Cambridge Police Officer To Obama: Butt Out of My Arrest

[Cobrabill]

Originally Posted by computerworks

I don't make stupid comments...and my attitudes are far, far from ignorant.

But...you're entitled to your opinion, Sheriff.....

CW-Have you ever pounded a beat for 8 hours in -18 degrees?

Or have you ever had a four year old girl die in your back seat as you tried to set the record for the "cross-town boogie" to the hospital?

[VRM]

Originally Posted by SP01715

Actually what gates did would be against the law in California (where I was a cop), and it seems it is also against the law in Mass. as well. If I am on a call, and somebody delays me in my duties (yelling at me, not will to I.D. himself etc...) they can be arrested for a misdemeanor. If this was an illegal arrest Gates would have filed a lawsuit.

Nothing Gates did was against the law in MA. Stupid, yes, but not against the law.
He is not obligated to give any id unless he is detained, and he showed his ID before he was detained. The cop, under MA law, is required to show his ID if asked.
Making a disorderly conduct charge stick in MA is tough enough, doing it on your own property is going to be damn near impossible.

Steve

[fsstnotch]

IMO, this is 100% Gates fault. This officer was responding to a call of a break in. All gates had to do from the get go is be civil and prove he lived in the house and it would have been over. Instead Gates first words were about his race, and it escalated from there. This officer only did one thing wrong.... he is required to show ID if asked. He had every right to arrest Gates for being disorderly. Your front porch is considered "public." The fact that the officer warned him more than once to calm down before arresting him just shows the officer was trying to be civil. Even after putting the cuffs on him, I am sure it was meant mostly as a measure to try to calm the man down a bit. But Gates REQUESTED to be taken to the station.

Obama 100% in the wrong for ever getting involved!
The media is the biggest fault.... this is a MINOR issue! There was no racism involved, on the officers side. They have blown it way out of proportion. Do they even remember some of the more important things going on in the world?

[cobra de capell]

But, there was racism involved, on Obama's side. And that's why this is important - insight into what Obama is really like - I'd say the Jewish people are especially a target.

[SP01715]

Originally Posted by VRM

Nothing Gates did was against the law in MA. Stupid, yes, but not against the law.
He is not obligated to give any id unless he is detained, and he showed his ID before he was detained. The cop, under MA law, is required to show his ID if asked.
Making a disorderly conduct charge stick in MA is tough enough, doing it on your own property is going to be damn near impossible.

Steve

I have not seen the report, but from what I have heard the officer was trying to I.D. Gates to verify if he lived there, but Gates refused. That, along with Gates yelling and uncooperative actions could get you arrested where I worked.

Like I said above, if this was not a lawful arrest a lawsuit would have been filed. I have heard Gates has backed away from that so I am guessing it was a lawful arrest. Prosecuting an arrest like that is a different story. The prosecutors I dealt with could care less for the most part about a crime like this, and they always drop charges.

As far as the officer showing identification, where I worked you only had to provide your last name and I.D.#. The officer told gates it would be on the arrest report after he attempted to give Gates the info but was ignored.

[cobra de capell]

In Massachusetts and elsewhere, courts have said the "disorderly acts or language" must take place in public where others can be disturbed.

Gates continued to display "discorderly acts or language" after he exited the house - he was warned to stop, he didn't, he was arrested.

The question now is: How will White House spin beer session (Thursday, 6 p.m.)?

As to Gates.....just like Jesse.....

"At the 2 Live Crew trial, Gates testified that the rap album which describes gleefully the raping and beating of black women was on a par with the art found in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales...."

"Judge Gonzalez found the race-centric testimony of Professor Gates to be utterly unbelievable and absurd..."

[Scott S]

Have any of you had a beer with some guy that has called you various "fighting words"?

I have, many of my best friends have done such.

Would any of you set down for a beer with the man most likely to take your wealth and freedoms away and created a media circus who in turn trampled your lawn?

Me no way...

Scott S

[fsstnotch]

THANK YOU COLIN POWELL!!!!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,535223,00.html

I have been arguing this exact point with a guy here. His only arguement is that the officer was wrong because he didn't show his ID. Well, had Gates been a little more hospitable, it would have never escalated to that point. I'm thinking, had Gates just acknowledged the officer and given his ID respectfully when asked, the officer would have done the same.

[Ron61]

July 28, 2009

Obama Names Thursday "Drink A Beer With Someone Who Arrested You Day"

President Touts Healing Power of Beer

In an effort to foster better understanding between police and the people they
have recently handcuffed in their own homes, President Barack Obama today named
this Thursday "Drink a Beer With Someone Who Arrested You Day."
Explaining his decision, the President told reporters, "When tempers run a
little high, there's one thing that always helps people think a little more
rationally: beer."
The President said he hoped that his proclamation would result in thousands of
friendly get-togethers around the country between police officers and the
innocent people they recently arrested.
"I'm hoping, for example, that Mischa Barton will have a tall and foamy with
the cops who removed her from her home," he said, adding, "which, let me be
clear, they did not act stupidly in doing."
For members of minority communities who have not been arrested recently, Mr.
Obama had these reassuring words: "The week's still young."

In other news, police in the Michael Jackson case searched Larry King's house.

Former NFL star Michael Vick said he had "nothing to do with" the death of the
Taco Bell Chihuahua.

A man sued CNN after recognizing his ass in stock footage about obesity. More
here.

Ron

[fsstnotch]

What do you think they'll be drinking? I'm betting somehting CANADIAN!

[cobra de capell]

Originally Posted by Scott S

Have any of you had a beer with some guy that has called you various "fighting words"?

I have, many of my best friends have done such.

Would any of you set down for a beer with the man most likely to take your wealth and freedoms away and created a media circus who in turn trampled your lawn?

Me no way...

Scott S

But, what if you were caught in a political situation at work, e.g. your bosses, including the mayor 'encouraged' you to accept the invitation, etc.?

Besides, would it not be fun if during the sit down someone said.....

"Hold my beer and watch this!”

[cobra de capell]

During a recent TV interview, when President Obama was asked about the prospects of victory in Afghanistan, he replied that it would not be victory like in World War II, with "Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to MacArthur." In reality, it was more than a year after Japanese officials surrendered on the battleship Missouri before Hirohito met General Douglas MacArthur for the first time.

This is not the first betrayal of his ignorance by Obama, nor the first overlooked by the media. Moreover, ignorance by itself is not nearly as bad as charging full steam ahead, pretending to know. Barack Obama is doing that on a lot of issues, not just history or a local police incident in Massachusetts.

While the mainstream media in America will never call him on this, these repeated demonstrations of his amateurism and immaturity will not go unnoticed by this country's enemies around the world. And it is the American people who will pay the price.

Sowell

[Cobrabill]

Just saw a blurb where Obama has an "agenda"(surprise) with Cambridge PD.As he lived there during his college years.It seems he received more than 15 parking tickets and didn't pay them untill around campaign time.He's had a "hard-on" for them for years.



Found it:

'Scofflaw' Obama Grudge Against Cambridge Police?

Thursday, July 23, 2009 8:34 PM


One reason Barack Obama may think the Cambridge Police Department is "stupid" is that he has a grudge against the law enforcement agency.
Obama, who attended Harvard Law School from 1988 to 1991, lived in Cambridge, and apparently didn't like the fact he was frequently hit with parking tickets.
In all Obama received 17 tickets for parking violations -- and never paid 15 of them until he was exposed by a local Massachusetts newspaper as a scofflaw.
According to a 2007 Associated Press story, Obama was a parking ticket deadbeat for more than a decade -- and only felt the need to pay the 15 outstanding parking tickets as his presidential campaign began in earnest in 2007.
Here is the Associated Press story detailing Obama's negligence:
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama got more than an education when he attended Harvard Law School in the late 1980s. He also got a healthy stack of parking tickets, most of which he never paid.
The Illinois Senator shelled out $375 in January – two weeks before he officially la unched his presidential campaign – to finally pay for 15 outstanding parking tickets.

[cobra de capell]

Probably with campaign funds!

[cobra de capell]

I’ve been wondering. Opossum says this is a “teachable event”. Crowley was hand-picked to teach anti-profiling classes.

Will Crowley then be able to teach Gates how not to profile white cops? Will he teach Obama to not spout-off personal prejudices against the police?

How will Crowley react when Gates and Opossum try to teach him about a subject matter in which he is more well versed than they?

[stengun]

Howdy,

My name is Paul and I'm a Liberal.

That being stated, I am very disappointed with the statement that President Obama made during his news conference about the arrest of Prof. Gates.

I feel that his statement was very racist, and that he made the statement without knowing the facts or even the other side of the story.

This is even more disappointing because Pres. Obama was supposed to end racism and bring the country together. I think that was part of his campaign platform.

Yep, very disappointed. If a white President would have said the same thing about an African-American cop arresting a white person under the identical conditions, there would have be a public outcry for the POTUS to be impeached.

Paul

[VRM]

SP01715,
Gates was not acting disorderly in a public place - he was on his own property - similar cases in MA have already been decided this way and the charge against him would have been thrown out.

The officer is required to show his id when asked - not tell him that it will be on the arrest report. This is MA state law, and may not be the same in your state.

Gates provided his own ID before being arrested, though he is not required to do so under MA state law. If he did not show his ID establishing that it was his house then the cop would have had every right to arrest him for suspicion of B&E, and then once Gates was detained he would have legally had to produce ID.

Gates was returning home after a long flight - Logan is not exactly the place to put a smile on faces. I'm sure Gates was tired and probably a little PO'ed (Logan can do that - trust me!). Gates was already not at his best when the cop started questioning him - but that is not an excuse.

Gates making the assumption that the cop was targeting him because he is black is racist. There certainly are racist cops in Boston such as the idiot who just got suspended for sending emails calling Gates a 'banana-eating jungle-monkey', but assuming all of them are racist because of the actions of some is just exacerbating the problem.

A witness says that Gates was yelling, but was not making any threatening physical moves. This was not a case of race, though, this was a case of Crawley reaching the end of his patience at being yelled at for no reason. It did not matter what colour Gates was - Crawley had had enough. Crawley should have walked away after Gates identity was established, though the whole thing could have been avoided if Gates had not been a jackass.

CdC, I'm not sure what Hirohito has to do with any of this, but I think it is safe to say that you could probably not identify either of the Japanese signers without looking it up (I only know one off the top of my head, and I'm a history nut). I'm also pretty sure that most people in this country, yourself included, don't have a clue who signed as the US representative. It wasn't MacArthur.
The fact that Obama could even identify Hirohito as even a possible signatory is probably better than 90% of the people in the US could do.

This is a non-issue and indicates nothing except that Obama is not a history teacher. We have bigger problems than this.

Steve

[cobra de capell]

Liberal talking points - why bother?

[cobra de capell]

Interesting contrast - some pictures are worth a thousand words.....