Prof. Henry Louis Gates ARRESTED in

[Dr.Dudd]

Re: The policeman sez that he will

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Last question on Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrest, what does it say about race relations? Obama says he’s a friend and may be biased. He recounts the event as he knows it (makes a joke about breaking in to the White House). “I think it’s fair to say that any of us would be pretty angry” and that the Cambridge police acted “pretty stupidly” by arresting someone in their own home, and thirdly that there is a “long history” in this country being stopped by law enforcement “disproportionately.” “I am standing here as a testimony to the progress that’s been made but the fact of the matter is this still haunts us,” he says. </div></div>He better be careful. He may be a one term president .
Society doesn't have any problem with what is happening to black men as far as police harassment,but they hate other e it on main stream TV. Many middle class blacks are against having a present that publicly admit to it too. They May change their vote next time.

[evanovitch]

RACE STILL A PROBLEM IN AMERICA

RACE STILL A PROBLEM IN AMERICA
Editorial Jamaica Observer
Thursday, July 23, 2009
When Mr Eric Holder, attorney-general of the United States had the temerity and honesty to say that race is a problem that Americans do not want to accept as still an issue, it ignited a furore of opprobrium.
His remarks were viewed as a spoiler in the wake of euphoria after the election of President Barack Obama. To some, the election proved that racial prejudice had abated considerably and was definitive proof that race was largely a phenomenon of an admittedly despicable history. The racially motivated brutality of the struggle for civil rights in the 1960s, among other clear examples of race hatred since then, was conveniently forgotten.
The US is a country that prides itself on its human rights and is not shy in castigating other governments and countries for what it sees as the inadequacy of their human rights legislation, the conduct of their law enforcement and the deficiencies of their judiciaries. However, the conduct of some of its own law enforcement officers is inconsistent with the American credo.
For example, the world-renowned scholar, Prof Henry Louis Gates of Harvard University was arrested outside his house recently when a neighbour reported seeing two black men forcing a jammed front door in a predominantly white, middle-class suburban area at noon. When a white police officer arrived, Prof Gates, despite producing identification which included his picture and address, was arrested. Gates' verbal expressions of annoyance may not have helped maintain calm but was not justification for his arrest for disorderly conduct.
The charges have been dropped and Gates has turned his attention to exposing racism in law enforcement and the justice system. But the Cambridge police department has not admitted any wrongdoing.
Moreover, a black off-duty cop in the process of apprehending a man breaking into his car, was shot and killed by a white policeman just about a month ago.
The continuation of racial profiling and excessive use of force that led to incidents like the Rodney King beating which was caught on film, are unacceptable. It is evidently a factor in the depressing fact that one in nine black men are in US prisons. The figure is even higher for those who have had an encounter of an unpleasant kind with the police.
The &quot;leader of the free world&quot; must lead by example because deeds must be compatible with words, if these words are to have legitimacy and moral credibility. We air this issue not because we want to denigrate our friend and neighbour but because a threat to human rights anywhere is a threat to human rights everywhere.
We are especially sensitive in Jamaica because we have had so many incidents of brutal violence among citizens and unfortunately numerous incidents of excessive use of force by our own law enforcement officers.

[f0rTyLeGz]

Re: The policeman sez that he will

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Last question on Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrest, what does it say about race relations? Obama says he’s a friend and may be biased. He recounts the event as he knows it (makes a joke about breaking in to the White House). “I think it’s fair to say that any of us would be pretty angry” and that the Cambridge police acted “pretty stupidly” by arresting someone in their own home, and thirdly that there is a “long history” in this country being stopped by law enforcement “disproportionately.” “I am standing here as a testimony to the progress that’s been made but the fact of the matter is this still haunts us,” he says. </div></div>He better be careful. He may be a one term president .
Society doesn't have any problem with what is happening to black men as far as police harassment,but they hate other e it on main stream TV. Many middle class blacks are against having a present that publicly admit to it too. They May change their vote next time. </div></div>
It is going to be very very interesting to see how the different press outlets are going to deal with what he said. Nightline ran it with no comment. They called it the &quot;most interesting part&quot; of the press conference. Which it wasn't to me. I was watching him fight for health care for everyone. On GoogleNews where stories are featured how many times the stories are clicked on Health Care is one, and the Fierce Debate continues over Gates' arrest is number two.

[Blackstar*]

Re: The policeman sez that he will

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dr.Dudd</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><span style="font-style: italic">He better be careful. He may be a one term president .
<span style="font-weight: bold">Society doesn't have any problem with what is happening to black men as far as police harassment,but they hate other e it on main stream TV. Many middle class blacks are against having a present that publicly admit to it too.</span> They May change their vote next time.</span> </div></div>
Isn't that the truth...

[seemiyah]

Re: The policeman sez that he will

This is a great article explaining what your rights are when the police pay you a visit. It goes through everything Gates did..

<span style="font-weight: bold">Do Police Officers Have To Identify Themselves?
And other Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrest questions, answered by the Explainer.</span>By Brian Palmer
Posted Wednesday, July 22, 2009, at 5:07 PM ET

Prosecutors dropped all charges against Henry Louis Gates Jr. on Tuesday. The prominent Harvard professor had been charged with disorderly conduct after breaking into his own home in Cambridge, Mass. This bizarre episode, which some say is an example of racial profiling—Gates is African-American—raises all sorts of questions for the Explainer.

<span style="font-weight: bold">Gates repeatedly requested the arresting officer's name and badge number. Gates says the officer provided neither, although the officer claims that he did, in fact, state his name. Was the officer required to provide this information?</span>

Yes. Massachusetts law requires police officers to carry identification cards and present them upon request. Officers are also required to wear a &quot;badge, tag, or label&quot; with their name and/or identifying number. The law is aimed at precisely the situation in question—suspects who feel their rights are being violated. Few other states impose this requirement on their officers as a matter of law, but many individual police departments, such as the New York Police Department, have adopted it (PDF) as a matter of policy.

<span style="font-weight: bold">Gates initially refused to emerge from his home and provide identification. Was he required to?</span>

No. There's nothing to stop an officer from requesting your presence on the front porch or asking you questions, but he cannot force you to identify yourself or come out of your house without probable cause. (The rules are different for drivers and immigrants, who are required to provide identification upon request.) If you don't feel like chatting, ask the officer whether you are free to go about your business. If he answers no, you are being detained, which means the officer must acknowledge and abide by your full menu of civil rights, including the famous Miranda warnings.


<span style="font-weight: bold">The arresting officer alleges that Gates shouted at him and threatened to speak to his &quot;mama.&quot; He then arrested Gates for disorderly conduct. What, exactly, is disorderly conduct?</span>

Behavior that might cause a riot. Massachusetts courts have limited the definition of disorderly conduct to: fighting or threatening, violent or tumultuous behavior, or creating a hazardous or physically offensive condition for no legitimate purpose other than to cause public annoyance or alarm. (The statute, however, just says &quot;idle and disorderly persons,&quot; a formulation that is, on its own, patently unconstitutional.) Violators may be imprisoned for up to six months, fined a maximum of $200, or both.

The stilted language in the Gates police report is intended to mirror the courts' awkward phrasing, but the state could never make the charge stick. The law is aimed not at mere irascibility but rather at unruly behavior likely to set off wider unrest. Accordingly, the behavior must take place in public or on private property where people tend to gather. While the police allege that a crowd had formed outside Gates' property, it is rare to see a disorderly conduct conviction for behavior on the suspect's own front porch. In addition, political speech is excluded from the statute because of the First Amendment. Alleging racial bias, as Gates was doing, and protesting arrest both represent core political speech.