Don't Tase me Bro

Wow, talk about unintended consequences! A minor verbal scuffle between a white Cambridge police officer and a black Harvard University professor escalates to a national debate on racial attitudes. Even the White House got involved - much to Obama's chagrin.

In case you have been hiding in a cave for the past ten days (and who could blame you) the facts of the story might be summarized as follows:

1. Passerby witness observes two men who appear to be attempting to break into a house, calls 911. (The men are Professor Gates and his limo driver, both black, trying to unstick the front door of Gates' house.)
2. Officer Crowley arrives on scene, answering a suspected B&E call. Does not see suspects (now inside the house), calls for back-up and approaches the house.
3. There is an exchange of words between Officer Crowley and Prof Gates. The content of the discussion is a matter of disagreement. Prof. Gates claims that he never raised his voice and contended that Crowley was racially profiling him and refused to identify himself despite several requests, and that he was handcuffed and arrested without provocation. Crowley wrote in the police report that he did identify himself and that the Professor was acting in a belligerent manner, yelling and disturbing the peace. This account was substantiated by an assisting officer on the scene. At this point it is mainly a local story.
4. The next day, at the urging of Gates' attorney and the Mayor of Cambridge, the charges against Gates are dropped.
5. After a brief period of silence, Prof Gates goes on national TV to tell his side of the story. He calls Crowley a rogue cop and suggests that the officer should "beg his forgiveness."
6. At the end of a press conference intended to boost support for his Health care plan, Obama foolishly answers a question about the Gates affair. He says that he doesn't have all the facts, and that he might be "a little biased" because Gates is a personal friend, then he says that the "Cambridge Police acted stupidly."
7. The next day, the case is headline news (the Health care plan is all but dead - front page below the fold). NBC nightly news devotes 9 minutes to this lead story. The Cambridge Police Department holds its own press conference supporting Officer Crowley and his actions. The police chief expresses regret that the charges were dropped, because it lent credibility to the accusations of racial profiling.
8. The next day, the Policeman's Union voices full support for Crowley.
9. In subsequent days, it leaks out that there is a tape recording of part of the exchange between Crowley and Gates from the shoulder mike that the Office was using to report on the status of the situation. The tape has not been released, but is believed to exonerate Crowley.
10. Obama seeing the error of his involvement, calls Crowley to be sure that his remarks were not interpreted to imply that he was criticizing him or the department. He suggests that they get together with Gates for a beer to shoot the bull and show that there are no hard feelings. Crowley becomes local hero.
11. Jesse Jackson goes on TV to say that both parties may have over reacted. This is tantamount to throwing Gates "under the bus."
12. Prof Gates declares that the story is over, but asserts that there may be a teachable moment is the situation. He does not admit fault but agrees to meet with Obama and Crowley for a beer.
13. to be continued?

There are a number of reasons why this melodrama was so fascinating.

First of all, the incidence of racial profiling by police is not an anomaly for most blacks. Almost every black man in America has a personal story where they have been rousted and even roughed-up by a white cop without cause. Even Obama has mentioned this outrage in his autobiography. In the first few days after this incident, I along with most of the readers of the daily newspapers thought it was going to turn out to be another of these racial injustices - this time against a prominent scholar and esteemed member of the community, not some unknown teenager dressed like a gang member. Now, it looks like there was a little bit of "The prof who cried racist." Most white people don't think all white cops are racist, so we are glad to see that he is not another Mark Fuhrman (who was probably responsible for OJ getting off).

But most of all, the story is an illustration of how an event can be seen in different ways depending upon who is watching, and what their life experiences are. I think the Tie-breaker in this case was the photo of Prof Gates which was snapped by a neighbor who happened to have his camera/cell phone handy. The photo clearly shows a man yelling at cops. That image was worth 1,000 words. (BTW, The guy who took the photo sold it for $4,000). In most cases of He-said-he-said where there are no witnesses, we are forced to believe what our experience tells us is most likely true.

Finally, I can see that I never would have made a good policeman. If anyone got in my face while I was trying to do my job, I wouldn't care what color he was, I'd have Tased him.