Civil Rights
Case Against Harvard Prof Gates, Arrested at Home, Will Be Dropped
Posted Jul 21, 2009 10:46 AM CST
By Martha Neil
A disorderly conduct case against a prominent Harvard University professor arrested last week at his own home by Cambridge, Mass., police will be dropped by the Middlesex County District Attorney's office, the Boston Globe reports.
The case made international headlines after Henry Louis Gates Jr., who is one of the nation's foremost African-American scholars, accused the police of racism. The 58-year-old Gates is the director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research.
According to the Globe, Gates had just arrived home by taxi on Thursday after traveling to China to film a PBS documentary. When he had trouble opening his front door he sought assistance from the taxi driver. A passerby, seeing the two black men standing on the front porch of a stately Cambridge home during the middle of the day then called police to report an apparent break-in, the newspaper recounts.
Gates showed responding police a copy of his Harvard identification, but was also reportedly "loud and tumultuous" in his response to a police officer's questions, according to a police report.
"The City of Cambridge, the Cambridge Police Department, and professor Gates acknowledge that the incident of July 16, 2009 was regrettable and unfortunate," explains a written statement issued by authorities today. "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. All parties agree that this is a just resolution to an unfortunate set of circumstances."
Gates was represented in the short-lived case by Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree Jr.
A subsequent Washington Post article about the incident provides additional details.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: "Harvard Prof Gates Arrested Trying to Enter Own Home; Ogletree to Defend"
Updated at 10:50 p.m. to link to Washington Post article.
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Comments
Chris R
Jul 21, 2009 11:55 AM CST
The person who called the police was visiting from out of town. If anyone was profiling it was her.
But she wasn’t. She saw what she thought was a break in. I suppose she thought it was better to be safe than sorry. Maybe she thought that if they did own the house they would say so to the police, but he didn’t. He could have given his ID but he didn’t until it escalated. He was angry and wanted to make a point but he could have handled this better.
Police are generally assholes but in this case the police were just doing there job and the good doctor was acting like a child. “You don’t know who you’re messing with” What an arrogant statement.
I would personally be thankful if my neighbor called the police on someone breaking into my house. even if that person was me.
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B. McLeod
Jul 21, 2009 12:36 PM CST
It was an “unfortunate set of circumstances” because, instead of just picking on some minority nobody, they chose to go after the Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. Not (as Al Sharpton points out) on the street, nor even in a public place, but at (and actually, inside) the private residence of the Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. Did they really think the media was not going to notice the arrest of the Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, for being “loud and tumultous”? Especially after they released the mug shots of the Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, to be plastered all over the Internet?. Well, anyway, now the Cambridge police have a useful new training tool. They can pass out glossies of the mugshots to all their new officers, with a bold, 15-point printed legend, “NOTE: THIS IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE W.E.B. DU BOIS INSTITUTE FOR AFRICAN AND AFRICAN AMERICAN RESEARCH - PLEASE LEAVE ALONE!!”
More Andy, and not so much Barney. Really.
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Anon
Jul 21, 2009 2:05 PM CST
After reading the Globe’s account, it seemed to me more likely than not that Gates was the one acting like a major league jerk here.
But unless an objective witness steps forward (and why on earth would they?), it’s hard to form a definitive conclusion.
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B. McLeod
Jul 21, 2009 2:56 PM CST
True, Anon, given that we, the readers, were not there. However, whether he was being a jerk or not, whether he was being “loud and tumultous” or not, he was at his own home, and no crime was in progress. Once the police had seen his ID, and reasonably sorted that out, why not discontinue the contact?
Also, I have to think if he was just Joe Citizen, he would still be in that jail over this, and it would have received no media attention whatsoever (and no intervention by a Harvard Law professor). These charges only got tossed because the case was going to be high profile, with coast-to-coast coverage, and a big-name lawyer, and the police knew the charges and the arrest were shaky. Also, the defendant himself had a relatively prestigious academic position of some sort (which I know I have heard mentioned, although I can’t bring the title to mind just now).
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tim
Jul 21, 2009 3:12 PM CST
Were the charges dropped because he was black? If it was a white neocon, would he be facing disorderly conduct charges?
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runescape gold
Jul 21, 2009 9:03 PM CST
I see a very clear case of a police officer having extreme problems with the idea that a black man belonged in that affluent neighborhood, and who probably also had issues with the idea of a liberal Black Harvard Professor daring to be offended by the officer’s treatment.
runescape money
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steve
Jul 23, 2009 1:08 PM CST
the police were responding to a report of a possible burglary in progress. prof. gates was not merely standing onnhis porch but trying to force open the door. he initially refused to provide identification to the policeman. he then (according to an eyewitness) became argumentative….who over reacted? true, it was an unfortuaate set of circumstances, but the whole matter could have been resolved if prof. gates acted in a more civil way. by the way…..whatever happened to the driver with prof. gates? no mention of him in the news….did he provide identification, cooperaqted and then left?
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