Colin Powell to Skip Gates: “You don’t argue with a police officer”
posted at 5:44 pm on July 28, 2009 by Allahpundit
Via Mediaite, something to start the conversational ball rolling at that not-all-awkward White House drink-up on Thursday.
Mediaite has obtained a transcript from former Sec. of State Colin Powell’s interview on CNN’s Larry King Live tonight, in which Powell comments on the Professor Gates story, as well as Sarah Palin and more…
“I would say, the first teaching point is when you’re faced with an officer trying to do his job and get to the bottom of something. This is not the time to get in an argument with him. I was taught that as a child. You don’t argue with a police officer. In fact, in our schools today, in order to make sure that we don’t have things escalate out of control and lead to very unfortunate situations, we tell our kids, when you’re being asked something by a police officer, being detained by a police officer, cooperate. If you don’t like what happened, or if you think that you have been exposed to something that’s racist or prejudicial or something that’s wrong, then you make a complaint afterwards and you sue him.”
Prudent advice for the average person (especially if the cop’s gun is drawn, needless to say) since the average person may find himself powerless against agitated police, but if a nationally known figure who knows his rights can’t talk back to a cop in his own home, what rights does he have, really? I’m squarely in the Hitchens and Herzog camp on this, as any libertarian should be. The proper objection to Gates isn’t that he was rude to a cop, which is perfectly legal if boorish; it’s that he and our Post-Racial President assumed bad faith and demagogued the race angle by suggesting it was a case of profiling when it almost certainly wasn’t. Less worrying about arguing with police officers and more worrying about race-baiting to score cheap political points, please.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2
There are limits as to what you can do in your own home as well, although Gates appears to have been arrested for what he did outside, not inside. There are certain limits in disorderly conduct, for example loud parties or music may violate these limits and subject one to arrest. Loud arguments also fit this category of violations.
munseym on July 28, 2009 at 8:07 PM
I, and others, have unwittingly got off topic. This thread was about GEN Powell. Its great that GEN Powell finally took a position on something,albeit after sticking a finger in the air and seeing which way the wind was blowing.
In the past I always hoped that he would run. As much as he has disappointed me recently, I sure wish that he had been the first black president. For all of his recent faults, GEN Powell has a resume that shames Dear Leader.
Flame away.
Dingbat63 on July 28, 2009 at 8:10 PM
Powell? Oh, yeah, the last thing real conservatives need to worry about is what this turncoat POS thinks.
john1schn on July 28, 2009 at 8:13 PM
I’m beginning to think this guy isn’t as gifted as he once seemed to me. A proven warrior, a low key politicalite, a loyal black booster, sometimes this, other times that. He’s articulate, clean, well dressed and …… what the hell am I trying to say?????
PaCadle on July 28, 2009 at 8:20 PM
Powell???? Wait,he’s the guy who waits to see what the people think about an issue before saying anything.
ohiobabe on July 28, 2009 at 8:31 PM
hmm…
Now if Professor Gates were in touch with America today, he could have learned from Chris Rock “How to not get your xxx kicked by the Police”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj0mtxXEGE8
hoakie on July 28, 2009 at 8:33 PM
Is traffic really that bad?
Jim Treacher on July 28, 2009 at 8:38 PM
Allah is too cool for school.
RobCon on July 28, 2009 at 8:46 PM
And yet, as this story proves, he can and did. It wasn’t until the man stepped outside of his home that he was breaking the law. In fact, that’s one of the big arguments made against Crowley, that he was trying to trap Gates by bring him outside, because everyone acknowledges that free people have every right to mouth off to cops inside their homes.
Of course, even inside your home, you do not have a right to disturb others, so it is possible that he could have gotten loud enough, even inside his own home, to have caused a public disturbance. But again, that’s not where he was arrested.
Esthier on July 28, 2009 at 8:52 PM
Allah’s argument (nearly identical to most of the hyperventilating on HuffPo and other lib sites) reminds me of COPS episodes I’ve seen where there is a high speed chase and the suspect drives home and runs into their house and then claims that the police can’t get them because they made it home.
I expect this kind of drivel from hard-core Obama supporters.
I’m very disappointed that Allah renders the same “argument.”
Religious_Zealot on July 28, 2009 at 9:09 PM
The libertarian approach of “I have a right to get in your face…” seems fanciful if not just plain idiotic. If a society shows no respect for authority (and conversely, the authorities show no respect for society) then we have chaos.
I think it is more of an ego thing (“you can’t tell me what to do…!) and a self-centered pride.
Show respect, you get respect.
Pazman on July 28, 2009 at 9:09 PM
I’m a Libertarian. Please don’t tell me how I “should” react to a policeman.
What the hell is wrong with being polite to an officer who is just trying to do his job and go home to his family without being shot?
I’m polite to waitresses, fast-food counterpeople, DMV clerks, nurses…the list goes on and on.
But because a guy has a badge, I’m supposed to change my modus operandi and give him a ration of s**t?
That’s not even logical.
Common sense prevails: there’s no reason to be rude to a cop. If I think he’s violating my 4th Amendment rights, I will asset said rights – politely. But why provoke him?
He’s human. And you, Allah, or I don’t have to worry that if we knock on a door or approach a vehicle, the next breath we take may be our last.
I’ve been a Libertarian for more than 30 years. And I know of no Libertarian principle that says I should jump at the chance to abuse a cop, just because “I can”.
guntotinglibertarian on July 28, 2009 at 9:15 PM
That’s one of the funniest things I ever saw.
Chris Rock is a sane conservative? Who knew?
guntotinglibertarian on July 28, 2009 at 9:22 PM
The guy never was anything but one of the Bush family’s affirmative action poodles. Powell, Rice, Gonzalez…
Not that it did the Bush clan much good at the voting booth.
guntotinglibertarian on July 28, 2009 at 9:25 PM
Any advice for PFC Obama, GEN Powell?
ted c on July 28, 2009 at 10:10 PM
Is it the affront to individual liberty that so annoys the “Crowley was wrong” people or something less constitutionally protected, like the fragile male ego? Or is it simply an artifact of the perpetual adolescence that characterizes the baby boomer world view?
No one would argue with the notion that you can’t mouth off to a judge (without risking punishment), so why the different attitude about cops who, unlike a judge, have a much more difficult and dangerous job?
Infidoll on July 28, 2009 at 10:15 PM
I agree with General Powell. Exactly what we’ve always told our sons. Your response to a policeman is “Yes, sir”, “No, sir”. Whatever he asks for, provide it. Cooperate. If he’s wrong, the time to question it, is later. In court. Gates screwed up. Big time. He let his emotions and his mouth get him in trouble. There are times to stuff it. That was one of them. The President should have stayed out of it. It wasn’t his fight. Shame.
Roger Brown on July 28, 2009 at 10:15 PM
“It is the U.S. Constitution, and not some competitive agglomeration of communities or constituencies, that makes a citizen the sovereign of his own home and privacy. There is absolutely no legal requirement to be polite in the defense of this right.
By Christopher Hitchens”
I do like Mr Hitchens even though is is quite liberal, and this is one of the reasons why.
What Gates did was act like a complete idiot, Odumbo, unable to help himself acted as usual like one also. In ALL but a few cases the police show up to help and if you go out of your way to make their help an issue they WILL issue you a pair a handcuffs!!
babydoll4you on July 28, 2009 at 11:07 PM
Good for you, AP. I’m on the side of not being blindly obedient to the police, either. Gates should not have been arrested. Behaving like an ass is not against the law.
Meryl Yourish on July 28, 2009 at 11:19 PM
Neither of us was there, and until all the facts are known, maybe we ought to NOT be like the Precedent.
john1schn on July 28, 2009 at 11:45 PM
Lots of other things are;
1. Impeding an investigation
2. Disturbing the peace.
3. Interfering with a Police officer.
Talk to (actually listen to a Police officer sometime – the two most dangerous things they do for a living are;
1. Traffic stops – they have no idea what’s going on inside that car.
2. Coming into a home with any kind of unknown situation inside; this is te most dangerous thing they do; yet we ask them to do it every day, in defense of our possesions and our persons.
I wouldn’t do it for a living; would you?
massrighty on July 28, 2009 at 11:54 PM
I think that the power of the police needs to be brought more inline with the 4th Amendment… but this was not an example of the police abusing their power. The cop was there to make sure that Gates’ property was safe from intrusion. He did his job despite continuing insults and only arrested the a**hole when he took his show on the road.
This was not a black neighborhood and the caller made no reference to the race of the suspicious men forcing entry. But the fact remains that blacks are in need of police protection. They are the primary victims of crimes in this country. About half of all murder victims are black and about 90% of them are murdered by other blacks.
Good advice from Powell: cooperate now and sue later if appropriate.
Laurence on July 28, 2009 at 11:56 PM
He wasn’t arrested for being an ass, he was arrested for the MA equivalent of disturbing the peace. And, really, don’t you think there’s a standard of conduct that falls somewhere in between loud abuse and blind obedience?
Infidoll on July 28, 2009 at 11:58 PM
Since I live here…
The MA equivalent of disturbing the peace is;
1. Spilling the Chardonay
2. Failing to properly extend one’s pinky
3. Voting Republican
4. Objecting to higher taxes
massrighty on July 29, 2009 at 12:11 AM
Powell is getting tumultuous with The One.
For shame, General!
Y’all voted for this neophyte doofus …because he had the right melanin content to his character.
President Stupidly’s mesmerized admirers are backpedalling more and more each day.
(Trying to stay out from under the O-bus, eh Colin.)
profitsbeard on July 29, 2009 at 12:46 AM
I applaud Gen Powell’s comments. He’s absolutely right.
Cr4sh Dummy on July 29, 2009 at 2:16 AM
Powell is a statist. He needs to get the hell out of the Republican party and join the Democratic party. He’s not a conservative. He just needs to shut up and go do something non-political.
WordsMatter on July 29, 2009 at 7:53 AM
If a crowd is gathering, and the cop feels that the “mood” is getting ugly, then the cop is within his rights to arrest the person who is creating the problem. Riots have started with less.
I’m stating this on general principal, I don’t know enough about the condition of the “crowd” that was gathering outside of Gates’ house to state definitely whether it applies or not.
But Allah’s blanket demand that police officer’s ignore “boorish” behavior is both stupid, and goes against police training.
MarkTheGreat on July 29, 2009 at 9:25 AM
Powell is right, take care of business first before you go on your rant about racism.
This could have been solved quickly by two to the head, but the officer did his job.
workingforpigs on July 29, 2009 at 9:40 AM
So I was wondering when the american public is going to get their beer in the whitehouse to discuss how our president’s racist attitude should change.
workingforpigs on July 29, 2009 at 9:41 AM
So, Liberterians think that is ok to be belligerent or boorish with police officers? Never knew. I have always thought it was a rather stupid course of action to take – even if I was in the right. Oh well. I prefer not to waste time in a courtroom for getting a ticket when I can be contrite and pleasant and possibly talk my way out of getting the citation.
Sporty1946 on July 29, 2009 at 10:17 AM
There are plenty of reasons to have a person come out of a house in a situation like this. I suspect, from the reports I’ve read, that most of them don’t apply. Despite that, I think it’s silly to call what officer Crowley did, entrapment. Based on what I read, he didn’t even ask Gates to come outside. He stated that he was going outside, and if Gates wished to continue yelling at him Gates could follow him out. Even after coming outside, Crowley allegedly warned Gates that he was stepping over the line and needed to calm down.
I certainly tend towards the position that I should have the right to talk back to a cop, without risking being arrested. However, Crowley seems to have been within the law, and procedure in his arrest, even if I think we would all have been better off had he just walked away.
In my opinion, people who claim that Crowley violated Gates right to yell at cops, generally have an irrationally strong distrust and possibly hatred of cops. I feel like I have plenty of anecdotal reasons to dislike cops, but I still prefer to go with less confrontation and volume and work my way up. In this particular situation, it seems pretty obvious that Gates was trying to make this into a big story, and it seems to have succeeded beyond his dreams.
aelhues on July 29, 2009 at 10:18 AM
Colin Powell finally says something correct. Welcome back.
You can control when you start a confrontation with police, AP, but that’s the last decision you’d be making for yourself.
Chris_Balsz on July 29, 2009 at 2:50 PM
Don’t care much for Powell. He’s an opportunist, for sure. However, …
As a college freshman, I once was pulled over by a local town copy for something another driver did (it was at night and I understand why the officer mistook my car for the other.) I took my ticket and later went to court and made my case. The officer even said that I was very polite with him. I said nothing about the alcohol on his breath or the bottle of Jack Daniels peeking out from under his driver’s seat, obviously used to keep him warm on that crisp, autumn evening. Sometimes, I wish I would have, after the case was dismissed, but I thought two needless trips back to this little town were more than enough.
IrishEyes on July 29, 2009 at 5:10 PM
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2