Smart Cops Can Do Stupid Things

Smart Cops Can Do Stupid Things

Kenneth Hacker

July 24, 2009

Have President Obama address a case of racial profiling that puts an African-American man (Professor Gates) into a situation unlikely to happen to a "white" American and drug-crazed conservatives like Rush Limbaugh, nativists like Lou Dobbs, and overheated pubic relations staff for the Cambridge Police Department automatically cry injustice toward the white cop. Other white voices on radio and TV are lurching to the defense of the "white" cop. One can only wonder why the frantic defense is necessary for someone (the police officer) to defend himself while he may actually be guilty as charged in the first place. Why in the world would he have to doubt the word of Professor Gates that he was entering his own house when a) Gates showed him ID, b) the house records could be checked by computer, and c) there was no evidence of wrong-doing other than entry at a late hour into one's own home.

The cop may be a wonderful person and a smart man, but his actions reek of dumb judgment. There is no need for the President to apologize but he is doing so for political purposes, which is usually the protocol in phony crises like theses. But while the President is being gracious, other Americans ought to take the Cambridge Police Department to task and remind them that racism is real and should not be tolerated.

Another black professor, Michael Dyson puts this into the perspective of ongoing racism which is easy to deny but just as real as the raciism of the past. See the link above for his essay.

If anyone needs to apologize in this event, it is the police officer and his department. They need to apologize to Professor Gates and the American people. The officer needs more training in how to communicate with suspects. Clearly, he could have used a different manner of interacting with his suspect since all he needed was ID. He could have obtained it if he knew how to communicate effectively and the whole thing could have ended in a few minutes. Instead, he, the person with most force and authority in the moment, let the situation expand beyond any necessity.

Think of yourself being in Professor Gates' shoes. You come home late, you need to break into your own home because you cant get in, and then the police arrive and start implying that there might be a break-in in progress. You get mad and they get mad at you for being mad. You know it is your home and this is a free country where property rights and freedom are dearly valued. The cop decides you are out of control and you get arrested for disorderly conduct. The police officer needs some more education and needs to admit that he is wrong when he is wrong. Maybe then, the American people could respect him.

The officer does make a case that he did not know if Prof. Gates was the home owner or an intruder when he responded to a call regarding possible breaking and entering. Here is his own version of the event:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/24/officer.gates.arrest/index.html?iref=topnews#cnnSTCVideo


Much of what he asserts is his uncertainty of what was actually occurring. He tries to make Gates sound rational to make himself seem cool and intelligent, always doing the right thing. Back to school, SGT Crowley!