Sgt. Crowley has the Support of his Coworkers
Supporters say the white policeman who arrested renowned black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. in his home is a principled police officer and family man who is being unfairly described as racist.
Friends and fellow officers — black and white — say Sgt. James Crowley, who was hand-picked by a black police commissioner to teach recruits about avoiding racial profiling, is calm and reliable.
"If people are looking for a guy who’s abusive or arrogant, they got the wrong guy," said Andy Meyer of Natick, Mass., who has vacationed with Crowley, coached youth sports with him and is his teammate on a men’s softball team. "This is not a racist, rogue cop."
Gates accused the 11-year department veteran of being an unyielding, race-baiting authoritarian after Crowley arrested and charged him with disorderly conduct last week.
Crowley confronted Gates in his home after a woman passing by summoned police for a possible burglary. The sergeant said he arrested Gates after the scholar repeatedly accused him of racism and made derogatory remarks about his mother, allegations the professor challenges. Gates has labeled Crowley a "rogue cop," demanded an apology and said he may sue the police department.
President Barack Obama elevated the dispute when he said Wednesday that Cambridge police "acted stupidly" during the encounter. Obama stepped back on Thursday, telling ABC News, "From what I can tell, the sergeant who was involved is an outstanding police officer, but my suspicion is probably that it would have been better if cooler heads had prevailed."
Crowley told a radio station Thursday that Obama went too far.
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who is racist? look in the mirror
This man is not a racist. This appears to be a situation of two men that made some mistakes. Gates should not have accused the cop of being a racist. There was a report that someone was forcing their way into the house. Mr. Gates should have shown the officer his ID and this would not have gotten this far. There are far too many people that were there to witness the way Mr. Gates was acting (both black and white people). People cannot make this a black or white thing. They need to make it a right or wrong thing regardless of the skin color. In this case it is clear that Mr. Gates was wrong and is now trying to use his connections to ‘win’ and not damage his ego. This is a huge step back. One I hope most people do not support.
Here’s an issue: even if it’s your house, without running your license and talking to you outside cops don’t know (a) if you’re being held hostage or someone in your family is (b) if you’re subject to a restraining order or have warrants and (c) whether you’re up to no good in your own home, by, for example, having hurt a family member. SOP dictates ID, running for warrants, and taking things to the safety of the neutral ground outside to figure out what really happened.
Gates lost his mind in this episode, made casual accusations of racism, kept disrespecting officers and screaming, and deserved to be arrested and deserves to be ridiculed until he apologizes. Obama made a big moral and political mistake in weighing in on this local issue when he’s biased (by his own admission) and wrong and confirming the stereotypes of black politicians: They stand up for blacks and are negative to law enforcement even when blacks misbehave.