Current Article

[Update] Must-See Video of Police Backing Sgt. Crowley

By Bronwyn's Harbor on July 29, 2009 at 12:05 AM in Current Affairs

(bumped up from late night Monday)

UPDATE: Writes American Girl in Italy about this video: “This is a touching video full of emotion. I can’t imagine this has been easy for Crowley’s fellow officers, either. The interview is with some of the Cambridge Police Officers following the press conference. The female police officer, Kelly King, also supports Crowley, and although she voted for Obama, he has since lost her support.”

“Do you think this will cost Obama support, in the long run?,” American Girl asks. I definitely do since Obama has let slip the “post-racial” disguise he’s worn. He exposed his real self, with a bitter, divisive attitude like Michelle’s (that put her in hiding until she was transformed into a non-threatening wifely type with no strong opinions).

H/t NoQuarter writer Ani, who found the video at SerumVerum blog, via Hot Air’s “Must see: Cambridge cop says she won’t vote for Obama again after Gatesgate ”

You can view more blog reactions through Memeorandum.com.

trist

saw this when it first aired, when crowley turned and hugged his colleague I just went awwwww. it was so sweet!^_^
politicsisdirty

That is the interview everybody can learn something from. Hope Pres Obama and Prof Gates watches it.

Time to really apologize Mr. President and Professor.

As for CNN, their reorters can do excellent, non-biased interviews if they really want to. A far cry from the lady who interviewed the tea party crowd.

That kind of interview is the first step towards being a really fair and balanced news station. Next step is getting rid of the Campbells, Andersons, Martins and the Borges who all worship Obama.

Nellie

politics is dirty,

Please, please DO NOT call Obama a “Professor”. He was a “visiting Instructor”.

Calling him a Professor is like calling a copy person a “Senior Investigative Reporter, or calling a Nurses Aid Doctor.

He does not deserve nor has he earned the title of “Professor” and it is an egregious insult to those of us who worked to earn our titles.

Thanks and I’d make a smiley face if I knew how. This is really a sore point for me.

fara

I think he/she meant professor Gate.

bho boo

people is touchy, for good reason

maniaco

Nellie ~

My sentiments almost exactly, but hell, he wasn’t even at the high level you gave him. More like “instructor” or just plain “lecturer.” Yeah, that — as us guys will sometimes say — yeah that really frosts my b*lls to hear him referred to incorrectly as a “Constitutional Law Professor.” What a freakin’ joke and what a pompous ass BO is!

Whenever I hear this nonsense, I always let everyone & anyone within earshot what (you and) I know about the matter.

Tenure was/is almost like running a gauntlet for several years. Then if you survive alive and retire after, say, 24 years, you get to call yourself:

Prof. Emeritus
That’s me, and damn proud of it, survival scars and all.
NomNomNom

to make a smiley just type in a colon followed by a right parentheses with no spaces in between (looks like a smileyface sideways) or type in colon then the written word smile then colon with no spaces in between them.
http://codex.wordpress.org/Using_Smilies
What Text do I Type to Make Smileys

FranSC

This was obvious, heartfelt support of Officer Crowley and the way race relations should be – color blind. You can tell that these officers would not have put themselves on the line to this degree if Crowley had not demonstrated the principles of fairness and racial equality again and again. You inherently know these things after working with people for this many years.

In addition, thankfully, CNN’s Don Lemon was able to hear another AA criticize his idol who can do no wrong in his eyes and say she would not vote for him again. When Lemon asked if that applied to Gov Patrick, she said yes. A ‘teachable’ moment for Lemon who needs a good dose of ‘learning’.
Bella

We were always playing on the white man’s court . . . by the white man’s rules,” he writes. “If the principal, or the coach, or a teacher . . . wanted to spit in your face, he could, because he had the power and you didn’t. . . . The only thing you could choose was withdrawal into a smaller and smaller coil of rage.
Written by Obama 11 yrs. ago.

I think the Sgt. Crowley needs to take one of his friends with him to the White House! I am worried about him.

elise

I am extremely angry we are again discussing racism and completely ignoring the sexism and threats of violence against a woman (Crowley’s mother).

NQ has consistently supported the rights of women and posted articles many times on the resulting damage to society when this behavior is accepted.

So why not now, NQ? There have been posts and comments ad infinitum about Obama “stupidly” injecting himself into an altercation between his friend and the police. Reverse racism, first amendment rights and the legality of the arrest have been examined in detail.

Yet in the earliest report on Gates arrest, Crowley and others mentioned the reference to violence against a woman. Have we all forgotten Rev Wright’s disgusting comments about Hillary or Fr Pfleger’s obscene mockery? What of Jessie Jackson Jr’s question last year? How does a Black man fight a white woman? “OJ comes to mind”.

Why has everyone forgotten the reference to the “white woman” making the initial report as if to offer proof of Obama’s remark about his white grandmother being afraid of Black men and the implication of racism? Where is Gates apology to her? Or Obama’s apology to his grandmother.

Who is going to stand up and demand this person be fired by Harvard? Under what pretence is he teaching a class steeped in a history of slavery, bias and discrimination when he has demonstrated his contempt for true equality in his choice of insults.

Has he or has he not been married to two different white women? According to Afrocentricnews, his first wife was white so perhaps his problem is with white women instead of Sgt Crowley.

http://www.afrocentricnews.com/html/interracial.html
Texas Playwright

I agree. bho the fraud and Gates are buddies. bho the fraud likes to draw people into his corrupt web in OUR WH and attempt to manipulate or bully them. I thing Sgt. Crowley should take a fellow, morally centered police officer with him and stare down bho the fraud and Gates the yeller, both of them snobs, in a VIDEOTAPED meeting.

bho boo

That woman officer should run for office. She’s articulate beautiful and has great character.
listing starboard

This brave beautiful lady and Anita Moncrief are heroes. Imagine the venom and hatred directed at them after this! A couple of things about this whole Gates mess–Who was the man with Gates and where is his eyewitness account? Obama made another truly racist remark in his last presser about getting shot while jimmying the White House lock–what a complete denigration of the Secret Service! Plus he confirms that Gates broke into his own house. The part about him being inside resolving him of any guilt, do ya think robbers loot by telekinesis Skip? Is anyone who heard Jeremiah Wrights rants really surprised at Obamas true racist colors?

TeakWoodKite

He thinks the White House is “his house”. It is “our” White House. But it is ALLWAYS about him.

Also the term he used was “jiggered”, which rymes with… that was an intentional use of the word.

Arrogant ditz.

ACPD

Finally, a little reality among all the make-believe! I think there are more people who are beginning to see that BO is a mistake and that he just hasn’t the depth of character or the maturity to be the good statesman the office of the presidency requires. Also, I believe, this incident is demonstrating to many more people what some of us were saying during the election–manipulating people by playing the race card doesn’t work in the in the long run….
http://syd4.blogspot.com/ SYD

Thinking about how cavalierly our president threw the officer in question to the wolves enrages me. Sergeant Crowley’s career and livelihood are on the line. And for what?

I don’t know how these officers do the jobs they do everyday… if they are supposed to be defending the kind of folks who will do anything to bring them down.

Terry

Excellent point. What does 0 care if he destroys a man for his own agenda. Just like Joe the Plumber…

bho boo

And Major Cook

John

“Sergeant Crowley’s career and livelihood are on the line.”

They are. Think about the near future. What happens when someone else is stopped or questioned by Sergeant Crowley? His face has been in hundreds of papers and on every national network/cable news outlet. The ramifications are endless. Obama put this man and his family in serious danger.

Example – Crowley pulls over a vehicle which matches a description from a previous crime. He investigates. On the way back to his squad car to check the occupants ID through the system. A young (Asian Man/Black man/Hispanic Man etc) may realize who pulled them over and begin to think about an easy out of this situation he or she has found him or herself in and make another false race claim or even worse pull a gun and shoot. Thats a worst case of course but as president you have council to speak with. They are the ones who bring you down to earth. These are the people he is supposed to rely on who have thought out all possible ramifications.I really hate to say this but Biden was right/ The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training.

Lily

Obama called Crowley’s actions “stupid” because Crowley was messing with his friend and supporter. That’s all Obama needed to know. The implications of that attitude and recklessness on Obama’s part are horrifying. He is truly a thug.
Diana

It’s a shame isn’t it, that most people will never see this interview? Here is a group of people moving race relations forward, standing together based on more than their race. On their character. Standing up and together for what is right. Then, we have Obama. A president who has the capacity to help, yet is dead set on moving race relations back, has gone out of his way to do so.

Ever see Trading Places? Obama reminds me of that movie. Except unlike Eddie Murphy who proved everyone wrong by doing the right thing, he’s proving all his naysayers right on everything. The powers that be in the DNC put him there. They knew he was inexperienced and they could control him. To push their own agendas, once he’s used up his usefulness they’ll toss him aside. Except in this movie they win because Obama could care less as long as he’s the star.

He really is a racist, he wasn’t sitting in Rev. Wrights pews all those years because he brought him to the Christian religion. He was sitting there because he agreed with every word he said. This professor who’s racist rants are now showing up on You Tube, another friend and associate. Just like Farrakhan and Meeks, etc. Tell me who you associate with and I’ll tell you who you are.

tzada

Many will see it thanks in part to citizen sites like this and the Drudge Report. It is front and center there today.

http://www.drudgereport.com/
Ani

You can help by copying the link to this post, to Hot Air, to Drudge and making it go viral — send to all your friends, and ask them to forward as well, Send to anyone you think would watch — hell, send it to your government representatives. Please let them know this is a true “teaching moment.”

Grass roots will help get the word out.

Kristen

I posted the video to my facebook page.

NoBamaNoWay

i’m shocked; shocked, i tell you, to find out that another one of Ozero’s buddies is white-hating race baiter….. not.
Tex-Mex Soup

how fitting I was sent this quote just today

“You are the average of the 5 people you hang out with.” – Marshall Sylver

obama hangs out with nothing but hateful ungrateful racist people.

pm317

Next thing we will hear is 0bama inviting the female officer to the WH to charm her. He may even offer her a kiss (like he did during the campaign) if she decides to change her mind about not voting for him next time. He being narcissistic and all.

http://sarainitalyblog.blogspot.com/ American Girl in Italy

hahah
Donna Brazile

When does the Special Olympian get to go to the WH? Obviously, he insulted children with special needs before he offended bitter, clingy, policemen.

imustprotest

You forgot something Donna…

Stop the Beerfest!

TeakWoodKite

Makes sense why he wanted to keep his private phone.

dennisj42003

What a blow up. No doubt the professor could have been less vocal. In this country you do have a right to express your opinion, whether it be right or wrong, even to a cop. The officer could certainly left the premise as soon as he found out this suspected burglar was actually the owner and occupant. This would have left the professor complaining to himself, thus defusing the whole situation for the most part. Then he is arrested….disordly conduct. Then those charges are dropped???? Why? And how was justice served by dropping the charges against this crimanal? Takes away some of the cops credibility.

http://sarainitalyblog.blogspot.com/ American Girl in Italy

the charges were dropped because the race card was thrown. Two words for you: Al Sharpton

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1186039&position=1

Gates got preferential treatment because of who he is, not because Crowley was wrong.
ahs

The main reason the charges were dropped is that Gates could not possibly have been convicted for disorderly conduct under Massachusetts law, because he made no physical threats. There is a good basic rundown of the law here (pay particular attention to implications of the Commonwealth v. Richards case):

http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2009/07/gates-gate-whats-the-law-say.html

Eric Posner has pulled together a bunch of nice supporting citations here, as well:

http://volokh.com/posts/1248465451.shtml

Where Gates’ connections and political influence had an effect is in how quickly the charges were dropped. In the ordinary case, he most likely would have had to wait a while to go before a judge to get this dismissed. But let there be no doubt that it would still have been dismissed.

———-

If the past is any guide, shortly some people will claim that this somehow not a correct statement of the law. What those people won’t do, however, is provide an alternative statement of the law. This is because they’re wrong, and there isn’t one.

jbjd

So now you are a lawyer? Applying SG’s conduct toward OC does not inform the basis for a disorderly charge. Rather, yelling so loudly that OC is unable to perform his job (communicating with police over the radio); or inciting the crowd (through the use of his words after exiting his home onto the front porch) could form the basis for those charges.
WMCB

ahs, you and I have had this conversation before. The thing is, I myself think the arrest itself was marginally iffy, but not beyond the pale. Some (like you) think it was clearly an overstep.

However, once this got blown up by Gates into a huge racial thing, we unfortunately lost any chance to have a “conversation on the proper powers of the police”. And that’s sad, because that’s the conversation that likely MOST needed to happen from this incident.

ahs

WMCB, I almost totally agree. As you said, there’s a legit difference of opinion over whether Cambridge PD procedural guidelines (which OK’d the arrest) are themselves OK. That’s a political question. It’s separate from the legal question, which is perfectly clear; it still really ticks me off when people refer to Gates as a “criminal”, as someone did above, since he clearly broke no laws.

But I only *almost* agree because IMO the racial angle is inseparable from the police power angle. This is not to malign Crowley as a racist — that’s IMO inappropriate and has no factual basis here. But these types of abuses of police power — if we consider this an abuse of police power — unfortunately do fall disproportionately on minorities. So I think race should be part of the broader discussion, although Crowley as an individual should be left out of it.

Docelder

I think race should be part of the broader discussion

You know, I was never with you on this part at all. But having seen the cops boss make the statement that “Yo Mama” was where a line was crossed… well I am leaning your way now on that as well.

lorac

I grimaced when I saw that interview where the supervisor mentioned the mother insult. But IMO, that’s not a racial thing, that’s a “man thing” (no, not every man). Men do that to each other, and men react to it. I’ve never understood it, myself; it seems to be some “trigger” for a fight.

(Actually, I’ve never known anyone in real life who is like that, but I’ve seen it on TV But it’s always men, of any color.)

Docelder

I’ve never understood it

Me either, as it makes no sense at all to me… “I’ll talk to yo mama outside”? What does that mean anyway? But does it mean anything like saying the old standby you’re a s.o.b.? Even there people throw that out without even thinking what it means underneath. But the one thing “yo mama” is to me is black. It has been used liberally by black comedians. Is it disrespectful… sure. Arrestable? On that day with that cop yes, it was. So, the guy with the gun and the stick wins again. They usually win the initial battles, because they can… and because we let them have a lot of leeway in the name of duty.

WMCB

Actually, there is a legal standard in regard to disorderly conduct that examines whether “fighting words” were used, and “fighting words” often justify an arrest.

For many men, black or white, insults about “Yo mama” meet that definition.

http://deleted BuzzisbackLatte

A trip to the Urban Dictionary website would help with why Yo Mama can be interpetated as not a good thing.

WMCB

I think race and the relationship to the police is a conversation that needs to be had, but I vehemently disagree that it needs to be had around this incident in any way. Because this incident was not racially motivated. And if you insist on talking about race in the context of a situation where no racism existed, then you only muddy the waters, harden opinions, and cause people to in disgust say “I give up. EVERYTHING is racial to you guys.”

How would men feel if every time there was a public arrest of a female citizen by a male cop, we all decided that this was the time to have a broader discussion about the fact that 98% of violence against women is perpetrated by men? That extortion of sexual favors by police from women under threat of arrest is an all-too-often occurrence?

Is ANY incident where there is interaction or conflict between a male and a female the “time” to have that discussion? Of course not. There is absolutely a time to have that conversation. But that “time” is not around the central focus of an incident where NO sexism or misogyny occurred. You talk about it when it HAPPENS, not when it doesn’t. Because no matter how much you say that you are leaving Crowley out of it, the fact that you are using the incident as your jumping-off point for the discussion implicitly taints him as racist, whether you mean to do so or not.

ahs

Fairs points. And FWIW (which may not be much) I appreciate your evident thoughtfulness and even-handed approach.

Re: this particular incident and the general conversation, I’ll just say that I’m distressed by how often and how easily these issues (i.e. any issues of race/sex/gender/whatever bias) fade from the public mind in the absence of a big news story. So I’m inclined to see us make hay where we can. But I definitely hear you on the personal consequences to Crowley.

WMCB

Meh, people have gone batshit crazy over this on many sides, in a fever of this agenda or that. But there are some of us around who actually want to step back and look at it and even disagree without demonizing each other. (The batshit crazy frothers-at-the-mouth I reserve the right to demonize no matter what “side” they are on).

http://deleted BuzzisbackLatte

A change of behavior and attitude on the part of those who come in contact with the law would lessen any chance for interaction in the first place.

This isn’t about dialogue. This is about people changing their outlook, the actions they choose to engage in, and not having the common sense to figure out that the reward they get from it may not be positive.

Follow the common sense logic: If you’re a gangbanger, you’re gonna get a negative interaction from the law. If you commit armed robbery, you’re going to get a negative interaction from the law. If you engage in criminal acts of any kind, you’re going to garner a punishment ( Bernie Madoff anyone?). If you engage in civil disobedience, no matter how flimsy it might appear legally, you might get hauled off in order to breakup the show. (Too bad Gates’ didn’t intuit the possible consequences of his actions.)

In no way do I advocate that people should turn and run in the face of oppression – Tea Parties for example. But one must pick their fights carefully. Skippy Gates chose a fight that didn’t warrant his anger.
lorac

“Because this incident was not racially motivated.”

Well, not on Crowley’s part, but I believe it was on Gates’ and Obama’s parts. But that’s not the race discussion that BO wants to have.

http://deleted BuzzisbackLatte

Absolutely. What possible investment did Gates’ have in responding the way he did to Crowley, the length of time he chose to act outraged, and the words he chose to use? He had an investment in engaging in that behavior.

It was to portray a cop as a racist. But, it backfired in the court of public opinion.

He and Obama both stepped in it because, pragmatically, America is no longer much interested in having it’s chops busted over the plight of blacks.

MalcolmX hate and black liberation theology have gone the way of analog TV in many American’s minds.

It is totally amazing that Sharpton and Jackson didn’t step all over this. But, then maybe they know something about the American psyche that Obama and Gates have missed.

NoBamaNoWay

word, WMCB.

jbjd

…it still really ticks me off when people refer to Gates as a “criminal”, (sic) as someone did above, since he clearly broke no laws.

Absent a full judicial adjudication of the facts of this case as applied to the law, this statement expressing your feelings about using the word “criminal” to refer to SG, has absolutely no probative value as to whether he committed a crime. That is, a conclusion by you that SG broke no laws does not mean, he broke no laws.

ahs

You’ve got “innocent until proven guilty” backwards, methinks.

To say nothing of your (continued) inability to articulate how Gates could conceivably have broken any laws, given publicly available information.

http://sarainitalyblog.blogspot.com/ American Girl in Italy

Almost every state in the United States has a disorderly conduct law that makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to “disturb the peace”, or to loiter in certain areas. Many types of unruly conduct may fit the definition of disorderly conduct, as such statutes are often used as “catch-all” crimes. Police may use a disorderly conduct charge to keep the peace when people are behaving in a disruptive manner to themselves or others, but present no serious public danger. Disorderly conduct is typically classified as a misdemeanor.

A typical statutory definition of disorderly conduct defines the offense in this way:

A person who recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally:

(1) engages in fighting or in tumultuous conduct;
(2) makes unreasonable noise and continues to do so after being asked to stop; or
(3) disrupts a lawful assembly of persons;

anyone who engages in lewd or dissolute conduct in any public place or in any place open to the public or exposed to public view.

What is “tumultuous conduct,” what constitutes “unreasonable noise”, or what “disrupts a lawful assembly” are matters that are far harder to decide, and as such disorderly conduct statutes give police officers and other authorities fairly broad discretion to arrest people whose activities they find undesirable for a wide variety of reasons.

Under Massachusetts law, if you cause a disturbance which creates a public hazard, and serves no legitimate purpose, you can be charged with a disorderly person offense, also known as disorderly conduct.
http://www.masscriminaldefense.com/disorderly.htm

A “disorderly person” is defined as one who:

* with purpose to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or
* recklessly creates a risk thereof
* engages in fighting or threatening, violent or tumultuous behavior, or
* creates a hazard or physically offensive condition by any act which serves no legitimate purpose.

That’s how.

Wisewoman

AGi. I’m AA and I support the officer not Gates. I commented about this video several days ago when it was shown on CNN Campbell Brown show by her sit-in anchor. To my knowledge it has not been reshown by CNN or any other major network since. I’m retired and I deliberately monitored as many programs as I could to see if they would replay it. They appear to be hiding this devasting indictment of Obama by upstanding blacks because they know it would hurt his popularity. I TOLD MY SISTER THEY WOULD TRY TO DO THIS TO PROTECT HIM AND THEY DID.
I do however, believe Gates was mischarged. He should have been charged with something like “interferring” with a police officer in the course of him trying to do his job.” After looking at the disorderly conduct law and other factors they probably felt that they could not sustain a “legal disorderly conduct charge” although Gates was disorderly in my opinion.

mountainaires

verbal assault
noun

an attack using words, either spoken or written

The Law Encyclopedia defines: Verbal assault is yelling, threatening, or demeaning another human being. It is a real illegal activity, and can result in jail time.

Statutory definitions of assault in the various jurisdictions throughout the United States are not substantially different from the common-law definition.

What Cambridge Incident Really Teaches
By Mark Davis

From the contrived martyrdom of “This is what happens to a black man in America!” to the thuggish “I’ll talk to your mama on the porch!” Gates launched a racist attack on an officer doing his job properly.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/printpage/?url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/07/29/what_cambridge_incident_really_teaches_97677.html

“This isn’t about me; this is about the vulnerability of black men in America,” Henry Louis Gates Jr. said. He said the incident made him realize how vulnerable poor people and minorities are “to capricious forces like a rogue policeman, and this man clearly was a rogue policeman.”

slander

A type of defamation. Slander is an untruthful oral (spoken) statement about a person that harms the person’s reputation or standing in the community. Because slander is a tort (a civil wrong), the injured person can bring a lawsuit against the person who made the false statement. If the statement is made via broadcast media — for example, over the radio or on TV — it is considered libel, rather than slander, because the statement has the potential to reach a very wide audience.

http://! stodgie

hey dennis, good try but no doll for you. the real problem is the idiot in the wh. but thanks for playing.
lorac

“In this country you do have a right to express your opinion, whether it be right or wrong, even to a cop.”

But so often we forget that there is a difference between our feelings/opinions and our expression of them. One is inside of us, and the other is what form we choose to let them outside of ourselves. So, of course, we have the right to express our opinion, free speech and all, but the manner in which we express them is limited in some circumstances.

No one is denying Gates his right to express whatever thoughts or feelings he was having, but he had many choices to pick from as to how he would share those thoughts – and he choose the worst way possible.

If you’re dealing with a cop, and the way you choose to express your thoughts is with irrationality, loudness, insults, etc – well, you’re creating a situation which a police officer must deal with. You could be flipping out on drugs, you could be about to go in the next room and shoot your roommate, etc.

So, I’d say, not only does Gates need a “teachable moment” in how not to be racist, but he also needs to learn how to express his feelings in an appropriate manner. He’s not in the junior high schoolyard anymore, although his blustering and the “yo mama” reference belong there.

Nellie

Sgt Crowley has truly acted with grace under fire.

Governor Patrick faced a $! Billion dollar deficit and withheld funds from cities and towns. To cover this deficit first responders and teachers were the ones laid off.

I do not know about Cambridge MA, but I do know for a fact other MA towns had their police forces cut by to 50%. This has resulted in police working double shifts, and only serious crimes like armed robbery, knife fights, arson, Murder and B&E being responded to. For vandalism, auto damage and other for other “lesser” crimes, people are being told to contact their insurance companies.

Does this solve the problem? Hell no! Anyone thinking person knows that your insurance rates climb every time your report claims. Sadly one small MA City has 1 cop for every 11,000 people on all three shifts. In many cases fire departments were cut by 60%.

Did Governor Patrick, the State legislature, Mayors or other elected officials take a pay cut or decrease their spending to help alleviate the need for such drastic cuts? Absolutely not.

What impact Gov. Patrick’s prolific spending and withholding of money has had on the Cambridge Police Department, I honestly do not know. However, the caller to 911 mentioned she did so because of the increase in burglaries. So it seems that Cambridge MA is also experiencing an increase in crime due to the cuts.

It is beyond disgusting and disgraceful for OZero to ruin, and perhaps destroy the lives of Sgt Crowley and the lady who called 911. Not only were these decent citizens just doing the the right things as regular people and cops, but to protect themselves, they now have to bear the extraordinary expense of paying lawyers to protect them.

Obama with his latent racism owes them more than a mere apology. he should “man up” and:

1. Send a personal letter of apology to Sgt Crowley with a copy to the Cambridge MA Police Commissioner for Crowley’s file.

2. Make a public statement mentioning to the rabid Obots to stop harassing these two good people via phone calls, emails and other means. We all know how these Obot cretins behaved during the elections, and how they deliberately tried to destroy, Geraldine Farrah, Joe the Plumber and Sarah Palin.

3. Obama should be forced/required to pay the legal fees for these people out of his OWN funds, not with taxpayer dollars.

4. Cancel the “beer party”, whose only purpose to to whitewash Obama’s racism and stupidity.

Perhaps then these two people can get back to just living their lives and doing their jobs.

What a disgrace of a person we have occupying OUR White House.

TexasMirth

Obama should be forced/required to pay the legal fees for these people out of his OWN funds, not with taxpayer dollars.

This bum let the taxpayers pay his aunt’s rent for years while she was here illegally (probably still is and we’re probably still paying her rent) — I wouldn’t expect him to pay for his own coffee at Starbucks, much less do the right thing anywhere, anytime.
TeakWoodKite

Well said Nellie. If I was the Sargent, NO WAY, would I drink with Obama OR Gates and give the appearance of “putting it behind us”.

Why is it he can’t own up to his own FUBAR? He is immoral.

I heard a interview with Gates from 1996 on the radio, in which Gates espoused the same views of Rev. Wright. He stated his mother hated white people and he thought it was cool.

BO and “close friends” are walking examples of Cone’s views. He is not POTUS of all the people, just those who voted for him.

Nellie

Hey Teak,

Good to see ya! Great comment:

Why is it he can’t own up to his own FUBAR? He is immoral.

Immoral and much, much worse! As always you have a remarkable talent for hitting the nail on the head.

Check out the link from “Hasitbeen4yearsyet” just below. It has some great facts! Seems the useless One has found black versions of Bill Ayers to play with now.

Henry Gates Lawyer, Olgleebee has supported and worked for the Black Panthers. Even worse the Obama’s have freeloaded vacations at the house he owns at Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard since 1984. here is your link Luv.

http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/2009/07/27/klein-obama-vacationed-with-gates-radical-lawyer-activist-tied-to-black-panthers-leads-support-for-reparations/2/

TeakWoodKite

Nellie best to you and yours , thanks for the link.

HasItBeen4YearsYet?

WOW

P.s., here’s an excellent primer on that racist Gates.

Nellie

Love your name and thanks for the “primer” more radical idiots 60 style.

Gads, I am from that generation, but long ago moved on raised a family, taught and became part of my community. When the hell will the rest of these old radicals grow up, and get a life???
Nellie

Thanks for the “primer”. Lots of useful info. I Love RBO – such great researchers.

Sigh, does OZero associatw with even ONE, Decent Normal Person???

Retired

“Ivoted for him. I would not do so again.” These will be the words that will destroy Obama in 2012.

pm317

Unless we have a credible alternative.. Nothing on the horizon yet. We may see a repeat of ’08 (as many Hillary supporters and many Repubs who stayed home didn’t find a credible alternative in McCain).

I am quite surprised at how the house of cards is falling apart so soon. Maybe something/someone will rise up in the coming months. It only took the kingmakers to zero in on 0bama after October 2007 (that debate where Hillary gave them the narrowest of the windows of opportunity).

But this incident is an eye opener for many for sure. The Harvard clown with his smug behavior, the WH occupant in his natural (untested by polls) element..

tango

Goes to prove that an Ivy League Degree or two doesn’t make you a great President and that experience DOES matter. If for no other reason, then you learn not to comment on matters you know nothing about because it comes back to bite you in the butt.

Though again, Biden is experienced and he just opens his mouth, inserts his foot time and time again with the most recent gaffe being a few days ago with his Russia comments. Once again, the WH spokesperson has to tell us “what Biden REALLY meant”.
sandi78

Maybe Ozero’s polling will be so bad that the Democratic Party will force him to step down and beg Hillary to run again-with their full support this time.

A girl can dream anyway.

Ani

That will never happen with Pelosi in charge. She’s the prime culprit who kicked the ladder out from under Hillary.

maniaco

Not necessarily a “dream” sandi78. I can easily see it happening that way.

Ani ~ You give Nancy Pelosi ‘waaayy too much credit. She would turn on a dime if she thought the tide toward Hillary was overwhelming. After all, she IS a Politician, no?

ABTW, me being a male and all, I cringe when people defile Mrs. Pelosi. Though I can’t forget what happened in ’08, I don’t like seeing her demonized; after all we’re going to need her support when 2012 comes around and BO has to step down, LBJ-style, for Doctor’s Orders for the mysterious life-threatening medical condition that will emerge. Poor guy!

Nellie

Mr. Retired,

I sincerely hope you are right, if this country can survive that long.

As always, your pity answers and straight up common sense and pragmatism bring a smile.
lorac

They could have a commercial with women and men of all colors, with the soundbite: “Real post-racial people will not vote for this man”.

Texas Playwright

Well, well, a decent bit of teevee journalism pops into the American psyche. ‘Bout dxxx time. These men and women in blue put their lives on the line for us every day. Gates and bho the fraud are missing the American principle these police officers embody–fair play for all.
mountainaires

Kudos to Don Lemon and CNN, for the interview.

Don’t miss this one…

“Skip” Gates is just another victim in a long line of Harvard Faculty Assholes who have been persecuted by the meansters in the police and the rest of us “proles.” The things they have to put up with is breathtaking!

It’s good. h/t HotAir

http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2009/07/cambridge-police-profiling-still-a-grim-reality-for-harvard-faculty-assholes.html

beebop

This was a wonderful read and I sent it along to a Yalie whose mum always considered his education second rate …. lol
Patience

LOL!

I wonder what Oscar Wilde would’ve said about all this. Will A$$holes Like Me be considered the new De Profundis?

tzada

Everyone should take the time to read this article. It sums things up very well too.

Barack’s ”Teachable Moment’

The night before the President of the United States addressed the questionable behavior of American law enforcement, physicians at Jersey City Medical Center harvested Detective Marc Anthony DiNardo’s organs for donation in preparation to take him off of life support. Two days later, a hearse carrying DiNardo’s body slowly made its way down a Jersey City street past a blue sea of stoic police officers lining the winding route. While inconsolable family members bid DiNardo farewell in New Jersey, at a Washington DC press conference Barack Obama reminded Americans of law enforcement’s history of racial injustice by impugning the procedural decision of Cambridge, Massachusetts police Sergeant James Crowley “acting stupidly.”

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/07/baracks_teachable_moment.html

Texas Playwright

Thank you for posting this! Would you or your colleagues on this blog help this article go public? This rookie internet user and millions like me would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks again.

mel

What is upsetting and scary is the beerfest for the follwing reasons, Crowley will be toasted and not roasted, why?

Gates makes his living on promoting racial tensions and provoking rediculous old idealisms at a time when race relations had progessed forward, his living keeps pushing them back, just like Al Sharpton does.

Obama, the continual community organizer who thrives on using racist tactics to further his advancements and agendas going back to the 1980′s and prior.

Crowley will be in the toughest possition anyone could dream of when confronting these two racist thumping men with decades of experience in agitating racial means to destroy their prey. The two racist thumpers are seeking servival of themselves now, Gates with his position at Harvard and Obama at large, they are not going to deflate themselves in anyway by admitting anything of wrong doing by themselves because that destroys their appearance and thus their ways of life. This will be a war room and not a beerfest and the target is Crowley!

One thing becomes evident and clear from this situation is the mastermind behind the racial attacks on the Clinton’s during the primaries is now POTUS.

One note, anyone read RBO’s detective work on where Obama will be vacationing at the end of August? If not, it is in artha’s Vineyard, when Gate’s just happens to vacation as well and held fundraisers for Obama. Think Crowley will leave the White House without distructive scares on him when confronted by these two Racist promoting experts?
mel

What is upsetting and scary is the beerfest for the follwing reasons, Crowley will be toasted and not roasted, why?

Gates makes his living on promoting racial tensions and provoking rediculous old idealisms at a time when race relations had progessed forward, his living keeps pushing them back, just like Al Sharpton does.

Obama, the continual community organizer who thrives on using racist tactics to further his advancements and agendas going back to the 1980′s and prior.

Crowley will be in the toughest possition anyone could dream of when confronting these two racist thumping men with decades of experience in agitating racial means to destroy their prey. The two racist thumpers are seeking servival of themselves now, Gates with his position at Harvard and Obama at large, they are not going to deflate themselves in anyway by admitting anything of wrong doing by themselves because that destroys their appearance and thus their ways of life. This will be a war room and not a beerfest and the target is Crowley!

One thing also becomes evident and clear from this situation is the mastermind behind the racial attacks on the Clinton’s during the primaries is now POTUS.

One note, anyone read RBO’s detective work on where Obama will be vacationing at the end of August? If not, it is in artha’s Vineyard, when Gate’s just happens to vacation as well and held fundraisers for Obama. Think Crowley will leave the White House without distructive scares on him when confronted by these two Racist promoting experts?
mel

Who really believe it was Crowley’s idea for the beer fest and who believes it was Obama’s little game to draw Crowley into the lions den to destroy him by two masters at racist provoking?
Diana L. C.

I didn’t vote for him and I still wouldn’t!
Doc99

Greta Van Susteren interviews Sgt. Crowley’s Former Boss.

VAN SUSTEREN: Was he — was Officer Crowley — did Officer Crowley tell you he was called a racist when they were still inside the house or when they had both come back out on the porch?

GIATOPPO: My understanding from Jimmy is that it happened initially at the door and it went on while it was inside and outside, made various references. And when he got outside, he put on a little show, I guess, for the people who were out there.

VAN SUSTEREN: Did Officer Crowley tell you the exact words he used, or what do you recall?

GIATOPPO: Same words in the police report, being called a racist, and, This is what happens to a black man in America, and you know, You’re harassing me, and this, that and the other. Crossed the line when he brought Jimmy’s mother into it, and if there’s an apology by anybody in this whole thing, Jimmy, Mr. Gates, the president, anybody, Mrs. Crowley is owed an apology. Jimmy’s mom is owed an apology for bringing her into this mess. And that would say — I would say on behalf of Jimmy, that’s the apology that is in this case.

VAN SUSTEREN: What was said about his mother?

GIATOPPO: Well, it appears that Professor Gates may have engaged in high school type tactics of, Your mama, your mother, and this, that and the other, things that would do when you were bantering as a high school kid. And to actually come out and insinuate that his mother has any role in this, and what his inference was, was…

That Gates is such a class act…
Cat in NJ

Obama and friends should possess a fraction of the grace, decency and integrity of these people. O’s style is more about flipping off opponents and recklessly playing the race card (once again).
Patience

A cop has told me that police aren’t supposed to walk away from a tense or hostile scene. When warnings fail to quell the tension, disorderly conduct is charged in order to remove the person from the scene. The charge is almost always dropped once the person cools down.

This is done to try to prevent a hostile person from becoming a danger to others around him once police leave.

NoBamaNoWay

makes sense. if they left the person there and then that person committed a crime (violent or otherwise), the police would be charged with negligence.

candymarl

This is classic. I like what the black male officer said. To dismiss racism makes no sense. However, every incident does not involve race or racism. Those that do should be investigated and if found valid should be prosecuted.

I’ve been watching the real life police shows and I’ve noticed a change. Even if the victim is black and may not be an outstanding citizen the detectives involved take it very seriously and are determined to close the case. They understand the history and are much more respectful to the AA community. I’ve been around long enough to know this is something new and positive.

I often ask myself if racism is so ingrained in this culture then what is Obama doing in the WH? This is a fact he doesn’t acknowledge.
http://sarainitalyblog.blogspot.com/ American Girl in Italy

57 Mass. App. Ct. 579 (March 14, 2003)

Police presence in and of itself does not by itself turn an otherwise purely private outburst into disorderly conduct.

The defendant was charged with disorderly conduct for yelling and pacing on private property that was set back from the road in a secluded area. There was no one around at the time except police officers. While the statute requires that the disturbance be such that it had or was likely to have an impact upon people in an area accessible to the public, the presence of police officers alone will not suffice to prove the public element.

In reaching its decision, the Court noted that the rationale behind criminalizing disorderly conduct rests on the belief that a disorderly person can provoke violence in others. Given that an inherent part of police work involves being in the presence of distraught individuals, and given that police officers are trained to maintain order, the Court concluded that police should be the least likely to be provoked. Therefore, police presence alone does not satisfy the public element.

http://tinyurl.com/ng6bqj

However, in the Gates case there were people around. When he left the house, he was in public, and he was disorderly, therefore, the police were within the law.

Peggy Sue

An interesting example, AGI. Thanks for putting this up.

BTW, I understand that Thursday is the day for “Beer and Reconcilation” on the White House lawn where the picnic table [s] are situated.

What a load of absolute crap. But a photo-op is a photo-op, never to be wasted.

This is the Neverland of Washington, DC.
Docelder

the Court concluded that police should be the least likely to be provoked.

Unless your bring up “yo mama”… then all bets are off.
jbjd

AGI, you have worked so hard on this. The case you cite, Commonwealth v. Mulvey, posted on the MA AG site, is the first case I read when researching this issue. As you correctly state, this case points to what role the impact of the conduct of the accused has on the ‘bystanders’ plays in determining whether to charge. I tried to refute ahs’ ramblings merely by instructing, sustaining a prosecution for disorderly conduct requires a fact-specific analysis that cannot occur absent an investigation, which was called off in this case because charges were dropped. But in citing this seminal case, you specifically make the same point: absent a full investigation, all we know is that, it appears conditions existed that could support a rational basis for filing the charge.

http://sarainitalyblog.blogspot.com/ sarainitaly

exactly! :O)

tzada

At the NAACP, Obama Removes His Mask of the Great Unifier

It is truly a sad day in America when the president of the United States fans the flames of racial hatred. The man elected to be president of all the people, in his speech at the NAACP basically said, though America is racist, sexist and homophobic, you can make it in spite of those white SOB’s attempts to stop you. Wonderful. How inspiring. The NAACP audience erupted in applause. Obama’s condemnation was “red meat” to the liberal, protective of their victim status, organization.

“Make no mistake, the pain of discrimination is still felt in America (applause) by African-American women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different color and a different gender; by La-tin-os made to feel unwelcome in their own country; by Muslim Americans viewed with suspicion simply because they kneel down to pray to their god; by gay dead brothers and sisters still taunted, still attacked, still denied thei

r rights.”

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/07/at_the_naacp_obama_removes_his.html
Just Me

Is this still in the news? What is wrong with us? Focus on the real issues not the ones driven by the MSM or the Drudges of the world.
http://! stodgie

now that the big zero is a failure as president and make no mistake he is, he will use what he used in the election to try and skate by and use racism again. you think we have racial tension now, I shudder to think.

lorac

I think people are becoming less afraid of the race card. I think he really blew it, speaking without his TOTUS – there’s been a rupture, a shift. And if he comes out of this beer-meeting, suggesting that there was a teachable moment for CROWLEY, that rupture will keep growing and his race-card tricks will no longer work for him.

Babs

It was very interesting to read some articles about Skip Gates and realize he’s heavy into 1)genealogy and 2)DNA. If I add 1 and 2 does it equal reparations to you? It sure does to me.

lorac

I don’t know…. since Gates is (as well as That ONE) only .50 black, does he only get .50 of any reparations….?

tzada

No No No he is only 43% black. 57% white according to his speech about his DNA test. And he hates it.

If someone hates the part of them that is a certain race, they are self haters. Self haters sometimes do harm to themselves and others with them.

Now who do we know that hates their white side?

Adopted

Obama ignores the rule of law and due process to protect friends and punish enemies.

Just look at what he did to Walpin.
http://sarainitalyblog.blogspot.com/ American Girl in Italy

Kelly King has fantastic hair, by the way.
http://sarainitalyblog.blogspot.com/ American Girl in Italy

This is a good explanation on procedure when police approach a house:

http://tinyurl.com/nw2h74
Video from Hannity
Adopted

Lorac — LOL. That is so funny. Can they pro-rate Affirmative Action as well? Since you’re only half black, that means that your white side has had an historical advantage and must be penalized to allow for the advancement of your black half. Please forget everything you’ve ever known about Idaho so as to make this fair.

I shouldn’t joke about that. My husband is 1/16th Potawatomie. They have all kinds of scholarships available even if our kids will be just 1/32 “indian”.
mountainaires

So who is Dr. Gates?

Dr. Henry Louis Gates held this conversation in 1994 on how impressed he was with racist America-hater Malcolm X.

Booknotes reported, via Free Republic:

LAMB: At one point you had a line in there, something to the effect, “My mother despised white people.”

GATES: My mother hated white people.

LAMB: All her life?

GATES: Probably. I didn’t know until — in 1959 we were watching Mike Wallace’s documentary called “The Hate that Hate Produced.” It was about the Nation of Islam and I couldn’t believe — I mean, Malcolm X was talking about the white man was the devil and standing up in white people’s faces and telling them off. It was great. I mean, it’s what black people did behind closed doors, but they would never do it in — I mean, they were too vulnerable to do it, say, where they worked, at the paper mill or downtown, as we would call it. And here was a guy who had the nerve to do that, and I think if I had been a character in a cartoon, my eyes would have gone Doing! — like this. I couldn’t believe it. As I sat cowering in a corner of our living room, I glanced over at Mama and her face was radiant. I mean, this smile — beatific smile started to transform her face. And she said quite quietly, “Amen.” And then she said, “All right now,” and she sat up and she said, “Yes.”

And she loved Malcolm X and she loved what the Muslims were doing.

No wonder Dr. Gates and Barack “White Folks Greed”" Obama are such good friends.

Dr. Gates said today that he hopes to use his verbal assault on the white police officer to improve fairness in the criminal justice system.

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/07/dr-gates-on-whitey-malcolm-x-was.html

Dr. Gates’ Lawyer, Charles Ogletree, is Obama Mentor, and Black Panther Supporter:

http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/2009/07/24/klein-gates-lawyer-was-young-obamas-mentor-radical-black-activist-tied-to-black-panthers-supports-reparations/

More Here:

http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/2009/07/23/gates-gate-reader/

barry bums a ciggie

So who is Dr. Gates?

The fool with egg on his face for pulling out the race card.

I’m a Linda too

I agree, when I first saw this, I thought it was quite powerful.
James Guglielmino

Naturally, you will have no interest in the fact that Judge Andrew Napolitano, a judical analyst for the television branch of right wing communication,
says Crowley was WRONG…Got that??? Fox News. “Andrew Napolitano explained to Shepard Smith on Monday that under Massachusetts law, Cambridge Sergeant Jim Crowley did act improperly by arresting historian Henry Louis Gates.

His argument essentially boils down to the difference between public and private domain. As Crowley arrested Gates for causing a “public disturbance,” the action is improper on its face due to the fact that Gates was in his own home. Additionally, Napolitano said, it was illegal for the police to enter the house to begin with, as the source of the report did not pass legal muster to constitute probable cause.

http://tinyurl.com/ljssky
miss becky

i had a phone conversation with my sister about this yesterday. (she voted obama, i left the dems over his selection). her perspective is that cops always always always stick together and no one knows what it is like to be a black man in america. no one. that is her viewpoint. when i heard that i felt like giving up. i responded that no one knows what it is like to be a white cop either. what can one say when that is the brick wall encountered?

tango

I would point out the documented instances where Gates has shown his prejudice already. His “whitey” comment on his college application, the video where he talks about white people taking advantage, his past associations with people who routinely assert racism, etc. Then I would point out the documented instances where Crowley has shown his hatred of black people. What?? There isn’t any?? In fact, he gave a black man mouth to mouth trying to save his life and teaches a course for free during his off time about racial profiling. Then ask your sister, based on past behavior since past behavior is ALWAYS a good starting point estimating current and future behavior, which person went into the situation with preconceived ideas they were going to be mistreated due to the color of their skin?

jbjd

The white police sergeant accused of racial profiling after he arrested renowned black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. in his home was hand-picked by a black police commissioner to teach recruits about avoiding racial profiling.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/24/national/main5185636.shtml
miss becky

thanks for your insight tango. you know, i tried all of that, but she just wasn’t buying. i believe that she must still be drinking the koolaid or something, which is a huge disappointment to me because we always, up until last election, saw eye-to-eye on things political/social/cultural. we left it at agreeing to disagree, but our sister relationship will most likely never be the same…

tzada

Repost:

At the NAACP, Obama Removes His Mask of the Great Unifier

It is truly a sad day in America when the president of the United States fans the flames of racial hatred. The man elected to be president of all the people, in his speech at the NAACP basically said, though America is racist, sexist and homophobic, you can make it in spite of those white SOB’s attempts to stop you. Wonderful. How inspiring. The NAACP audience erupted in applause. Obama’s condemnation was “red meat” to the liberal, protective of their victim status, organization.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/07/at_the_naacp_obama_removes_his.html
tzada

Indulging craziness

Our culture is now actively teaching racial paranoia to blacks, gender paranoia to women, and abuse paranoia to everybody with a beef. All those exaggerated fears and phony fits of rage have been cynically whipped up by the Left to grab more power. That’s their Compassion Fascism. The rest of us go along, because we don’t want to be bothered to stand up against it. But in the aggregate, over time, we have become a culture driven loopy by race, gender, and group paranoia. We have adopted the madness of the most race-obsessed people, and made them rich. Over time, they have worn down our sanity, so that our culture has literally gotten crazy.

Enter Henry Louis Gates, Al Sharpton, Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan, Attorney General Eric Holder and Barack Obama: All of them built fame and wealth on paranoid race politics. Enter Ruth Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Barbara Boxer (I’m no lady, I’m a Senator!), and an endless Conga Line of victim feminists. Look what those folks have done to Sarah Palin — a high-tech lynch mob, driven mad with envy of Palin’s good looks, popularity and joie de vivre. In the universities raging feminists, blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans and Queer Studies nabobs — among others — have exploited the career specialty of victimology. It’s a standard way to get tenure and promotion — by slander, rumor-mongering and intimidation. We’ve seen the faculty lynch mob at Duke U going after white lacrosse players. At Harvard, it’s how the Left fired Larry Summers for daring to tell the truth.

You see fear in the eyes of white guys around Obama. Brian Williams has his eyes cast down. Tim Geithner has this little head bow, looking at Obama with fear in his eyes while keeping his head bowed down. They look for all the world like Step ‘n Fetchit. That’s all very amusing for purposes of racial revenge, but it means Obama is surrounded with lying commissars who fear to tell him the truth. Michelle is even scarier than hubby, and must be a terror in the White House. It was Michelle who got IG Walpin fired from her private playpen, Americorps. It’s Michelle who is the child of the Chicago Machine, after all.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/07/indulging_craziness.html

lorac

I can’t take any article seriously which states that Larry Summers was telling the truth.

hokma

Obama’s reaction to two situations is a study in contrasts.

Obama’s reaction to the post-election protests in Iran was tepid and wanted to wait for all the facts. In this case there are reports of prison slaughter of protestors by Iran and only silence from the White House.

Obama’s reaction to the Gates situation was immediate and emotional and also without all the facts. In this case the facts show that Obama over reacted and ahs offered nothing close to an apology to the people he offended.

But for the good news with dwindling support and plunging poll numbers there could be a change:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/07/29/2009-07-29_hillary_camp_is_election_ready.html
Adopted

Lorac, I think Larry Summers rocks. What’s your deal?

Anyway, Obama is a bully. That’s all I’ll say.

That little beer photo op is sickening. Sickening. it’s like the flyover of Air Force One over Manhattan. All for the glory of Dear Leader, forget about the feelings of panic and terror it causes.

Can you imagine being Crowley, essentially ganged up on by two powerful people who publicly humiliated you and called you a racist when you were acting properly? (oh, and pay no mind to Napalitano – he’s a liberal judge on Fox. You guys DO realize Fox has alternative views, right?)

I think Obama is a sick twisted puppy who destroys anyone in his way and uses everybody else. The man has no soul.
http://deleted BuzzisbackLatte

Do you know who jbjd really is?

Apparently not…
jbjd

ahs, in your initial comments, you state conclusively that a “judge” would have dismissed charges filed against SG. (Did you understand that, by basing your prediction on the action of this “judge,” you assume the charges would have survived a probable cause hearing before a magistrate?) You cite as the basis for your conclusions as to how this “judge” would rule, several editorial comments culled from the internet, as well as MA legal cases. You end by predicting that no one could counter your premises with substantive legal arguments because none exists. But I countered your legal argument with facts which, if true,”could” impact your analysis. In response, you merely re-stated your case. But in both your initial comments and your follow-up, you conflate several aspects of this situation that merit separate consideration and, which individually impact on the final outcome, including but not limited to the following. 1) What was the officer’s basis for making the arrest? 2) In a subsequent prosecution based on that arrest, could the Commonwealth satisfy the burdens of proof and production to achieve a conviction? 3) Given the likelihood of success on the merits versus the costs of prosecution, including its impact on the community, should the Commonwealth proceed with such prosecution? As the police dropped charges so early on in this process, I assume a follow-up investigation of the incident, conducted by either Cambridge police or the (Middlesex) DA, which inquiry would include in-depth interviews of all witnesses, did not occur. Since conviction of a charge of disorderly conduct would be predicated on a factual analysis, absent all of these facts, I cannot predict whether a prosecution would proceed, let alone whether such prosecution would secure a conviction. I only meant to instruct that such prosecution and conviction “could” occur assuming 1) this was the reason for the arrest; 2) the Commonwealth could satisfy the burdens of proof and production; and 3) it decides the benefits of proceeding with its case outweigh the costs.
ahs

If jbjd’s a lawyer, s/he isn’t the kind that does basic background reading before weighing in. In particular, his/her “inciting” language is ridiculous in light of Pasqualino, which was quoted in the Volokh rundown.
jbjd

Apparently, you do. Thank you, BBL.
http://deleted BuzzisbackLatte

Do you and Obama go to the same therapist for your personality disorder therapy?
ahs

Haha, yep. I also got Bill Ayers to ghost-write my posts, the Saudis to pay for my education, and the great state of Hawaii to falsify my birth records.

(Obama Derangement Syndrome much, Buzz?)

Meanwhile, crickets from jbjd up there… guess s/he’s not so confident in that analysis after all.
http://deleted BuzzisbackLatte

Read below…and don’t forget to take those meds.
ahs

jbjd: Lots of verbiage and meaningless procedural steps there (c’mon, why would I bother with the PC hearing and magistrate/judge distinction in a discussion with laypeople?). But the root of the issue comes down to one thing: can any set of facts, taken from the sum of what’s available, lead to Gates’ conviction? Can any set of facts even allow the case to go to trial?

Since the question is so obvious as a matter of Massachusetts law, I believe the answer is clearly “no.” That’s because Massachusetts has cut out subsection (b) of the MPC disorderly conduct statute, out of respect for First Amendment rights. No fact — whether taken from a police report or a witness account — has emerged that, if proven, would demonstrate that Gates “conduct” comprised anything but nonthreatening verbal outbursts.

To “counter” this argument, you’re making up possible facts in order to build a plausible legal theory. You’re saying oh, maybe Gates was inciting the crowd (to do what, you do not say). If true, sure, you could at least get to trial on that. But go read Commonwealth v. A Juvenile, 334 N.E.2d 617. In that case, the accused loudly called a security guard a “f***ing pig” in front of a crowd of at least 100 shoppers in a department store. And yet, as a matter of law, that wasn’t “riotous” enough for a disorderly charge to survive a motion to dismiss. In the Gates affair, nothing approaching conduct of that magnitude has been alleged. Similarly, all the cases Posner cites on Volokh show conduct more serious than any alleged against Gates, and all those cases end in dismissal. The end conclusion is obvious to any lawyer: Gates broke no law, and no serious prosecutor would charge him with breaking one.

I’ll grant that the question of the appropriateness of the arrest itself is a separate question.* But we’re both using the word “charge,” aren’t we? And there is no set of facts in the record on which to base a cognizable charge of disorderly conduct. If you want to assume that the prosecution could conjure such facts out of thin air — despite Crowley omitting them entirely from his report — be my guest. But then you’ll be making a fool of yourself.

*see the exchange between WMCB and I below
ahs

while i’m here, i should apologize for being short-tempered in response to your first post. so: sorry. knee-jerk reaction. i’ve gotten slowly aggravated the silly arguments flying around here.

not that your argument isn’t silly.
Obama: Dubya’ 2 Electric Boogaloo

The problem with people like AHS is that they live in some parrallel social justice universe where cops only arrest people when they somehow know they can get a conviction.

Unless the armchair Obama laywers can point to a story or record of needless arrests and releases by Officer Crowley they don’t have shit for “abuse of power”. I’ve seen it too many times with white cops busting white people where charges we’re eventually dropped. That’s just the way it goes and that’s what cops do.

Which leads to my second point which is DON’T TREAT COPS LIKE ASSHOLES AND RAG ON THEIR MOTHERS. This should be basic common sense ala the Chris Rock video. There was no reason why Gates couldn’t be nice and polite, but from all accounts Gates came out swinging with his “you’re a racist!” rant.
Katmoon

Uncalled for, really, AHS.
http://deleted BuzzisbackLatte

Time for ADMIN to step in.

Ahs=Gates