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By the time you read this, it’s hoped Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley are enjoying a beer together at the White House with President Barack Obama. If that is the case, last week’s ugly incident, which opened some old wounds between police and people of color, will have served a useful purpose. In the words of the president, "a teachable moment."
Some of the facts surrounding the incident are in dispute, but what seems clear is last Thursday, the 58-year-old professor was arrested by Cambridge police outside his home for disorderly conduct. According to police, they received a report from a neighbor a man was seen trying to pry open the door of Gates’ house. When backup police arrived, they say the professor was already engaged in a shouting match with Officer Crowley inside the home. Finding the front door damaged, he and a cab driver tried to force it open after having first entered through a rear door to turn off the alarm. Gates claims he found Officer Crowley on his front porch. When the officer asked Gates to step outside, the professor refused, but instead showed his Harvard identification card and driver’s license to prove he lived in the home. The officer claimed Gates refused to cooperate and became verbally abusive. When the backup arrived, Gates stepped outside on his porch and was cuffed, arrested and taken to the police station. The charges were eventually dropped in what Cambridge police called "a regrettable incident."
The situation became a cause celebre, in part fueled by the president’s response to a question at a press conference that the police had acted "stupidly." The president was forced to backtrack in the wake of a media frenzy.
To understand why the incident rubbed nerves raw, you have to understand the often-difficult history between the minority community and law enforcement. African-American and Latino males have long felt they are unfairly the victims of racial profiling while police in turn feel they have been unfairly labeled racists. Both sides, including the president, jumped to the conclusion what happened justified their worst fears.
The president wisely stepped back and it is hoped his phone calls to the officer and Gates helped diffuse the situation, although at this writing that’s not at all clear. Being the son of a police officer, my father taught me to never give a cop a rough time, no matter how much you might feel victimized. Dad, who served the Philadelphia Police Department for 20 years and won 35 commendations, cautioned me a civilian never wins in a verbal battle with law enforcement. He used to tell me the more guff he had taken at home from my mother that day, the less guff he was likely to take on duty. This lesson has stayed with me. It applies no matter your skin color.
You may ask the perfectly reasonable question, "When did it become illegal to argue with a police officer?" But what is legal and what is smart are not always the same things. The police hold the power in that situation. The threat of them being able to handcuff and arrest you gives them the edge in any argument. Dropping the charges later does not erase the humiliation.
While racial minorities are particularly vulnerable in such volatile situations, in reality it can happen to anyone. Young people of all races are especially liable to be stopped by police. One such time, I was in a car with a radio sports producer heading home after doing an Eagles post-game show in Deptford, N.J. As we tried to cross the bridge into Philadelphia, a policeman stopped us and claimed he smelled marijuana in the vehicle. The allegation was bogus and the incident passed smoothly, but if either one of us had given the cop an argument, we could have been locked up on the ubiquitous disorderly conduct charge.
I believe the police have a greater responsibility in such instances, even if the irritated civilian become verbally abusive, because they hold the position of power. In the Gates incident, the officer found himself in a position much like a baseball umpire. Confronted with an angry player, an ump can either walk away and defuse the situation or show his authority by throwing the player out of the game. I submit to you the really good umpire, the one who is respected by the players, walks away. Professor Gates should not have been handcuffed and arrested because he was upset and tired, and maybe a little profane.
Both sides should take a deep breath and the two men should accept the president’s invitation to have that beer — for the sake of good police everywhere and the minority community that has suffered abuse in the past.
