# Obama says cops acted stupidly in Gates incident **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 23, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995 "2009-07-23T14:37:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 26
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/501 "2009-08-01T05:51:22Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Ok RUBYSTREAK. You said: > > So it is impossible to both “act strangely” and yell? The fact that the other cop said Gates was acting strangely shows that Crowley must have lied when he said Gates was yelling. You don’t get arrested for disturbing the peace just for acting strangely. You have to be causing a tumult, a public disturbance. I would think the other cop would have said, “Gates was yelling, making lots of noise, etc.” if he were trying to justify a DTP arrest. But I don’t know why he wasn’t clearer. The fact is, it doesn’t corroborate Crowley’s story as fully as one would like. > [@](#): > > Here’s the point. All of the inconsistencies among sources you have looked at adds up to “it’s complicated.” In that situation, I don’t see any reason to believe that the cops acted “stupidly.” I think it’s stupid that the situation had to end in an arrest. It seems like it could have been easily avoided if the cop had just left ASAP instead of further engaging Gates, who at best was angry and resentful, at worst a racist dick, as magellan01 would have it. In either case, yes, it was complicated, but the arrest was wholly avoidable. That’s my opinion, based on having read way too much about this in the past couple of days, and it has nothing to do with the race of either party. ETA: I don’t think Obama should have said “stupidly.” That was a poor decision on his part, one he’s obviously lived to regret. However, since I’m not the President, I don’t have to hold myself to that standard. ---
**Author:** ![EasyPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@EasyPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EasyPhil)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/502 "2009-08-01T06:02:15Z")
> [@](#): > > If Professor Gates ranted and raved at the cop who entered his home uninvited with a badge, a gun and an attitude, he didn’t rant and rave for long. The 911 call came in at about 12:45 on the afternoon of July 16 and, as The Times has reported, Mr. Gates was arrested, cuffed and about to be led off to jail by 12:51. [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/opinion/01herbert.html?\_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=opinion&adxnnlx=1249106436-n1H92DL4eBF6FOudvOvl9Q](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/opinion/01herbert.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=opinion&adxnnlx=1249106436-n1H92DL4eBF6FOudvOvl9Q) ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/503 "2009-08-01T06:08:17Z")
FFS, **Rubystreak** is even going as far as using Crowley’s (inaccurate) account of the arrest. If you side with Crowley, how much better does it get than that? Crowley _claims_ that Gates called him a racist. Let’s actually look at what both men claimed took place: > [@Gates](#): > > “I said, ‘This is my house, I’m a Harvard professor. I live here,’ ” Gates said. “He said, ‘Can you prove it?’ I said, ‘Just a minute.’ And I turned my back, I walked into the kitchen to get my Harvard ID and my Massachusetts driver’s license. He followed me without permission. I gave him the 2 IDs and I demanded to know his name and badge number. He wouldn’t say anything. He was just very upset and I said, ‘Why are you not responding to me? Are you not responding to me because you’re a white officer and I’m a black man?’ ” > [@Crowley](#): > > “I asked him if he would step outside and speak with me, and he said, ‘No, I will not,’ and again words to the effect of ‘What’s this about?’ ” Crowley said. “And I said, ‘I’m Sergeant Crowley from the Cambridge Police Department. I’m investigating a break-in in progress.’ And he responded, ‘Why? Because I’m a black man in America?’ in a very agitated tone, and again I thought that was a little strange.” Both accounts make a critical point: Gates did not call Crowley a “racist cop” (since “racist” is the “nigger” of the 21st century). He asked him if he was treating him differently because of his race. It seems to me it would be easy to answer the question “no,” but the very fact that this citizen raised the issue somehow equates in Crowley’s mind as being called a racist. If I was Crowley, I would have made sure that I repeated that claim that is in the police report he wrote. I work for the state. I might not like people questioning, insinuating, or challenging my ethics or my professionalism, but they have that right. Frankly, it’s bizarre that citing that a Black officer was on the scene and agrees with arrest gives Gates’ claim any less merit, and Crowley’s any more. He wasn’t on the scene when Gates and Crowley first interacted. This thread is precisely why I reject the notion that calling someone a “racist” (which is disputed, and as far as I believe, did not come from Gates’ mouth, witnessed by the accounts of both Gates and Crowley) is such a scarlet letter. In fact, the opposite is true: if you even suggest that a White person is behaving in a prejudicial manner, you’re the racist! Listen, Crowley may not be a racist, and race may have not been the main motivation for treating Gates as he did. I’m not opining about that one way or the other; I don’t know him. But it’s interesting how he’s been called a racist because of his scholarship (which, if you make this claim, I will expect that you have read some of his work in order to hold that opinion) and because he had the temerity to question the actions of a public servant. Very interesting perspectives on being a Black person in 2009 that studies race and questions the role of race in social interactions. Both attributes apparently make you a racist. Why doesn’t Gates get over it and be colorblind, already? :rolleyes: Yep… David Duke, Bull Connor, and Skip Gates. Sounds about right to me. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/504 "2009-08-01T06:08:25Z")
The Onion has the scoop on the White House meeting. [Cambridge Cop Accidentally Arrests Henry Louis Gates Again During White House Meeting](http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/cambridge_cop_accidentally?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter). ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/505 "2009-08-01T06:23:19Z")
Missed the edit window… First, I’m referring to Gates being called a racist because of his scholarship, if that’s not clear. I do know Skip Gates, and know him to be a person of high character; the behavior ascribed to him in the police report do not sound like him. (Trust me, I know many professors at Harvard, White and Black, that I could imagine acting in that manner.) And that does not mean that I automatically disbelieve everything that was said in the report. Given the fact that he is a soft-spoken man, had bronchitis, and the police report has inconsistencies in it, however, it makes no sense to me to elevate Crowley’s account over Gates’. And of course, if there was any merit to the arrest, why would Cambridge PD drop the charges? In fact, Crowley states that he was well aware of the shitstorm that might ensue if he arrested Gates; so I presume that he arrested him fully knowing his report would be scrutinized. But the charges were dismissed. So either the Cambridge PD is full of crap and will not stand behind their officers’ appropriate actions, or something was wrong. Nobody’s mentioned knowing Crowley, so I’m a little curious why his account is so compelling to so many in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/506 "2009-08-01T08:43:15Z")
This is somewhat off-topic, but Gates vacations in Martha’s Vineyard every summer and _Martha’s Vineyard Magazine_ ran an interesting interview with him in last August’s issue. He comes off as a pretty cool guy with an enjoyable life. I still can’t help but think he must have done something out of the ordinary to have provoked his arrest since cops don’t usually wind up arresting people they find living in homes where a possible break-in has occurred, but any of us can have a bad day and behave in ways we normally wouldn’t. Anyway, for those who are interested, [here’s](http://www.mvmagazine.com/article.php?17721) the interview. P.S. - I thought it was interesting, in light of the way some of us have thought of him as a virtual cripple, that while on vacation he rides an adult three-wheeled bicycle 16 miles a day every day that it doesn’t rain. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/507 "2009-08-01T16:14:52Z")
What does cripple have to do with anything? He was no threat to anyone at all, not the heavily armed and trained cop, not the neighbors, nobody at all. It came down to getting arrested because the cop did not like his attitude. When a cop thinks he should do that , I don’t like his attitude either. Leave , go off and go protect and serve. The only one he was serving was himself. He was protecting nobody at all. If you think he was doing legitimate police work, you give the police way too much latitude. He should be suspended and given sensitivity training. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/508 "2009-08-01T16:52:47Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > What does cripple have to do with anything? He was no threat to anyone at all, not the heavily armed and trained cop, not the neighbors, nobody at all. It came down to getting arrested because the cop did not like his attitude. When a cop thinks he should do that , I don’t like his attitude either. Leave , go off and go protect and serve. The only one he was serving was himself. He was protecting nobody at all. If you think he was doing legitimate police work, you give the police way too much latitude. He should be suspended and given sensitivity training. The only thing it has to do with anything is that it been brought up in this very thread as to portray Gates as being a poor widdle innocent victim. He was also characterized as being an “old man”, for the same reason. He’s 58. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/509 "2009-08-01T17:08:36Z")
Got any facts yet, **Mag**? Oh, yes, there’s the fact that he’s 58. You’re coming along! ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/510 "2009-08-01T17:28:49Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Got any facts yet, **Mag**? Oh, yes, there’s the fact that he’s 58. You’re coming along! Just read along. Look, shithead, their is little debate over the “facts” that matter much, the debate is whether Crowley did anything wrong. It’s all matter of degrees. Just how belligerent was Gates? Just how disorderly was his conduct in a way that it was creating a scene, and potentially, a larger problem? I agree he made a judgement call on the spot. Cops do it every day, particularly for something like disturbing the peace. Sometimes the guy winds up in cuffs, sometimes he doesn’t. It’s not like catching a guy with a murder weapon in his hand or a stolen wallet in his pocket. It is, by definition, a judgement call. From ALL I’ve read, I see nothing to tell me that Crowley acted in any way that was not professional or to doubt that he acted wisely and with restraint. The debate is also about whether Obama made a mistake when he first opined on the case. And as hard as it may be for you and others to believe possible, he did. His own actions support that. Obama fans in this very thread have agreed that that is the case. I just have to add, the irony of YOU whining about substance from another poster—any poster—is both awesome and guffawable. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/511 "2009-08-01T17:43:25Z")
On the one hand, you claim some support from “Obama fans”, as though their opinion must have some merit. Yet, where they disagree with you, you dismiss them out of hand. And I’m not whining. Its more like mocking. To be totally frank, I’m a bit surprised at the lack of evidence supporting Crowley’s actions, I was expecting more in the way of a mutual dance of folly. But there is no evidence that Gates did anything more than express his opinion and in his own home, to boot. Having been invited several times to supply such evidence, you offer us the authority of your presumptions. Disresepect for authority is not a crime. Pray it doesn’t become one. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/512 "2009-08-01T17:53:02Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Just read along. Look, shithead, their is little debate over the “facts” that matter much, the debate is whether Crowley did anything wrong. It’s all matter of degrees. Just how belligerent was Gates? Just how disorderly was his conduct in a way that it was creating a scene, and potentially, a larger problem? I agree he made a judgement call on the spot. Cops do it every day, particularly for something like disturbing the peace. Sometimes the guy winds up in cuffs, sometimes he doesn’t. It’s not like catching a guy with a murder weapon in his hand or a stolen wallet in his pocket. It is, by definition, a judgement call. From ALL I’ve read, I see nothing to tell me that Crowley acted in any way that was not professional or to doubt that he acted wisely and with restraint. > > The debate is also about whether Obama made a mistake when he first opined on the case. And as hard as it may be for you and others to believe possible, he did. His own actions support that. Obama fans in this very thread have agreed that that is the case. > > I just have to add, the irony of YOU whining about substance from another poster—any poster—is both awesome and guffawable. Oh please tell us what dangers the neighbors and society were saved from by Crowley. Please make it clear who was protected by arresting him. I wait for an understanding of why the cop was just forced into being a prick. He had no choice. A guy getting pissed off at a pushy cop in his own home is such a danger to society. I don’t know why he didn’t taser him a half dozen times. Mace ,that would have gotten the belligerent professor under control. I suppose Crowley was in great fear. That makes people overaggressive some times. Most people have encountered the police stepping over the line, especially black people. It is life with them. That is why so many were irritated. This was not a never happened before bolt out of the blue. It was business as usual. But this time he pushed around a guy who had some tenuous connections. That was stupid. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/513 "2009-08-01T18:09:24Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Oh please tell us what dangers the neighbors and society were saved from by Crowley. Please make it clear who was protected by arresting him. I wait for an understanding of why the cop was just forced into being a prick. People are arrested every day for disorderly conduct. Sometimes things have already exploded. Sometimes the arrests happen so that things don’t blossom into something ugly. I see a cop going about his day. He gets a call about a possible break-in. He does what he is supposed to do and investigates. He sees Gates, who appears to be the homeowner, and asks for his ID. Immediately, Gates gets belligerent, implying racism is at play. The cop just tries to do his job to verify who Gates is and relay information—as is required by him—to the precinct. In doing that, he has to go outside. He does, and gates follows him still spewing his racial bullshit. By now we have a crowd, cops and pedestrians gathered, with a guy who is angry and spewing racial nonsense. That is an inflammatory situation that, it seems, Crowley didn’t want to get further out of hand. He let’s Gates know that he’s gone over the line and shows him the cuffs. Gates opts for the cuffs. It must happen a hundred times a day. A thousand times a day during spring break. > [@gonzomax](#): > > He had no choice. A guy getting pissed off at a pushy cop in his own home is such a danger to society. I don’t know why he didn’t taser him a half dozen times. Mace ,that would have gotten the belligerent professor under control. I suppose Crowley was in great fear. That makes people overaggressive some times. Your hyperbole aside, the bar for arresting someone for disorderly conduct is not that the cop must be in fear. Surely, you know this. > [@gonzomax](#): > > Most people have encountered the police stepping over the line, especially black people. It is life with them. That is why so many were irritated. This was not a never happened before bolt out of the blue. It was business as usual. But this time he pushed around a guy who had some tenuous connections. That was stupid. While there is history there, Gates was a complete ass and completely at fault. He’s living in fucking Cambridge. A cop shows up to his door because someone was looking out for him and reported a possible break-in. He should have been thankful. I would have invited the cop in and offered him some iced tea. But no, that colossal fucking asshole just has to START the conversation as if he’s the victim of racism. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/514 "2009-08-01T18:56:04Z")
Be thankful that being an asshole is not illegal. We might well end up cell-mates, and I am a master of Cringing Mantis _kung-fu_. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/515 "2009-08-01T18:59:18Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > People are arrested every day for disorderly conduct. Sometimes things have already exploded. Sometimes the arrests happen so that things don’t blossom into something ugly. I see a cop going about his day. He gets a call about a possible break-in. He does what he is supposed to do and investigates. He sees Gates, who appears to be the homeowner, and asks for his ID. Immediately, Gates gets belligerent, implying racism is at play. The cop just tries to do his job to verify who Gates is and relay information—as is required by him—to the precinct. In doing that, he has to go outside. He does, and gates follows him still spewing his racial bullshit. By now we have a crowd, cops and pedestrians gathered, with a guy who is angry and spewing racial nonsense. That is an inflammatory situation that, it seems, Crowley didn’t want to get further out of hand. He let’s Gates know that he’s gone over the line and shows him the cuffs. Gates opts for the cuffs. It must happen a hundred times a day. A thousand times a day during spring break. Uh-huh. This is the Crowley version of events. Do you give _any_ possibility that this recount is perhaps a little biased in favor of the officer? And would you please address the fact that his report states that he spoke to Whalen, the caller, when she categorically states he did not? And the point about the two Black men with backpacks, which again, were never mentioned in the 911 call? According to your analysis, _implying_ racist intent - not outright stating it - is grounds for arrest, too. I also love how you reason that because a crowd is gathered (gotta be wary of those unruly Harvard Square mobs!) the way to de-escalate the issue is to _arrest_ the guy. Not return to your patrol, not ask the crowd to disperse, but slap the silver cufflinks on! I’d also like a cite for the “racial bullshit” you claim Gates was spouting. > [@](#): > > While there is history there, Gates was a complete ass and completely at fault. He’s living in fucking Cambridge. A cop shows up to his door because someone was looking out for him and reported a possible break-in. He should have been thankful. I would have invited the cop in and offered him some iced tea. But no, that colossal fucking asshole just has to START the conversation as if he’s the victim of racism. Wow. I love your glib dismissal of aggression, discrimination, and profiling at the hands of the police. I lived in Cambridge and Watertown for seven years, and I can attest to the fact that there have been many complaints among communities of color and youth about how the police in Cambridge, Somerville, Boston, and other surrounding communities conduct themselves (and yes, I have had many positive encounters with the police as well). So let’s start with the knowledge that profiling has occurred in the community and there is nothing at all questionable about a citizen asking about - or more likely, making the officer aware of - the incidence of racial profiling. It’s not like Crowley wasn’t aware of this, and he could have diffused the situation by stating, “No sir, this is not because you are Black, I’m following the procedure,” etc. _He didn’t answer Gates’ question._ Why the hell not? His not answering escalated the situation. Your vitriol directed to a private citizen asking a question is alternately confusing and troubling. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/516 "2009-08-01T19:03:09Z")
Not to snark, but to quibble. A small, trivial thing, perhaps, but thats the trouble with quibbles… Who’s word do we rely upon that Crowley did not answer the question? If its another he say, she say, don’t we have to discount that as well? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/517 "2009-08-01T19:23:13Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > People are arrested every day for disorderly conduct. Sometimes things have already exploded. Sometimes the arrests happen so that things don’t blossom into something ugly. I see a cop going about his day. He gets a call about a possible break-in. He does what he is supposed to do and investigates. He sees Gates, who appears to be the homeowner, and asks for his ID. Immediately, Gates gets belligerent, implying racism is at play. The cop just tries to do his job to verify who Gates is and relay information—as is required by him—to the precinct. In doing that, he has to go outside. He does, and gates follows him still spewing his racial bullshit. By now we have a crowd, cops and pedestrians gathered, with a guy who is angry and spewing racial nonsense. That is an inflammatory situation that, it seems, Crowley didn’t want to get further out of hand. He let’s Gates know that he’s gone over the line and shows him the cuffs. Gates opts for the cuffs. It must happen a hundred times a day. A thousand times a day during spring break. > > Your hyperbole aside, the bar for arresting someone for disorderly conduct is not that the cop must be in fear. Surely, you know this. > > While there is history there, Gates was a complete ass and completely at fault. He’s living in fucking Cambridge. A cop shows up to his door because someone was looking out for him and reported a possible break-in. He should have been thankful. I would have invited the cop in and offered him some iced tea. But no, that colossal fucking asshole just has to START the conversation as if he’s the victim of racism. How long have you been a cop? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/518 "2009-08-01T19:43:53Z")
[Leon Lashley is speaking out in some sources for being labeled an Uncle Tom](http://www.rantrave.com/Rant/Black-Police-Sgt-Sends-Letter-to-Obama.aspx). (Lashley’s[AC360 interview.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxM8cwosjew)) ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/519 "2009-08-01T19:44:50Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > How long have you been a cop? I’m not. But I’ve been arrested when I thought I shouldn’t have been. But I assume this is what you’re after: From Wikipedia: (bolding mine) > [@](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995/520 "2009-08-01T19:55:50Z")
Since I didn’t see his name in the thread- though I may have overlooked it- I’ll add that Carlos Figueroa, the (Hispanic) second cop who accompanied Crowley and actually wrote the police report, backs Crowley’s report as well as Leon Lashley (the black cop in the picture). Not that it matters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995.md?page=25) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-says-cops-acted-stupidly-in-gates-incident/503995.md?page=27)