Discrepancies In Cambridge Cop Report

July 27, 2009

Why are you asking me about this

The Associated Press published an op-ed piece, detailing items in the police report of police officer, James Crowley, who racially profiled African American Harvard Professor, Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Professor Gates stated he did not tell Officer Crowley “I’ll speak to your mama outside” as was widely reported. However, officer Crowley has it in his report. Gates also stated he furnished the officer with two forms of ID, a state drivers license and Harvard university identification, but Crowley’s report only states the latter. Significant discrepancies, if you ask me.

In order to move on, a town that has experienced very notable, publicized cases of racial profiling, needs to explore what truly transpired, obtain the facts and work towards such issues not happening again.

Video: City Manager: 'Today Is the Day to Move Forward' - The Associated Press

Analysis: What they saw during the Gates arrest

Henry Louis Gates Jr. felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he looked across the threshold of his home at Sgt. James Crowley. Looking back at Gates, Crowley worried about making it home safely to his wife and three children.

Fear was the only thing the white police officer and black scholar had in common. Soon their many differences would collide, exploding into a colossal misunderstanding...

"During the renovation workers would often take Gates for a servant and ask to be pointed to the house's owner. The drivers of delivery trucks made the same mistake."

"The message was unmistakable: What was a black man doing living in a place like this?" Fish wrote.

So when Gates hears Crowley ask him to step outside, he sees history. How could he not?

"All the hairs stood up on the back of my neck, and I realized that I was in danger," Gates said later. "And I said to him no, out of instinct. I said, 'No, I will not.'"

Crowley asks Gates to prove he lives there.

Looking out his front door, Gates sees someone who should be asking, "Is everything all right, sir?" He sees someone who would not doubt that a 58-year-old, gray-haired Harvard professor lived in this home — if he were white.

Gates sees a racist.

Gates leaves the front door to get his identification. Crowley follows him inside. Gates says he provided a driver's license with the address of the home they were standing in; Crowley's police report only mentions a Harvard ID...

Gates continues to demand that Crowley provide his name and badge number.

Crowley said in his report that he had already told Gates his name, twice, but Gates was yelling too much to hear him. Gates said Crowley ignored his demands.

Gates doesn't let up. Crowley says he'll talk to Gates outside. Then he says something Crowley understands perfectly, boiling down his 2,095 pages of "Africana" down into one cry of resistance:

"I'll speak with your mama outside," he said, according to the police report. Gates denies making the remark...

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