race, it's just the realty of America.
cbeenthere
The arrest for disorderly conduct of Professor Gates is under investigation and deservedly so.
cbeenthere
PS Sounds like you had your day in court in regard to your story.
TanMan
@cbeenthere, you don't sound like you've ever had the pleasure of dealing with the local police and courts. I'm a middle-aged white male in central NJ. Just try to get an erroneous police report amended, or convince a judge (when there are no other witnesses) that the police officer was mistaken. Your "day in court" is NOT about justice.
(By the way, he asserted that I crossed a double-yellow line, and I said I didn't. The cop came up to me afterwards and asked "So do you want to know why I wrote you that ticket?" I said, "Yeah, I really do". He said "You got in between me and the person I was trailing to give a ticket, so I gave you one instead.")
Gates was treated as any belligerent person would have been. His situation was not about race, it was about the Gestapo called the local police. But because of the publicity, he wasn't charged.
So Mr. Gates, a black man, has actually been treated better by his local police than I, a white man. Where's the racism?
cbeenthere
Of course, we all have stories- my latest a run in with the Diplomatic Secret Service in the District of Columbia, and I am an older white woman, a citizen of the US, and yes law enforcement officers are quite capable of abusing authority no doubt. The fact is I am not an African American which adds to the picture period. Glad you realize a day in court can result in injustice for all, but if you don't acknowledge the recent past and present it does no good tan man. As far as Professor Gates being belligerent in his own home- it is being investigated as a false arrest.
TanMan
Gates followed the officer outside of his house, while he continued his beratement of the officer. This is when the officer arrested him. He was NOT arrested inside his own home (although that wouldn't have surprised me either).
Re an investigation into this incident, I can't verify that this is actually occurring (nor can I imagine why this would be investigated). Where'd you read this?
cbeenthere
Tanman
If you read the report again you will notice that at the cops (goading? my thinking) invitation so to speak Prof. Gates followed the cop out his door onto HIS porch. That is not a part of his home?, or do we have to have a go round about the legal parameters of one's home.
Lawrence O'Donnell who is on this issue stated that there will be an investigation into the matter (do you really think it is over, apparently only to the police union). There still may very well be a lawsuit, he is for it, and so am I, but it is ultimately up to Prof. Gates, isn't it. And then there is the Mass. law (if you want to know which law exactly posters have taken the time to post it) which is in Prof Gates favor. The wheels turn slowly as we have already seen, and I certainly have only what I have seen or read as stated by people I trust to go by.
vulgrin
Agreed - its not about race so much as it is about Police stupidity and brutality. We have, out of fear, created a legal para-military organization to "protect and serve" but who sometimes get out of hand. We need to have stricter punishment for officers who go out of bounds and don't use their heads.
And I'm speaking of someone who, as a teenager who was minding his own business, had a gun pointed at his head for sitting in a parking lot by some overzealous cops who then searched our car without a warrant and after two or three terrifying hours involving at least 8 cops, they finally agreed they had to let us go because we hadn't done anything. And this was in 1992. Oh, and I am white, as were all the cops.
This is not a "reality of America" that I care to live with.
pearlx2
Agreed. This story is about 2 issues: 1) cops are out of control, and 2) racial profiling is a problem in America. Even if this particular story was not about profiling, as some believe, it does serve to highlight the over-abundance of racial profiling happening to blacks and latinos. When you look at the huge numbers of black men in jail, compared to black men as a narrow proportion of the population of this country (not to mention the numbers that have been set free from prison thanks to the emergence of DNA testing), it is so obvious that this country has a problem with its cops.
Europeandesigner
I'd say it was about 50/50..
Why is the media quiet with the fact Crowley LIED in his police report? The Obama machine is VERY efficient..
rtdunham
several people here seem obsessed with this part of the police report. true, maybe the sgt lied. but it's also possible the witness--who says she didn't tell crowley the suspected perp was black--is trying to protect her image, or is even the victim of selective memory.
I worked much of my life as a reporter (daily newspapers, not blogs) where accuracy was at a premium. It was always a challenge to HEAR correctly, to REMEMBER correctly, to WRITE correctly, and I'm sure i didn't have a perfect record, despite my intentions. Emotions, our upbringing, can all interfere. Heck, the simple act of hearing what we expect to hear, for a multitude of reasons. We can honestly believe we heard something that wasn't said. If you don't believe this, you've never a) played the game where you pass along a statement and marvel at the end at how much it's changed or b) compared your understanding or memory of what was said to an audio recording of the same event.
Details are missed. People are human. In this case, we seem (imho) to have two well intentioned people I'd like to have as friends, as who, like my friends, can get excited, can jump to conclusions, can fall prey to their past, can be...well, imperfect.
lurolia
I was wondering about the same thing why the media has been quiet about the police report not telling the truth. Strange! strange! strange!
According to the young lady at the scene the officer never talked to her other than to say stay right there. He created the fact that she described to him the suspects. This story is really extraordinary. Seems like they want it to just go away.
Khrish
I have been asking this same question. I feel that when they played the tape I neither heard the yelling of the prof. that they promised and the woman never identified 2 Black males with backpacks. He outright lied and now one is saying anything about that.
Theogillette
Is it not a matter of respect where two people found themselves embroiled in a situation, choosing to uphold their own self motivated purpose rather than respect for one another?
pearlx2
The point of this whole Gates/Crowley incident, as you just set out, is that The Sergeant acted improperly. There is no law against talking back to policemen, so they should not be able to haul someone off to jail in handcuffs and fingerprint them merely for talking back. I think this was part of the Professor's point: that the policeman acted improperly. That's what everybody, including the media, is (intentionally) overlooking in this whole story.
althea
My advice to all Americans - If you ever deal with the police, speak only when spoken to and do not get upset with them. They will find a reason to arrest you.
Secondly, I think if the police came to my house to investigate a break-in, I honestly would be happy. I would then be upset if they did not ask for ID.
Unfortuantely, both parties played right to the cliches. The cop was aggressive and decided to arrest the African American. The African American played the race card.
Dearly
It would be interesting to ask a cop (a friend or family member) if police officers are trained to be agressive and threatening in dealing with the public. It seems like many white people (myself included) have had bad experiences with police. From the pattern among our many stories I would say police are trained to threaten people with arrest if they speak up, talk back or even ask for a badge number. In my case, when I asked a question of the officer, "why did you stop us?" I was told to shut up or be arrested -and his tone was threatening. Now I suppose this comes in handy for controlling people, but it seems the threat turns into an arrest far too often when police officers overstep the common sense and common decency bounds. Unfortunately, this seems to be the culture of many police forces, both large and small.
xlntcat
Law enforcement attracts school yead bullies and if you have yet to meet one of them, sooner or later you will. I am not saying that Crowley is or has always been a bully,, but I will say that the people you work closely with and depend upon affect your thinking and behavior. There is empirical data to support this assertion. Crowley behaved improperly and created a black eye for himself, for his department and for Cambridge. I don't know his racial views but when after determining the identity of the professor he is heard telling dispatch to "keep them coming." Was he bored? Did he want to show off for his buddies? The officers unwillingness to admit that he did anything wrong means that that he will do it again. Heads up, Cambridge.
gracie99
Indeed!
But I think you're wrong about the whole country getting it wrong. Millions of Americans have been able to figure out that this wasn't about race and that Gates mere used that, CRYING RACISM, to cover up his own bad behavior.
I've been ID'd by the cops when I was doing nothing more than walking through my neighborhood, ticketed for running yellow light. And I'm as pinky white as John McCain.
case1234
The charges were dropped not because of some political pressure but because any first year law student could get them thrown out of court. "Disorderly Conduct" at you own house with no other persons involved other than the Police. Where was the danger to the public? he is 58 with a bad hip and walking cane. What was he going to do if they had just got in their cars and left? I can understand the cops taking a hard line in a truly public place, to maintain order. There seamed to be no appreciation for scale or location.
I am not defending "telling the cop where to go" I have worked with cops placing my own self in danger to get drug dealers off the street and understand their difficult position. But why did he need to be removed from his house, booked and placed in a cell for 4(of something) hours. Do they really have nothing better to do? 6 officers on the scene. In cities I have lived in 6 cars on a scene equaled body lined in chalk. As Colin Powell suggested had either man or both been more patient this would have not occurred.
xlntcat
You are right. Not only could a first year law student get the charges thrown out, the professor could then sue the city. Crowley's only humility came after the mayor got through with him and he said he didn't want to cause further trouble for the city.
I truly think "having nothing better to do" was a contributing factor in the professors arrest. Six officers on the scene has to mean that Cambridge must not have a very active criminal population. Cambridge since your police force is apparently bored, perhaps more intense training in appropriate legal conduct and diffusing confrontation might be in order. Apparently, they all have the time.
wbishop12
I agree with this 100%. Been there, done that. The more professional you are with the law, the less likely to have a bad outcome. Respect is all they ask for.
xlntcat
The reverse is also true. The more professional the conduct of the law enforcement officer the better the outcome. Law enforcement isn't paid to harrass and intimidate, their job is to protect and serve. The job pool is overflowing right now, those who believe they aren't paid to protect and serve but to play cowboy could easily be replaced.
cbeenthere
I was hoping for an apology from Officer Crowley to Professor Gates; an opportunity missed, or should I say yet another opportunity missed.
Carole65
And we know that this didn't happen how??? None of were there, so we don't know if all parties involved made their appropriate apologies to each other.
nellie3ster
We don't know that it didn't happen, now do we?
cbeenthere
From the reports I have heard on the teevee, it was stated that it did not happen, there were no apologies. I think it safe to consider that the outcome. Why would neither have not admitted to it? Ashamed to, the union and lawyers said no apologies?? Parrots nellie and carol keep wondering.
motrbotr
He stated in his press conference yesterday that he did not apologize. And they both should apologize to eachother. Gates for being stupid and making recist comments, and Crowley for being stupid and harrassing. Oh, and Obama for being stupid and interjecting himself into a situation that he admitted he didnt have all the facts. All three were pretty stupid in my book.
avocats
Amen. Obama did the "stupidest" thing, egged on, as always, by the stupider press. Gates is supposed to be a professor at the premier university in the land; you would have thought he'd be smart enough to take the same simple direction from police that we all get, without getting all "disrespectin' me" about it. He was the one who forgot his keys and broke into his own house. I'm really curious whether he'd had a few drinks on the plane. Just askin' And Cowley--harassing? Wondering how? How many police calls have you gone on? How many times have you been shot at while responding?
xlntcat
Crowley was behaving unprofessionally by failing to identify himself by name and by badge number upon approaching a private residence as he well knows by now. Why after identifying the individual in the house as Professor Crowley, did he tell dispatch to keep 'em coming? If no to intimidate the professor, was he just interested in wasting tax payer dollars because he was bored?
xlntcat
Yes, according to Crowley, there were no apologies. He was asked at his press conference.
Genni2002
Agree with your comments here generally xlntcat.
Weather Crowley is a jerk or not, well that remains to be seen. It is pretty clear that he lied in his report and it really is irksome when people of authority (whether it's your boss at work, a customer service manager or someone else deemed to be in a position either 'higher' than yours or in a service position to help you) can't fairly execute their responsibility. Most of the time, the one seeking (or in this case, getting) assistance is usually the frustrated one.
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n--Y--MagiFoxValpoGirl
This is an issue about a cop arresting a man that was not a danger to himself or others. There are a lot of people in this country with attitudes but we don't arrest them for it since we don't have the funding and I, for one, don't want my tax dollars going to it.
I'm sure both acted stupidly but only one of them was on the clock.
drmchi
Ms. Gates, your line "Sergeant Crowley's lovely 14-year old daughter-who was wearing an appropriately heavy and charmingly untrained amount of green eyeliner on her lower lashes" in the 2nd paragraph shows you to be who you really are--mean-spirited, sarcastic, and snarky. By the time I got to the end of the essay, you had proven that point repeatedly. Congratulations.
CentralVirginia
Elizabeth Gates seems to have inherited her father's proclivity to insult people for no good reason.
wbishop12
You just don't get. But don't worry.....you never will.
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n--Y--mishi1xlntcat
One of the Palin-ites?
xlntcat
Your post on the other had isn't mean spirited, sarcastic, snarky and biased. What expertise in the evaluation of human behavior and character do you possess that would entitled you to make such assertions. Why should you be believed.
Genni2002
Don't get the focusing on the green eye liner comment. In fact, I read it as sort of sweet...like a runner in a stocking or hair out of place thing. Here these people are, all of them, trying to do there level best to look their best and probably taking every idea they have notched up to the nth degree. Really think the point is made with the green eye liner comment and think it reflects all of them.
Isagaii
I am amazed how she took this reconciliatory moment and morphed it
into a racial apology. You show the same amount of arrogance as your
daddy.Your father's arrest had little to do with race or blacks in
prison, nor discrimination. Your father and you are two of the
haughtiest and prideful people that I can imagine. Swallow your pride
and take this chace to show some grace
xlntcat
Do you personally know Professor Gates or his daughter? Maybe you should look at those four fingers pointing back at you. Do you fail to see the arrogance and lack of grace in your own comments.
whitebreadtoast
Elizabeth, I enjoyed both your writing and perspective on this incident. Thank you!
Genni2002
Yes, me too. Thank you and nice job!
purpleme
Why hasn't police training been reported on more? Some people are addicted to being a victim and cannot see beyond that view point.
Marshal
"infamous" Sgt Crowley? Really? What about the racist professor himself being also "infamous"?
The good Prof brought this all upon himself by FIRST playing his race card.... why didn't the daughter tell the real truth about her racist father?
Did the Sgt over react in the arrest? Yes, of course, probably so, but why would a Harvard professor have to demean an honest cop just doin' his job in protecting property?
Unless and untill the professor can come clean and apologize for his racist comments to the cop, this thing will never have a satisfactory conclusion for many of us.
Was the cop wrong in arresting the professor? Yes, probably so. But if the professor would have cooperatated immediately with this good public servant the cop wouldn't have arrested him after proper ID was established.
Why would an elite expert on race relations like the Harvard professor try to taunt and belittle and demean an honest cop just doin' his job?
This question must be asked and answered.
Now.... can't we all just get along?
Downriver
It's his daughter's perspective and no we can't just all get along.
Europeandesigner
Marshal: "Why would an elite expert on race relations like the Harvard professor try to taunt and belittle and demean an honest cop just doin' his job?"
You make me bristle and you're behind in paying attention.
The "hostest cop" Crowley LIED in his police report!
Europeandesigner
Oh my, sorry 'bout the typo, will pay more attention next time. I meant to say "honest cop"
xlntcat
The fact that the police officer continued to lie in the edited version of his police report apparently is to be swept under the rug. But it is a public disservice as law enforcement across the nation continues to abuse their authority. Sweeping it under the rug, reinforces the behavior.
gsantonas
I fully agree. These double standards are what is holding back the progress.
eeyore5662
So now let me see if I get this right. You were not actually there when this event occurred so you know nothing of what actually happened do you? Then, you go on with your version of the event. The "good Prof" brought this all upon ... playing the race card. You know that he did that first -- HOW? And you don't know why a Harvard ... would demean an honest cop." You know that HOW? Then you have the audacity to say that the cop was probably wrong to arrest him. You actually say "if the professor would have ... with this 'good public servant.'" So it's okay for this honest cop to be out of line and falsely arrest someone who was no threat to him and even tell them to "keep the cars coming" because he was just a good public servant BUT it's not alright for someone to get upset for being falsely arrested in his own home?" I would imagine that if all folks think this way, the answer has to be NO, we can't all just get along.
Dearly
If you listen to the tape of the dispatcher radio calls, the dispatcher accurately repeats the information from the 911 call - which did not include anything about "two black men". Also on the radio call tape, Sgt Crowley reports he is at the house and only seconds later he radios that he has an id from the person. From the timing of the radio transmissions it doesn't appear that Mr. Gates was uncooperative in giving id to the officer. Sgt Crowley reports that Mr. Gates is uncooperative after the id had been provided and when Mr. Gates was talking back to him. I hope this whole episode gets dropped or Sgt Crowley is going to have to explain his false police report as well as his allegation that Mr. Gates was uncooperative when asked for id.
Bottle
I'd like to read more from the insightful Elizabeth Gates.
Uncommonsense
Me too! It is sad to read some of the ignorant comments posted here. None of those folks are interested in learning something from any of this, they are merely interested in arguing for the position they had well before this 'incident' came to light. Ms. Gates' writing is beautiful and thoughtful. The haters, of course, missed it.
sonofdy
The "haters" in this case had black skin.
Khrish
Agreed.
kifesosi
Elizabeth get it all wrong. I'm Black myself, but her dad acted like a typical African elite who breaks the law simply because her feels himself superior.
Its true there are many blacks in prison, but lets not forget that majority are there because of a crime they have legally convicted of.
valkyra
There were no laws broken!
xlntcat
You weren't there. You do not know how her father behaved. The police officer is on video behaving is a manner totally unjustified by the situation. His original police report was published and then pulled per the Cambridge newspaper. The edited version contained lies that the 911 call reveals. You are, however, correct in stating that those imprisioned are there because they were convicted by a court of law and that most of them deserve to be there.
lkemw12
When will people of color learn what caucasians have known for decades - don't talk back to the cops. Period. Every white person I know was actually told by their parents (usually when learning to drive), that if you're ever pull-over by the police, don't mouth-off! Race, gender and/or social standing doesn't matter when you're talking to the police. Black people always seem to take these things so personally - but honestly, it's not about you and your race - it's about cops with Napoleonic complexes who will not stand for being berated verbally. By anyone.
Oh, and Ms. Crowley - what is the implication of your comment that, "there are approximately 800,000 black men in prison" today? Are you inferring that these convicts are actually innocent people who were railroaded by a racist system? Really?!? Did you ever stop to consider that people who are arrested, tried and convicted of a crime might actually be guilty of something? Maybe racism in this country will end when black people stop seeing everything through their biased filter of "it's because I'm black!" and actually get over themselves a little bit.
Europeandesigner
Ikemw12: Once you manage to address Ms. Gates correctly, instead of "Ms. Crowley" I might take your opinion more serious!
pearlx2
Yes, she was inferring, with good reason, that these "convicts are actually innocent people who were railroaded by a racist system," as you put it. Study the statistics on the number of black men who have been exonerated and released from prison due to DNA testing, which was not available several years ago when some of these men were locked up. Yes, a lot of black men in prison are INNOCENT, and they were railroaded by America -- as hard as that might be for you to believe. The country is racist; no amount of whitewashing can hide that fact for very long.
disfasia
Yawn. Why are we being presented "words from a daughter" that are this uninteresting. Sorry, but I don't really care about Ms. Gates' undergraduate essay which analyzes absolutley nothing more than E-TV could rebeal. Why not call it hype? Why not get at possible wounds that exist BETWEEN communities, as if Sgt. Crowley represented some uber-narrative of a uni-directional narrative.
This was a very monolithic piece of drivel.
Roots12
Don't read it...there is plenty of things i conssider drivel on this site like Meghan McCain. Judging from the comments some want to read it. Don't censor what you don't like.
disfasia
Clearly you have not a clue about censorship. Asking The Daily Beast not to publish drivel is not censoreship. We come here here to read journalism and this is just extremely tendentious and uninformed writing. It comes off as a highschool or undergraduate paper and I don't think we, the readers, deserve to be tested for newer writers. Gates is a scholar--his daughter clearly is not. No, I do not feel that TDB should publish uninformed responses to the writer's father's behaviour. Why not Obama's daughter? And the police officer's daughter?
As for Megahn McCain, I am not even in her political universe, but she can write more objectively without falling into argument ad hominem as does Gates here.
Rather than react to critique about the quality of writing with a rather redneck "if you don't like, then get out of the country" approach, you ought to ponder the critiques here about her tendentiousness rather than try to shut up critique altogether. Simply put, critique is not censoreship. But you are certainly trying to censor critique.
parisny
Why the bitchiness about the heavy green eye makeup on a 14 year old girl? Calling it 'charming' is still bitchy. Why, after all the effort made to have a civil conversation, insist the police acted 'stupidly' without mentioning that all parties overreacted, and that despite what you are so sure of, Elizabeth, check out althea's comment at 8:02 am -- white and arrested happens, too.Elizabeth, if Crowley had a daughter old enough to be writing blogs and wrote such a blog from her point of view, think of the anger that would result. If you need to vent about your dad's mistreatment (even though you weren't there) talk to your therapist, your family, your friends. But I'm sure Pres. Obama didn't want family members to be continuing the anger on this one. Where's the teachable moment if you hold on to hate?
Annie22203
As the mother of a 14 year old girl, I knew exactly what Ms. Gates was saying and thought it was rather sweet...an apt description of that awkward age between childhood and adulthood. I truly do believe that Ms. Gates found this girl rather charming.
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n--Y--mishi1xlntcat
Fourteen year olds are not the fragile, emotionally unstable humans that Ms Palin pretending they were. We know she was pretending since she was the one who chose to put the spot light on her own 14 year old. Find me the 14 year old who hasn't had someone comment on her eye makeup - typically her mother. Today's fourteen year old girls are dealing with far bigger issues than eye makeup.
disfasia
Yes, but the entire piece was bitchy: "the now infamous Sergeant James Crowley" (as if his claim to fame was desired in arresting her father; the entire paragraph on the bizarre--if not outdated--use of "lovely" and "charmingly untrained amount of green eyeliner". Clearly condescending... Once again, this begs the question: why this drivel from one of the participant's children? I don't think this kind of approach has any merit whatsoever. To quote her father saying: "there are approximately 800,000 black men in prison and on July 16, 2009, I simply became one of them." and to not critique this, shows the shallowness of this approach. The writer is incapable of critique, pure and simply. Any other writer would have jumped on such an exaggeration: I know Skip Gates personally and there is no way that this man who is in the top 5% of the income bracket of the USA has anything in common with the black men in our prisons. These are two entirely separate matters which need to be addressed.
Similarly, I am a scholar who was beaten up by the police in Montreal, Canada. The Police Ethics Commission there showed absolutely no desire to investigate, faked an investigation in under a day responding with a form letter and all this in a city where people are killed every year by the police force. Comparatively, we are light years ahead in the US in terms of discussing police brutality and, when appropriate, racism.
I strongly suspect that this case is completely related to the police officer's abuse of power, use of force and resistance to critique. Nothing more. Once Skip was properly identified as the inhabitant of the home, the police should have apologized and left. Racism, I don't think so. Rudeness and incompetence in oral skills, absolutley.
Thank you.
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