Prof. Gates' Unconstitutional Arrest

via The Atlantic:

"Lucia Whalen, whose 911 call led to the arrest of the Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his home, made her first public comments Wednesday, saying at no time did she ever mention race to the responding police officer.

...[also] repeatedly mentioning that they might live there."

So Crowley made the assumption that they were black and treated Gates as a criminal because he was a black man in a nice house. It happens. And Gates got mad. It happens.

So that brings up the core issue here: freedom of speech. Crowley thinks he can arrest you for it. Harvey Silvergate at Forbes adds:

"if one accepts Crowley's claim that he dished out to Gates equal treatment under the law, this case stands as a dire warning to all citizens as to the dangers inherent in exercising one's constitutional right to free speech when in an exchange with a police officer."

Gates ended up being arrested for uttering mere words. Not breaking and entering. Not disturbing the peace.

"This gets us to the heart of the matter. Under well-established First Amendment jurisprudence, what Gates said to Crowley--even assuming the worst--is fully constitutionally protected."

So the same losers who said Gates deserved it, are probably the same losers who say the Constitution has to be protected against non-American born U.S. Presidents. Which one is it? You want to protect Constitutional rights, but only for the people you like?

That being said, even if you hate Gates for other reasons or think he was over the top for asking for the officer's name and badge, fact is:

"Even if Professor Gates were wearing a "Fuck You, Cambridge Police" jacket, the officer would have been obligated to leave the house without its occupant in handcuffs."

Granted, Police work is tough. It's what you signed up for. Underpay someone and over work them and you'll get some tense people. I have respect for authority, but as this story unfolds with all the "he said, she said", one thing is certain, we need to stop confusing a police report with the truth.

Power to the little man!

Source: Forbes