On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:03:55 -0400, NotNow wrote:

wrote:
On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:32:45 -0400, "Eisboch"
wrote:

Just watching a local interview with the arresting officer.

There's another side to the story, folks.

Makes you wonder *who* was acting "stupidly".


Eisboch

Gates was clearly wrong not to produce ID immediately. Fighting with a
cop, responding to a burglary in progress complaint is the stupid
thing. I am an old white guy in a nice neighborhood and I would expect
the cop to be suspicious of me until I showed some kind of ID.
I am sure that if this happened while Gates was gone, and it was a
real burglar, he would be complaining that the cops were not forceful
enough with the burglars if they let them walk without showing ID.

I would be thanking the police for protecting my home. That is what I
pay them for.


I am not sure if it is true but my NBC news outlet was flashing a
picture of an arrest report with "intoxicated" in bold print on it. I
understand these people are petty sloppy with their "B roll" footage
and that could have really been Mel Gibson's arrest report since the
Cambridge police have not "officially" released the report but if this
was something that the news crew shot at the station this whole thing
might quietly go away.

This does say something about how well race relations are working in
liberal Massachusetts when his neighbor can't even recognize their
only black neighbor in broad daylight.

"Black students and professors at Harvard have complained for years
about racial profiling by Cambridge and campus police. Harvard
commissioned an independent committee last year to examine the
university's race relations after campus police confronted a young black
man who was using tools to remove a bike lock. The man worked at Harvard
and owned the bike.

Please don't take offense at this, but you know - that's stretching
the whole idea of "racial profiling".

What if it had been a black officer and the student a white guy? Or
even if the student had been a white guy? Do you seriously think that
the cops aren't going to ask questions and if positive ID and
ownership can't be established, do nothing about it?

Come on - be reasonable.

Richard Weinblatt, director of the Institute for Public Safety at
Central Ohio Technical College, said the police sergeant was responsible
for defusing the situation once he realized Gates was the lawful
occupant. It is not against the law to yell at police, especially in a
home, as long as that behavior does not affect an investigation, he said.

"That is part of being a police officer in a democratic society,"
Weinblatt said. "The point is that the police sergeant needs to be the
bigger person, take the higher road, be more professional."

Interesting. Mr. Weinblatt isn't listed as a member of the faculty of
the Central Ohio Technical College.

http://newark.osu.edu/faculty/osun.asp

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:47:02 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:03:55 -0400, NotNow wrote:

Richard Weinblatt, director of the Institute for Public Safety at
Central Ohio Technical College, said the police sergeant was responsible
for defusing the situation once he realized Gates was the lawful
occupant. It is not against the law to yell at police, especially in a
home, as long as that behavior does not affect an investigation, he said.

"That is part of being a police officer in a democratic society,"
Weinblatt said. "The point is that the police sergeant needs to be the
bigger person, take the higher road, be more professional."

And that is absolulutely correct. The police need training to back
down gracefully, make their apologies and leave once the true
situation is known. A certain amount of racial profiling is probably
inevitable in police work but professionalism and respect can make the
difference in how it is perceived.

No offense Wayne, but there has to be something wrong with folks who
aren't cops telling cops how to be cops.

The officer in question has witnesses, including a responding black
officer, who verified his statements. The officer in question has the
training in racial profiling and teaches it. He is a decorated
officer and has been recognized as one of the best.

Gates on the other hand is an officious Harvard prig who has used his
"do you know who I am" attitude in confrontations with airport
security at Logan to confrontations with security guards and hospital
employees including his own staff.

Add to that - his neighbors hate his guts. That's got to tell you
something.

On 7/23/09 5:45 PM, Yogi of Woodstock wrote:
On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:47:02 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:03:55 -0400, wrote:

Richard Weinblatt, director of the Institute for Public Safety at
Central Ohio Technical College, said the police sergeant was responsible
for defusing the situation once he realized Gates was the lawful
occupant. It is not against the law to yell at police, especially in a
home, as long as that behavior does not affect an investigation, he said.

"That is part of being a police officer in a democratic society,"
Weinblatt said. "The point is that the police sergeant needs to be the
bigger person, take the higher road, be more professional."

And that is absolulutely correct. The police need training to back
down gracefully, make their apologies and leave once the true
situation is known. A certain amount of racial profiling is probably
inevitable in police work but professionalism and respect can make the
difference in how it is perceived.

No offense Wayne, but there has to be something wrong with folks who
aren't cops telling cops how to be cops.

The officer in question has witnesses, including a responding black
officer, who verified his statements. The officer in question has the
training in racial profiling and teaches it. He is a decorated
officer and has been recognized as one of the best.

Gates on the other hand is an officious Harvard prig who has used his
"do you know who I am" attitude in confrontations with airport
security at Logan to confrontations with security guards and hospital
employees including his own staff.

Add to that - his neighbors hate his guts. That's got to tell you
something.


Cops lying for cops lying for cops lying for cops.

What else is new?




--
A wise Latina makes better decisions than a dumb elephant.

"H the K" wrote in message
m...

On 7/23/09 5:45 PM, Yogi of Woodstock wrote:

The officer in question has witnesses, including a responding black
officer, who verified his statements. The officer in question has the
training in racial profiling and teaches it. He is a decorated
officer and has been recognized as one of the best.

Gates on the other hand is an officious Harvard prig who has used his
"do you know who I am" attitude in confrontations with airport
security at Logan to confrontations with security guards and hospital
employees including his own staff.

Add to that - his neighbors hate his guts. That's got to tell you
something.




Cops lying for cops lying for cops lying for cops.

What else is new?


Harry, your logic circuit breaker tripped again. Reset it, read Tom's post
again and try again.

Eisboch

On 7/23/09 6:02 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:56:52 -0400, H the
wrote:

If you plan on shooting people you better work on you "talking to
cops" skills.



I have no plans to shoot anyone. Nice try, though.

I suppose I coul;d go back and quote all the macho stuff from the gun
thread but I don't care anymore.

Be well and be careful.


What? That I'd shoot someone that busted into my house? That's not a
"plan to shoot someone." That's just part of a household defense
mechanism to protect the lives here.

Honestly, I know the game you've been trying to play with this topic. It
was mildly entertaining.


--
A wise Latina makes better decisions than a dumb elephant.

On 7/23/09 6:01 PM, Eisboch wrote:

"H the K" wrote in message
m...

On 7/23/09 5:45 PM, Yogi of Woodstock wrote:

The officer in question has witnesses, including a responding black
officer, who verified his statements. The officer in question has the
training in racial profiling and teaches it. He is a decorated
officer and has been recognized as one of the best.

Gates on the other hand is an officious Harvard prig who has used his
"do you know who I am" attitude in confrontations with airport
security at Logan to confrontations with security guards and hospital
employees including his own staff.

Add to that - his neighbors hate his guts. That's got to tell you
something.




Cops lying for cops lying for cops lying for cops.

What else is new?


Harry, your logic circuit breaker tripped again. Reset it, read Tom's
post again and try again.

Eisboch



Tom has a kid who is a cop. Therefore, he is predisposed to believe cops.

I am not so predisposed.

The sergeant should have known better. He overreacted to a nearly
60-year old slightly built man who needs a cane to get around. The cop
should have said, "Sorry, we're just doing our jobs...have a nice
day..." and left.

As for one cop vouching for another...I'm not impressed.

Remember Amadou Bailo Diallo, the 23-year-old Guinean immigrant in New
York City who was shot and killed on February 4, 1999 by four New York
City Police Department plain-clothed officers? You know...the subject of
the song 41 Shots? The case in which Diallo was murdered by out of
control cops who lied for each other and got off?





--
A wise Latina makes better decisions than a dumb elephant.

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:00:43 -0400, wrote:

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:47:02 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:03:55 -0400, NotNow wrote:

Richard Weinblatt, director of the Institute for Public Safety at
Central Ohio Technical College, said the police sergeant was responsible
for defusing the situation once he realized Gates was the lawful
occupant. It is not against the law to yell at police, especially in a
home, as long as that behavior does not affect an investigation, he said.

"That is part of being a police officer in a democratic society,"
Weinblatt said. "The point is that the police sergeant needs to be the
bigger person, take the higher road, be more professional."

And that is absolulutely correct. The police need training to back
down gracefully, make their apologies and leave once the true
situation is known. A certain amount of racial profiling is probably
inevitable in police work but professionalism and respect can make the
difference in how it is perceived.


If you start right out attacking the police, I am not sure it is easy
or even expected that you should get off easy. It is clear Gates
started right out with a chip on his shoulder at a time when he should
have been appreciative that the police were interested in protecting
his home. That is why I will not be surprised if that initial thing I
saw that indicated the cop thought he was drunk is true.
You know in this 24 hour news cycle, there are reporters interviewing
the flight attendants on his flight, the driver and anyone else who
might have seen him that morning.

I have no doubt that there is plenty of culpability on the part of
Gates applying normal standards of behavior and decorum. The cops
however, once realizing that they'd made an honest mistake, should
have let it go. Although it would have been nice if Gates had shown
a little restraint on his part, he was probably already a bit out of
sorts even before the police arrived from the 20 hour flight, arriving
home to find himself locked out, etc. Who knows what else may have
gone wrong for him that day? There's plenty of opportunity for that
when you are traveling.

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:45:13 -0400, Yogi of Woodstock
wrote:

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:47:02 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:03:55 -0400, NotNow wrote:

Richard Weinblatt, director of the Institute for Public Safety at
Central Ohio Technical College, said the police sergeant was responsible
for defusing the situation once he realized Gates was the lawful
occupant. It is not against the law to yell at police, especially in a
home, as long as that behavior does not affect an investigation, he said.

"That is part of being a police officer in a democratic society,"
Weinblatt said. "The point is that the police sergeant needs to be the
bigger person, take the higher road, be more professional."

And that is absolulutely correct. The police need training to back
down gracefully, make their apologies and leave once the true
situation is known. A certain amount of racial profiling is probably
inevitable in police work but professionalism and respect can make the
difference in how it is perceived.

No offense Wayne, but there has to be something wrong with folks who
aren't cops telling cops how to be cops.

The officer in question has witnesses, including a responding black
officer, who verified his statements. The officer in question has the
training in racial profiling and teaches it. He is a decorated
officer and has been recognized as one of the best.

Gates on the other hand is an officious Harvard prig who has used his
"do you know who I am" attitude in confrontations with airport
security at Logan to confrontations with security guards and hospital
employees including his own staff.

Add to that - his neighbors hate his guts. That's got to tell you
something.

I'm sure that's all true but I still think the cops should have backed
off once they knew that he lived there.

"H the K" wrote in message
m...


Gates on the other hand is an officious Harvard prig who has used his
"do you know who I am" attitude in confrontations with airport
security at Logan to confrontations with security guards and hospital
employees including his own staff.

Add to that - his neighbors hate his guts. That's got to tell you
something.




Cops lying for cops lying for cops lying for cops.

What else is new?


Harry, your logic circuit breaker tripped again. Reset it, read Tom's
post again and try again.

Eisboch



Tom has a kid who is a cop. Therefore, he is predisposed to believe cops.

I am not so predisposed.




Forget the cops since you don't trust any.

I was talking about this part of Tom's post:

"Gates on the other hand is an officious Harvard prig who has used his
"do you know who I am" attitude in confrontations with airport
security at Logan to confrontations with security guards and hospital
employees including his own staff.

Add to that - his neighbors hate his guts. That's got to tell you
something."


You opted to ignore that part.

Eisboch

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...


I have no doubt that there is plenty of culpability on the part of
Gates applying normal standards of behavior and decorum. The cops
however, once realizing that they'd made an honest mistake, should
have let it go. Although it would have been nice if Gates had shown
a little restraint on his part, he was probably already a bit out of
sorts even before the police arrived from the 20 hour flight, arriving
home to find himself locked out, etc. Who knows what else may have
gone wrong for him that day? There's plenty of opportunity for that
when you are traveling.


I get scolded for snapping at an alarm company salesman.

Eisboch