Nuance: Cop who arrested Gates is an expert on … racial profiling
posted at 4:03 pm on July 23, 2009 by Allahpundit
The perfect crime, my friends. If you were a racist eager to harass prominent black intellectuals, what better cover story could there be than teaching tolerance to new recruits for years on end? Besides giving Reggie Lewis CPR in a desperate bid to save his life, I mean.
Clearly we’re dealing with a criminal genius of unusual cunning here.
Cambridge Sgt. James Crowley has taught a class about racial profiling for five years at the Lowell Police Academy after being hand-picked for the job by former police Commissioner Ronny Watson, who is black, said Academy Director Thomas Fleming.
“I have nothing but the highest respect for him as a police officer. He is very professional and he is a good role model for the young recruits in the police academy,” Fleming told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The course, called “Racial Profiling,” teaches about different cultures that officers could encounter in their community “and how you don’t want to single people out because of their ethnic background or the culture they come from,” Fleming said…
In radio interviews Thursday morning, Crowley maintained he followed procedure.
“I support the president of the United States 110 percent. I think he was way off base wading into a local issue without knowing all the facts as he himself stated before he made that comment,” Crowley told WBZ-AM. “I guess a friend of mine would support my position, too.”
Last I heard, Gates was thinking of making a documentary about his experience because, well, he’s got his narrative and he’s sticking to it — no matter what certain other prominent black intellectuals have to say. To be honest, from what little I know of the facts, it sounds like the only “crime” Gates was guilty of was being a douche to the cops. I’m not sure why that warranted arrest, but then neither you nor I nor The One was there, not that that stopped him from making grand pronouncements about the alleged stupidity of the police’s conduct. Self-serving exit quotation from his latest statement about this: “I think that I have extraordinary respect for the difficulties of the job that police officers do.”
Blowback
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REINSTATE THE CHARGES!!!! Wise Latina, Reverand Wright, Part 3
THE CHOSEN ONE on July 23, 2009 at 4:05 PM
Straight out of Bill aywers mantra. Obama really disrespects legal authority. Ayers was a cop killer.
seven on July 23, 2009 at 4:05 PM
I pity da fool who calls me a racist!
perroviejo on July 23, 2009 at 4:06 PM
Boo Obama….
originalpechanga on July 23, 2009 at 4:07 PM
This man’s life will be trashed within 48 hours regardless of how great he is.
Have the ACORN busses been ordered yet?
Knucklehead on July 23, 2009 at 4:07 PM
Great police work; arresting an innocent man on his own front porch. Yeah, “acting stupidly” is a mild term for it, I’d say.
Grow Fins on July 23, 2009 at 4:07 PM
Joe the PlumberCrowley the Coppetefrt on July 23, 2009 at 4:08 PM
Thank you Lord for giving Obama the ability to ramble on and on and on. He just keeps on giving nuggets.
birdhurd on July 23, 2009 at 4:08 PM
Obama saw an opportunity to race bait, he wont waste that .
the_nile on July 23, 2009 at 4:08 PM
His partner in teaching the racial profiling class is African American and in the article backs him completely. AWESOMELY AWESOME.
DLEW on July 23, 2009 at 4:08 PM
Cops have to make decisions under stressful circumstances, the one votes present.
farright on July 23, 2009 at 4:08 PM
icing on the cake
upinak on July 23, 2009 at 4:08 PM
Uggh. Why can’t the President just stop talking. Does he have to make an opinion about EVERYTHING?
This is not something that the leader of the free world should be discussing.
Oy vey.
Vincenzo on July 23, 2009 at 4:09 PM
Make the professor white and the cop black.
Repeat.
Compare.
MadisonConservative on July 23, 2009 at 4:09 PM
And you would know all about acting stupid, right?
Read the police report troll.
Knucklehead on July 23, 2009 at 4:09 PM
Ha HA!
Skywise on July 23, 2009 at 4:09 PM
The incident report. You should read it before you comment.
barnone on July 23, 2009 at 4:09 PM
Professor Gates = Reverse Racist
THE CHOSEN ONE on July 23, 2009 at 4:09 PM
You think? How about I have , not I think that I have.
ugh.
Well, Grow, if we’re going to talk about acting ‘stupidly’…let’s reflect on Gates’ performance, eh?
bridgetown on July 23, 2009 at 4:10 PM
1. Obama planted this question at the press conference as a diversion from his EPIC “healthcare” FAILURE.
2. HOWEVER, he didn’t have the response on his teleprompter and accidentally said “STUPIDLY.”
OOOOOOOOOOPS
marklmail on July 23, 2009 at 4:10 PM
“get me the chief! what’s his name?”
Vincenzo on July 23, 2009 at 4:10 PM
Grow Fins
If I was trying to break into my own home with a crow bar, I wouldn’t be surprised if the police came knocking. Gates had to make a huge scene out of it though. He was a hammer, and therefore the situation looked like a nail, as the saying goes.
Dr. Manhattan on July 23, 2009 at 4:10 PM
Now we know what fore skin thinks and can rest easily.
thomasaur on July 23, 2009 at 4:10 PM
you know grow isn’t going to do that.
upinak on July 23, 2009 at 4:10 PM
I blame his tonsils.
lorien1973 on July 23, 2009 at 4:10 PM
OT: But Mark Buerhle from my White Sox pitched a perfect game at Cominsky Field!!!!!!!
WashJeff on July 23, 2009 at 4:11 PM
Let me tell you something, you cross the Cambridge cops, and they’ll tear your tonsils out.
Vincenzo on July 23, 2009 at 4:11 PM
You know, my respect for Obama would go up a little bit..(from it’s current position of absolute Zero)..if he’d just say something like ‘I spoke out on a subject when I didn’t have all the facts…my bad’…
This would all go away.
What are the odds….?
BigWyo on July 23, 2009 at 4:11 PM
Sweet.
myrenovations on July 23, 2009 at 4:11 PM
He added to that, “I have buddies that have blown up a few cops in their day. So I know how hard their job is.”
lorien1973 on July 23, 2009 at 4:11 PM
Gates wasn’t displaying disorderly conduct?
You know this how?
MadisonConservative on July 23, 2009 at 4:11 PM
It isn’t unless in his being a douche he also causes a public disturbance.
Esthier on July 23, 2009 at 4:12 PM
You’re kidding right? This officer didn’t just see a black man on his front porch and arrest him. I’d say “acting stupidly” is a mild term for your post. Read the police report. If you still feel that way, then you truly are an idiot.
Shock the Monkey on July 23, 2009 at 4:12 PM
“YA, I’LL SPEAK WITH YOUR MAMA OUTSIDE!”
BPD on July 23, 2009 at 4:12 PM
Why are the first three words in that sentence necessary?
MadisonConservative on July 23, 2009 at 4:12 PM
by the time obama leaves office… (if that ever happens)
no one is going to be able to say anything about anyone concerning anything about nothing.
This once great Nation will be gagged… and tied.
upinak on July 23, 2009 at 4:12 PM
The real problem here is that adults are yelling and screaming like babies at police officers. What happened to “mutual respect?”
Vincenzo on July 23, 2009 at 4:12 PM
If I wasn’t a member of the military and didn’t respect the office so much I’d just start calling him President Facepalm.
BadgerHawk on July 23, 2009 at 4:13 PM
Just when I thought Obama couldn’t make himself look worse than he has in the past few week.
What an idiot!
jencab on July 23, 2009 at 4:13 PM
because he is a liar and doesn’t sound sincere even in his own mind….
sven10077 on July 23, 2009 at 4:13 PM
Being a douchebag falls under “disorderly conduct.” Try yelling at an officer and see what happens. It’s a judgment call by the cops in any situation but it’s definitely their right to make an arrest.
Jim-Rose on July 23, 2009 at 4:13 PM
Another wingnut friend of Obama’s surfaces…
sgt_rich on July 23, 2009 at 4:14 PM
Obama: Nice job you have there Sgt. Crowley, hate to see something happen to it.
farright on July 23, 2009 at 4:14 PM
Hey ding-a-ling, disorderly conduct is unlawful and the man was guilty of it.
jimmy2shoes on July 23, 2009 at 4:14 PM
Come on. How can he really be sure? I mean he has so many friends tell him otherwise.
Esthier on July 23, 2009 at 4:15 PM
That should take… what… five, ten minutes max….
CynicalOptimist on July 23, 2009 at 4:15 PM
“This isn’t the stupidity I know”- Ogabe
Fletch54 on July 23, 2009 at 4:15 PM
The biggest bunch of criminal-hack politicians this country has ever ever been subjected to.
They lie about EVERYTHING!!!
They try to destroy anyone that they perceive as a threat!
This is not Alinsky’s playbook. This is Putin’s playbook.
DLEW on July 23, 2009 at 4:15 PM
Funny. Not only is the “racist” white cop clearly not a racist, he’s actually an Obama supporter.
You couldn’t make this stuff up.
AZCoyote on July 23, 2009 at 4:15 PM
It doesn’t, but anybody with half a brain knows that being a douche to the cops is a really, really, stupid idea.
Realist on July 23, 2009 at 4:16 PM
this is the product of public education, let me get this straight he was merely on his front porch minding his manners and this cop, outta nowhere, arrests him?
weewilly on July 23, 2009 at 4:16 PM
+1 and touche’
It is NEVER a good idea to BE UNCOOPERATIVE when being stopped by law enforcement. Just because I’m WHITE does not give me the right to become obstinate and ornery.
…or does being a minority entitle one to behave differently?
singlemalt_18 on July 23, 2009 at 4:16 PM
With Bury all one has to do is wait for a short spell and he’ll do something more foolish than the last.
thomasaur on July 23, 2009 at 4:16 PM
I have never been overly impressed with Obama’s intellect but now he’s beginning to look blatantly stupid.
rplat on July 23, 2009 at 4:16 PM
try the obama playbook…. he is combining
upinak on July 23, 2009 at 4:16 PM
Ouch.
BadgerHawk on July 23, 2009 at 4:16 PM
Because using more words than necessary is a sign of super-duper intelligence.
They teach that at Harvard, I think.
tsj017 on July 23, 2009 at 4:16 PM
Man, that bigoted cop sure took a long time to set up this crime….
/
Vashta.Nerada on July 23, 2009 at 4:16 PM
lol… not anymore!
upinak on July 23, 2009 at 4:17 PM
Obama = Sharpton-in-chief
elduende on July 23, 2009 at 4:17 PM
I’d like to see Obama called on it directly.
I’ll bet the officer has too much integrity. I can dream.
Wouldn’t “integrity” in a Precedent be a lovely thing as well?
tree hugging sister on July 23, 2009 at 4:17 PM
Yes, he does. Because he is a classic narcissist, in his eyes, it really IS all about him. :P
That’s why he can never EVER admit that he’s wrong/less than perfect. Also explains why he gets so ‘testy’ when anyone lobs the rare non-softball question at him.
Kirin on July 23, 2009 at 4:17 PM
Just goes to show you that Ivy League educations aren’t what they used to be. Then again, maybe they are what they have always been.
volsense on July 23, 2009 at 4:17 PM
What, he didn’t preface it with “Let me be perfectly clear”?
crazy_legs on July 23, 2009 at 4:17 PM
I was unaware there was a “state of world affairs” exception to the disorderly conduct charge.
Infidoll on July 23, 2009 at 4:18 PM
Delicious, delicious cream cheese icing. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
SouthernGent on July 23, 2009 at 4:18 PM
It is a nice touch of irony.
BadgerHawk on July 23, 2009 at 4:18 PM
We snicker, but no doubt the Al Sharptons of the country are gearing up to make just such an argument un-ironically.
evergreen on July 23, 2009 at 4:18 PM
It does seem like things have become more racial since Obama became president. I thought we could stop talking about black vs white. But it seems like there is more. Why is that?
texasconserv on July 23, 2009 at 4:18 PM
Duh. Because it’s “not about him”.
BWAHAhahaha!!!
tree hugging sister on July 23, 2009 at 4:19 PM
This is the best! Barry picks a fight…w/ the wrong guy! PS Has he read the health care bill yet????
WhatsRight on July 23, 2009 at 4:19 PM
From David Bernstein’s post on Volokh before yesterday’s presser, quoting from a Joint Press Release from City of Cambridge, Cambridge PD, Middlesex County D.A., and Prof. Gates:
The City of Cambridge, the Cambridge Police Department, and Professor Gates acknowledge that the incident of July 16, 2009 was regrettable and unfortunate. 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. All parties agree that this is a just resolution to an unfortunate set of circumstances.
Apparently the President missed the instruction about how the incident should not be viewed? Because he sure seemed to choose the word “stupidly” quite thoughtfully. Dude really shouldn’t speak without TOTUS!
EconomicNeocon on July 23, 2009 at 4:19 PM
My thoughts:
1) You NEVER EVER mouth off to a cop. You need to remain calm and polite. They have Tasers, Pepper spray, batons, guns, etc. They can and will take you down if they view you as a threat. I’m not saying this is a bad thing. Criminals use every trick in the book to try and waste a cop and cops have to be on guard ALL THE TIME.
2) People who were not there and don’t know all the facts, especially if they are in high and influential offices (cough, cough), risk contaminating the case because they want to share their half-baked opinions. What is a potential jury pool going to think when they hear the President said that the cops acted “stupidly”?
3) Parties involved need to stop trying to spread the story all over the U.S. this would be much more easily resolved if everyone acted like a reasonable adult and tried to resolve this issue without vitriol.
That’s my 2 cents.
Rightwingguy on July 23, 2009 at 4:19 PM
Not kidding. Stupidity and Growthumbs are well acquainted.
BigWyo on July 23, 2009 at 4:20 PM
This story becomes more enlightening as it unfolds, so not only is the “racist” cop an expert on racial profiling but he is also well spoken and eloquent in all his interviews. He has refused to get down in the mud and become a cartoon character, and the tide just keeps turning in his favor. This professor now looks foolish for insinuating the cop was a racist and so does The President for egregiously insinuating something similar with his racial profiling lecture. This guy isn’t stupid; he’s a quiet, intelligent man with a great resume. That’s all.
zembla on July 23, 2009 at 4:20 PM
Cambridge Police Department
125 Sixth Street
Cambridge, MA 02142
Main Telephone Number
(Non-Emergency): 617-349-3300
I called to thank Sgt James Crowley!!
WhatsRight on July 23, 2009 at 4:20 PM
The report was (the reason the woman called it in was) that he, and another man, were climbing in the window of the house. Not standing on his porch. The Police officer arrived and wanted to ask questions, and the stupid professor argued with him.
A professor of RACIAL issues, calls “rascism”. How convenient.
You’re as bad as Obaa-aa-ma not getting the facts straight before running your mouth. Congrats.
tickleddragon on July 23, 2009 at 4:21 PM
“Let me be perfectly clear, as I’ve said before, I think I uh…um…move it on up….uh um it’s not about me.”
jimmy2shoes on July 23, 2009 at 4:21 PM
Although I would agree that Gates is more than in his rights to talk back to the police officer and make claims (absurd or not), I’d say that once he starts screaming on his front yard which is part of a residential area, the police officer didn’t deviate from procedure by arresting him.
For example, if my neighbor gets in an argument with his wife in his front yard or even sidewalk (~25 ft away from my house), then my understanding is that the police can and usually do intervene and often make arrests.
Upstater85 on July 23, 2009 at 4:21 PM
Grow Fins
Finally a troll swims out of the woodwork…so where you been Fins? Why aren’t you on all the Healthcare, cap ‘n tax and congress ramming bills thru w/out reading them threads? Why aren’t you out here everyday defending your man?
Penny for you thoughts?
JAM on July 23, 2009 at 4:21 PM
I question the timing of his tonsils for fun.
Brian on July 23, 2009 at 4:21 PM
We are merely in the post post-racial period.
ICBM on July 23, 2009 at 4:21 PM
Could you ASK for a better rebuttal to Obama’s mouthing off?
Daggett on July 23, 2009 at 4:22 PM
Calling the police out in this situation for acting”stupidly” isn’t the worst part of this whole response he gave regarding Gates. To me the worst part was his little speech about how racist Police are all the time when they unfairly stop Blacks and Hispanics. Isn’t Obama supposed to be the non-racial President????
sandee on July 23, 2009 at 4:22 PM
Doesn’t matter, he’ll probably be Oby’s “worstest person in the world” tonight.
Knucklehead on July 23, 2009 at 4:22 PM
I’d wager the honeymoon between these two is now over.
Vic on July 23, 2009 at 4:22 PM
The picture of the arrest that I saw showed that there is a black cop on the scene as well as the white cops. He looks a little pissed. No doubt because they were all acting stupidly and he was powerless to stop them.
Lily on July 23, 2009 at 4:23 PM
The police cite it as “disorderly conduct”. The results of being an @$$hat to a cop depends on what kind of day the cop is having, what their experiences are, and the degree you are being a tool. Honestly, if the incident report is true, then the charge of disorderly conduct fits.
Rightwingguy on July 23, 2009 at 4:23 PM
Thanks for posting the number, I just did the same.
jimmy2shoes on July 23, 2009 at 4:23 PM
I read the police report and I can say he gave him every opportunity to back away. Even before he arrested him, he pulled his handcuffs out and warned him. I think he wanted to get arrested for his new documentary.
It’s funny how he picked the wrong guy to do it with.
jeridhill on July 23, 2009 at 4:23 PM
Reverend Wright has new material for his sermon Sunday.
THE CHOSEN ONE on July 23, 2009 at 4:24 PM
It wasn’t the police who acted stupidly, it was the professor playing the stupid part in this play.
At my house and I’d guess just about 100% of the homes of Americans without a huge racial chip on their shoulder it would have played out like this:
The police come out just as happened here, my wife and I would laugh for a moment and then promptly show our ID’s and thank the officer for checking just in case it was a burglary.
RJL on July 23, 2009 at 4:24 PM
“Guilty as hell. Free as a bird.” Where have I heard that?
a capella on July 23, 2009 at 4:24 PM
So then you also think the neighbor was stupid for reporting it, right? Right?
fourstringfuror on July 23, 2009 at 4:24 PM
Well since he was surrounded by racists, The black cop was probably a self-loathing “Uncle Tom”. (/sarc)
Rightwingguy on July 23, 2009 at 4:24 PM
duuuuudes, Obama’s the biggest race pimp.
marklmail on July 23, 2009 at 4:25 PM
Calling Michael Moore! And your friend Oliver! Film at 11!
tree hugging sister on July 23, 2009 at 4:25 PM
Probably not a good day to be driving around with an Obama bumper sticker on your hybrid.
bloviator on July 23, 2009 at 4:25 PM
He would rather his neighbors not call the cops when something suspicious was happening.
Rightwingguy on July 23, 2009 at 4:25 PM
Are you trying to make the case that he has a history of acting stupidly? :^)
db on July 23, 2009 at 4:25 PM
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