News & Politics - Famous Harvard Professor Arrested For Breaking Into His Own House: Stirs Race Debate

Ruby_Slippers · 07-21-2009, 02:53 PM

Everyone is talking about this:

A distinguished professor at Harvard University was arrested after police investigated claims that he was trying to break into a house. The professor is Henry Louis Gates Jr., and the house was his own. Gates, who is African-American, has written many books on race relations, hosted a public TV series and more. His race factors into the incident because of how it started — with a call to police about what "two black males" were doing.

Steve Inskeep speaks with Tracy Jan, higher education reporter for The Boston Globe, for the latest details on the case.

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Prosecutors dropped a disorderly conduct charge Tuesday against prominent black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., who was arrested at his home near Harvard University after a report of a break-in.

The city of Cambridge issued a statement saying the arrest "was regrettable and unfortunate" and police and Gates agreed that dropping the charge was a just resolution. "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," the statement said.

Gates declined immediate comment Tuesday.

Supporters say Gates, the director of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, was the victim of racial profiling.

Cambridge police say they responded to the two-story home near campus after a woman reported seeing "two black males with backpacks on the porch," with one "wedging his shoulder into the door as if he was trying to force entry."

The woman, Lucia Whalen, is the circulation and fundraising manager at Harvard Magazine, a news and alumni magazine affiliated with the school. The magazine's offices are down the street from Gates' home.

Gates had to force his way through the front door because it was jammed, his lawyer said Monday.

By the time police arrived, Gates was already inside. Police say he refused to come outside to speak with an officer, who told him he was investigating a report of a break-in.

"Why, because I'm a black man in America?" Gates said, according to a police report written by Sgt. James Crowley.

Gates initially refused to show the officer his identification, but then gave him a Harvard University ID card, according to police. "Gates continued to yell at me, accusing me of racial bias and continued to tell me that I had not heard the last of him," the officer wrote.

Gates said he turned over his driver's license and Harvard ID — both with his photos — and repeatedly asked for the name and badge number of the officer, who refused. He said he then followed the officer as he left his house onto his front porch, where he was handcuffed in front of other officers, Gates said in a statement released by his attorney, fellow Harvard scholar Charles Ogletree, on a Web site Gates oversees, TheRoot.com

Ogletree said Monday that Gates "was shocked to find himself being questioned and shocked that the conversation continued after he showed his identification." Ogletree declined to say whether he believed the incident was racially motivated, saying "I think the incident speaks for itself."

Some of Gates' African-American colleagues say the arrest is part of a pattern of racial profiling in Cambridge.

Allen Counter, who has taught neuroscience at Harvard for 25 years, said he was stopped on campus by two Harvard police officers in 2004 after being mistaken for a robbery suspect. They threatened to arrest him when he could not produce identification.

"We do not believe that this arrest would have happened if professor Gates was white," Counter said. "It really has been very unsettling for African-Americans throughout Harvard and throughout Cambridge that this happened."

The Rev. Al Sharpton said he will attend Gates' arraignment.

"This arrest is indicative of at best police abuse of power or at worst the highest example of racial profiling I have seen," Sharpton said. "I have heard of driving while black and even shopping while black but now even going to your own home while black is a new low in police community affairs."

Ogletree said Gates had returned from a trip to China on Thursday with a driver, when he found his front door jammed. He went through the back door into the home — which he leases from Harvard — shut off an alarm and worked with the driver to get the door open. The driver left, and Gates was on the phone with the property's management company when police first arrived.

Ogletree also disputed the claim that Gates, who was wearing slacks and a polo shirt and carrying a cane, was yelling at the officer.

"He has an infection that has impacted his breathing since he came back from China, so he's been in a very delicate physical state," Ogletree said.

Lawrence D. Bobo, the W.E.B Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard, said he met with Gates at the police station and described his colleague as feeling humiliated and "emotionally devastated."

"It's just deeply disappointing but also a pointed reminder that there are serious problems that we have to wrestle with," he said.

Bobo said he hoped Cambridge police would drop the charges and called on the department to use the incident to review training and screening procedures it has in place.

The Middlesex district attorney's office said it could not do so until after Gates' arraignment. Whalen, the woman who reported the apparent break-in, did not return a message Tuesday.

Gates joined the Harvard faculty in 1991 and holds one of 20 prestigious "university professors" positions at the school. He also was host of African American Lives, a PBS show about the family histories of prominent U.S. blacks, and was named by Time magazine as one of the 25 most influential Americans in 1997.

"I was obviously very concerned when I learned on Thursday about the incident," Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust said in a statement. "He and I spoke directly and I have asked him to keep me apprised."

**sunnykerr** · 07-21-2009, 06:12 PM

Sad, but not tremendously surprising.

**vc318** · 07-21-2009, 08:01 PM

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"Why, because I'm a black man in America?" Gates said, according to a police report written by Sgt. James Crowley.

*sigh* You know, as a Black person, I'm getting a little tired of this. So, the officer informs you of the reason why they are at your home and you can't just cooperate and at least state the fact that they are mistaken? This Harvard professor really blew it out of proportion by making this statement. And were these cops really "racial profiling" by responding to a break-in? I can't imagine what would've happened if they had ignored the call and gone on to something else. Don't we want police officers to their jobs? If anything, the cops are guilty for refusing to give Mr. Gates their badge number since anyone is allowed to request this information when a cop is at their door. And why does Al Sharpton need to get involved? Him and his sidekick Jesse Jackson are the epitome of why racism still exists in this world. That verbal attack on Obama comes to mind....

Ruby_Slippers · 07-21-2009, 08:41 PM

I have to disagree with you vc318 . It isn't racial profiling because the police answered a break in call. I would hope they would! But it is odd that a neighbor would call the police on him. Wouldn't your neighbor know what you look like? Nevermind the fact that Henry Louis Gates jr. is quite famous and always on tv but just on a basic level, I'm sure if he was the only African-American in the neighborhood they would know whaat he looks like. He doesn't fit the profile of a burgular- who breaks into a house with a cab out front and all their luggage on the porch?

Secondly, once Mr. Gates showed his ID, I don't see what the problem would be. It clearly said his address on it, the fact that they arrested him sounds like racial profiling to me. How does one get arrested in their own house?

**wanderer78** · 07-21-2009, 10:52 PM

I have a feeling this is going to be one of those "he said/he said" situations. But I agree with Ruby Slippers. If Professor Gates showed his ID, everything should have been dropped then and there.

I'm not sure why Al Sharpton needs to get involved either.

This man is a noted scholar at arguably the most prominent university in the world. He'll have the entire media at his disposal. Rev. Sharpton should use his influence to help African Americans who don't have those resources. JMO.

**TheAngel** · 07-22-2009, 11:04 AM

It appears that while/after he showed his ID, he was very belligerent towards the officers. He wasn't arrested for burglary, he was arrested for disorderly conduct. Had he calmly showed his identification to police, they probably would have had a nice laugh about it. But instead, according to reports, he began yelling at police officers, calling them racist for investigating the burglary reports. I can't say if they would have done the same thing had he been white, but I'm betting they would have. And while I do believe that the judicial system has a tendency to be racist, in this case I think it's a poor example since I think the police were justified. They arrest people that yell and scream at them, for disorderly conduct, despite race. The guy acted like a jerk and then wants to make it seem like he didn't do anything wrong and it was all the result of a racist cop. Great example of someone refusing to take responsibility for their immature actions.

ceilirose · 07-22-2009, 11:33 AM

I think there are two stories going on. From what I heard last night the police are saying Gates was confrontational and Gates is saying it was the other way around. So who knows - it's a case of he said/she said.

However once Gates did show his ID then the matter should have been dropped. I'm also guessing that if he just returned from China he would have luggage, airline tickets, a passport etc. that would have verified his story further.

I worked in Harvard Square for years and I'm even surprised that this happened there. Other places yes but not Harvard Square.

**vc318** · 07-22-2009, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruby_Slippers (View Post)

I have to disagree with you vc318 . It isn't racial profiling because the police answered a break in call. I would hope they would! But it is odd that a neighbor would call the police on him. Wouldn't your neighbor know what you look like? Nevermind the fact that Henry Louis Gates jr. is quite famous and always on tv but just on a basic level, I'm sure if he was the only African-American in the neighborhood they would know whaat he looks like. He doesn't fit the profile of a burgular- who breaks into a house with a cab out front and all their luggage on the porch?

Well, in the article it states that supporters thought that Gates was a victim of racial profiling. Well, I'm guessing the cops were White because if they had been Black they couldn't use this as a backup. And not everyone knows their neighbors as well as they should. For example, if a famous sports player were to move into my neighborhood and I saw him or her doing something questionable then I wouldn't hesitate to call the police if need be. So, am I guilty for not watching ESPN enough? For all we know, the person who made the call could've just moved into the area yesterday. Point is, not every single arrest case has to be an issue of race.

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Secondly, once Mr. Gates showed his ID, I don't see what the problem would be. It clearly said his address on it, the fact that they arrested him sounds like racial profiling to me. How does one get arrested in their own house?

He refused to come to the door when the police told him about the report of a break-in. I think in any state that calls for an arrest.

Ruby_Slippers · 07-22-2009, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vc318 (View Post)

Him and his sidekick Jesse Jackson are the epitome of why racism still exists in this world.

I’m not sure why Al Sharpton is involved but I think it is taking it a bit far to say that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are the reason racism exists in the world. And dare I say, ignorant. While I’m not a fan of Al Sharpton, he certainly does bring attention to many of the civil rights issues of our day and Jesse Jackson has contributed so much to the civil rights movement. Even if you disagree with them, you can’t argue that if these two men didn’t exist that racism wouldn’t exist. They didn’t create racism. It’s a ludicrous argument.

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Originally Posted by wanderer78 (View Post)

I'm not sure why Al Sharpton needs to get involved either.

This man is a noted scholar at arguably the most prominent university in the world. He'll have the entire media at his disposal. Rev. Sharpton should use his influence to help African Americans who don't have those resources. JMO.

I agree. He is getting enough press on his own.

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Originally Posted by TheAngel (View Post)

He wasn't arrested for burglary, he was arrested for disorderly conduct. Had he calmly showed his identification to police, they probably would have had a nice laugh about it. .

Exactly- disorderly conduct. I don’t believe what he did falls under this category. Disorderly conduct does not mean raising your voice to a police. (And the Professor said that he had bronchitis and was taking cough medicine so I’m not even sure this claim is true). Disorderly conduct is disrupting public order. It is inappropriate behavior that jeopardizes the public safety and doesn’t allow people to carry on with their days. Sorry, he wasn’t disrupting public order on his doorstep.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vc318 (View Post)

And not everyone knows their neighbors as well as they should. For example, if a famous sports player were to move into my neighborhood and I saw him or her doing something questionable then I wouldn't hesitate to call the police if need be. So, am I guilty for not watching ESPN enough? For all we know, the person who made the call could've just moved into the area yesterday. Point is, not every single arrest case has to be an issue of race.

Of course not every arrest case has to be an issue of race. But I’m not convinced this one isn’t. I don’t watch basketball but if Kobe Bryant moved to my street I would know what he looks like and I wouldn’t call the police if I saw him going through his own window. As, I would know that is his house!

And the woman who called the police on Prof. Gates is the Executive Director of Harvard Magazine. That means she is familiar and in charge of PR. She would of course know their famous professors (like Gates) as that is her job.

Let’s face it. She saw a black man in her neighborhood and through common sense out of the door. And elderly black man with a cane is hardly a burglar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vc318 (View Post)

He refused to come to the door when the police told him about the report of a break-in. I think in any state that calls for an arrest

That’s simply not true. How would they have seen his ID if it were? The arrested him when he was on his doorstep and they had already exchanged words.

**sunnykerr** · 07-22-2009, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruby_Slippers (View Post)

Exactly- disorderly conduct. I don’t believe what he did falls under this category. Disorderly conduct does not mean raising your voice to a police. (And the Professor said that he had bronchitis and was taking cough medicine so I’m not even sure this claim is true). Disorderly conduct is disrupting public order. It is inappropriate behavior that jeopardizes the public safety and doesn’t allow people to carry on with their days. Sorry, he wasn’t disrupting public order on his doorstep.

Well, if a person is belligerent towards police officers who are acting within their functions as law enforcement... I don't know that that's disorderly conduct, but it doesn't take a genius to know that it might get you in trouble.

**TheAngel** · 07-22-2009, 08:50 PM

Yeah, disorderly conduct has a very wide range of definitions, everything from fighting in public to being unnecessarily loud and using obscene or abusive language. If he was yelling at the cops, they followed SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) by arresting him, because as a police officer, you never know how quickly the situation is going to deteriorate into a violent situation. Disorderly conduct doesn't just cover disruption of public order. It covers general conduct of an individual. People are arrested for yelling at cops all the time, no matter the color of their skin. The reason the guy got the charges dropped was because of the color of his skin. If he'd been a white guy arrested by a white officer for the same thing, this would never have made it to the paper except for a humorous article about a guy being arrested for breaking into his own home.

The woman saw two men, the cab driver and Gates, at the home, apparently trying to force the door open. Who knows how far away the neighbor actually was, or if she got a clear shot of their face? I wouldn't mind having the cops called on me for something like that. I would have calmly showed my ID, explained the situation, and probably had a good laugh about it, but would have been glad that I had vigilant neighbors.

Uh Blah · 07-23-2009, 06:30 AM

Here's some info on the story..

Officer at eye of storm says he won’t apologize - The Boston Globe

Obama: Cambridge police acted stupidly

Henry Louis Gates Arrest Reports

Stg. James Crowley, Cambridge Police on WEEI

**vc318** · 07-23-2009, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAngel (View Post)

The woman saw two men, the cab driver and Gates, at the home, apparently trying to force the door open. Who knows how far away the neighbor actually was, or if she got a clear shot of their face? I wouldn't mind having the cops called on me for something like that. I would have calmly showed my ID, explained the situation, and probably had a good laugh about it, but would have been glad that I had vigilant neighbors.

Exactly. Gates made it worse by mouthing off to the police. With all the incidences happening with police officers these days, I can understand why they felt the need to arrest him. It seems that he was getting hot with them.

Quote:

I’m not sure why Al Sharpton is involved but I think it is taking it a bit far to say that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are the reason racism exists in the world. And dare I say, ignorant. While I’m not a fan of Al Sharpton, he certainly does bring attention to many of the civil rights issues of our day and Jesse Jackson has contributed so much to the civil rights movement. Even if you disagree with them, you can’t argue that if these two men didn’t exist that racism wouldn’t exist. They didn’t create racism. It’s a ludicrous argument.

How so? They're always crying about racial injustice but yet Jesse can come out and call Obama the "n" word and threaten to cut off his private parts? That seems a little two-faced to me.

Thanks for those links Uh Blah. As far as what Obama had to say, his comment is biased - he knows Gates very well. And this is coming from his own mouth.

ceilirose · 07-23-2009, 10:53 AM

This is still a he said, he said situation and after a few days of hearing about this story there are still divergent views about what happened. We're never going to know because it depends on how you view this subjectively. Honestly I think there was too much testosterone and attitude flowing from both sides. My guess is that if both of them could "re do" this day they would.

Uh Blah · 07-23-2009, 10:59 AM

I agree ceilirose, but for Barack Obama to say I don't have all the information and then to give his opinion was outright ignorant. He was right on with his 2nd point about race relations, however not on the part of the "stupid acting" cops IMO. It was Gates himself who made this about race and perhaps to an extent his neighbor, but from what I've read the cops did nothing to suggest this was racially motivated. FWIW there was a black cop on the scene. From what I understand Gates went on his blog to apologize for his behavior, but now that Al Sharpton is pulling the strings suddenly his view has changed.