Mass. Officer Won't Apologize for Gates Arrest

Not enough information to make a solid comment here...either the Sgt went overboard...or Gates went overboard....Calling the Sgt. a racist upon contact may be considered putting fuel on the fire.

I also believe it irresponsible for the President to say the Cambridge police acted stupidly...no completion of investigation yet, labeling the entire police department and all officers on it ....NO CLASS AT ALL !!

No wonder I am getting out of law enforcement. No matter what you do YOU THE OFFICER ARE WRONG from someone's point of view and are always labeled.

Now our President is labeling officers on a department as STUPID

Remember you voted for change.

Get those medals ready and lots of them.
I personally know of many officers that wish to care for thier community. That take the time to work in a thankless profession where every action you take is second guessed by all.

I also know of EMS and Firefighters that offer their services as volunteers and full time paid personnel that place their time and efforts out there for the entire community.

I know several young cops that are very intelligent in their duties.

To give one...how about that newly appointed NYPD recruit that right after his graduation assisted in apprehending a mugger of a NY citizen.

Pass the medals out....

Sure there are bad apples out there like in any profession .

There are substandard police officers just like there are substandard presidents. Everyone knows that there are two sides to every story and somewhere in the middle lies the truth. No comments should be voiced or conclusions drawn until ALL facts are presented.

This incident brings back memories of something that happened to me when I was about 17 years old. During my school summer vacation (my folks at work) I lost my car keys and had to get a ride home with a friend. Since having lost the key ring which also had the house key on it my friend and I began attempting to jimmy open my bedroom window without breaking the glass. Someone sees two white teenage males trying to get into the window of a house for several minutes. We had been going at the window for about 15 minutes when 2 Dallas Police cars show up (one black officer and one white) the officers obviously ask what we were doing and I told them it was my house and I had lost my keys so we were trying to find a way inside the home. The Dallas Police asked for my drivers license checked the address and went on their way. At the time I did not act like an ass or question why they were asking for my drivers license I just thought they were doing their jobs.

Now looking back on it I was clearly the victim of racial profiling by that black police officer who targeted me only because I was white. I guess he should have driven by our location and waved or provided us a cold drink since it was hot outside instead of asking for our identification. Or better yet helped us get the window open without asking what we were doing.

This was about 17 years ago but can I still sue the Dallas Police for discriminating against me and keeping the white man down? Should at least be worth a cool couple million maybe Obama will check into this incident for me?

Well like most things here there are two sides to every story. Was this the most prudent thing for the officer to do in making the arrest? Probably not. I would be curious to see what the law is in Mass as it pertains to disorderly conduct. In the state of MD you have to articulate the disturbance to the public peace. That would be awfully hard to articulate of a man standing on his own porch.

Now having said the above, i think that people are incorrectly categorizing this incident as racial profiling. Racial profiling is when an officer, of whatever race, seeks out violations and enforces the law in a more aggressive manner towards a particular race due to the personal bias of that officer.

Given that this incident was a dispatched call for service, i dont thing the officer intentionally was looking for a black man to harass. I think the officer probably showed up on scene , and Gates was running off at the mouth. I believe that both parties made errors here. But i think it is improper to categorize this incident as racial profiling without a lot more information here. I think it would be hard for anyone to present a legitimate argument that this officer would have acted differently had a white man been making the same statements. If someone were able to officer some factual evidence that the officer has some racial bias, then i might review my stance. However, my final opinion on the matter is this.

Both parties involved made errors. The officer should have tucked his pride in a little bit and understood that this was not a battle worth fighting. Mr. Gates should have approached the officer as an individual and not with his mind already made up that the officer was a racist. If both parties had done just that there would have been no incident.

What does this matter have to do with health reform? Looks like our Leader? has got his thinking mixed up. Why is he even getting involved. Lets just blame the Police for everything. I am so glad I retired after 40 years putting up with the "Public" who can do no wrong. I suppose all the Idiot Police will be blamed for Globel warming next.

How stupid can Gates be? If you have to get in your home in a way other than the door, call the police, when they arrive, identify yourself and give ID. If you look like a person breaking in by climbing through a window, I am sure you will be treated like a criminal by the police. Obama's comment shows he is a radical atttempting to incite racial strife in the country. He has not to date given proof that he is a citizen.

Yeah the rogue white cope Ha-rassed him in front of a black sergeant and hispanic officer that assisted on the call. I guess now when someone calls in a burglary in progress, I make the scene and find a a forced door and a person inside I will ask if they live there. As long as the answer is yes (or no come to think of it after this) I will say "well all-righty then" and go back in service with no further effort to check things out. It really is too damn bad he had no camera. I love my camera system...has saved my ass on 3 BS complaints. I don't even get out of the car at the convenience store for a drink unless the mic and camera are running.

Remember those that voted for change.

I thought that the comments and attitude from the president will now make the jobs of the police even tougher.

With this attitude shown cops will now have to deal with aggressive people now thinking they can do the same, throw a fit and be able to get off with your actions.

There is a copy of the police report on line...look for it and read it.

Our jobs arenow more difficult...remember you voted for change.

Sjanc is clearly venting on this website to cops about cops because he/she is a reclusive, seething 'person'. This upstanding citizens (EXTREME SARCASM) world was turned upside down due to a moving violation, hence, he is on a website for police officers and spews his delirium with his argument which has no substantiality and/or no continuity. To Callahan in Arkansas, accolades to you. People like sjanc often try to dictate policy about our job when they could not even deal with a week in any police academy much less actually going out on patrol. This site is about officers & law enforcement, therefore, I will be compelled to commiserate and/or give an opinion with someone or some group that has the same job description that I have; one that has empathy with LEO, because whether you are an officer from the east coast or the west, we all encounter knuckleheads like sjanc. Stay safe!