Posted: 23 Jul 2009, Thu 5:57 pm Post subject: Officer James Crowley Shows America What Racism Is
Officer James Crowley
Statement on Behalf of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. -- by Charles Ogletree
This brief statement is being submitted on behalf of my client, friend, and colleague, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. This is a statement concerning the arrest of Professor Gates. On July 16, 2009, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., 58, the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor of Harvard University, was headed from Logan airport to his home [in] Cambridge after spending a week in China, where he was filming his new PBS documentary entitled “Faces of America.” Professor Gates was driven to his home by a driver for a local car company. Professor Gates attempted to enter his front door, but the door was damaged. Professor Gates then entered his rear door with his key, turned off his alarm, and again attempted to open the front door. With the help of his driver they were able to force the front door open, and then the driver carried Professor Gates’ luggage into his home.
Professor Gates immediately called the Harvard Real Estate office to report the damage to his door and requested that it be repaired immediately. As he was talking to the Harvard Real Estate office on his portable phone in his house, he observed a uniformed officer on his front porch. When Professor Gates opened the door, the officer immediately asked him to step outside. Professor Gates remained inside his home and asked the officer why he was there. The officer indicated that he was responding to a 911 call about a breaking and entering in progress at this address. Professor Gates informed the officer that he lived there and was a faculty member at Harvard University. The officer then asked Professor Gates whether he could prove that he lived there and taught at Harvard. Professor Gates said that he could, and turned to walk into his kitchen, where he had left his wallet. The officer followed him. Professor Gates handed both his Harvard University identification and his valid Massachusetts driver’s license to the officer. Both include Professor Gates’ photograph, and the license includes his address.
Professor Gates then asked the police officer if he would give him his name and his badge number. He made this request several times. The officer did not produce any identification nor did he respond to Professor Gates’ request for this information. After an additional request by Professor Gates for the officer’s name and badge number, the officer then turned and left the kitchen of Professor Gates’ home without ever acknowledging who he was or if there were charges against Professor Gates. As Professor Gates followed the officer to his own front door, he was astonished to see several police officers gathered on his front porch. Professor Gates asked the officer’s colleagues for his name and badge number. As Professor Gates stepped onto his front porch, the officer who had been inside and who had examined his identification, said to him, “Thank you for accommodating my earlier request,” and then placed Professor Gates under arrest. He was handcuffed on his own front porch.
Professor Gates was taken to the Cambridge Police Station where he remained for approximately 4 hours before being released that evening. Professor Gates’ counsel has been cooperating with the Middlesex District Attorneys Office, and the City of Cambridge, and is hopeful that this matter will be resolved promptly. Professor Gates will not be making any other statements concerning this matter at this time.
(Terrorism) noun: the use of violence (or threat of violence) by a person or an organized group against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.Doesn't that sound like what our government does to its own citizens?
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
Last edited by WaTcHeR on 24 Jul 2009, Fri 7:55 pm; edited 1 time in total
Posted: 23 Jul 2009, Thu 5:58 pm Post subject: Officer James M. Crowley
Cambridge Police Sergeant James M. Crowley has spent the past five years teaching a class at the Lowell Police Academy to Cambridge and Lowell police cadets about how to avoid racial profiling, according to Thomas Fleming, academy director.
The academy teaches prospective officers from both departments under an agreement.
Fleming said Cambridge's former police commissioner, Ronnie Watson, hand-picked Crowley and another officer, who is black, to jointly teach the class to about 60 cadets each year. The course meets four times a year, for three hours a session.
(Terrorism) noun: the use of violence (or threat of violence) by a person or an organized group against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.Doesn't that sound like what our government does to its own citizens?
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
Posted: 23 Jul 2009, Thu 6:00 pm Post subject: Officer James Crowley is stupid ass MOFO
President Barack Obama said during a press conference that police acted "stupidly." _________________ Cops that lie, should die!
(Terrorism) noun: the use of violence (or threat of violence) by a person or an organized group against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.Doesn't that sound like what our government does to its own citizens?
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
(Terrorism) noun: the use of violence (or threat of violence) by a person or an organized group against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.Doesn't that sound like what our government does to its own citizens?
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
Posted: 24 Jul 2009, Fri 7:59 pm Post subject: Officer James Crowley Officer James Crowley
Officer James Crowley
Mass. policeman who arrested Gates won't apologize
NATICK, Mass. - A white police sergeant accused of racism after he arrested renowned black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his home insisted Wednesday he won't apologize for his treatment of the Harvard professor, but President Barack Obama said police had acted "stupidly."
Gates has demanded an apology from Sgt. James Crowley, who had responded to the home near Harvard University to investigate a report of a burglary and demanded the scholar show him identification. Police say Gates at first refused and then accused the officer of racism.
Gates said Crowley walked into his home without his permission and only arrested him as the professor followed him to the porch, repeatedly demanding the sergeant's name and badge number because he was unhappy over his treatment.
Obama, during a prime-time news conference, said Wednesday he didn't know what role race played in the incident but added that police in Cambridge, a city neighboring Boston, "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates even after he offered proof that he was in his own home.
"I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry," Obama said. "Number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. And number three , what I think we know separate and apart from this incident , is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately, and that's just a fact."
He said federal officials need to continue working with local law enforcement "to improve policing techniques so that we're eliminating potential bias."
Crowley said Wednesday he's disappointed by the heated national debate triggered by the incident and insisted he followed proper procedures in arresting Gates last week on a charge of disorderly conduct. The charge was dropped Tuesday.
Officers were responding to the home Gates rents from Harvard after a woman reported seeing "two black males with backpacks" trying to force open the front door, according to a police report. Gates, who had returned from a trip overseas with a driver, said he had to shove the door open because it was jammed. He was inside, calling the company that manages the property, when police arrived.
Gates was accused by police of "tumultuous" behavior toward the officers. But Gates countered by saying Crowley was clearly responding to racial profiling and "couldn't understand a black man standing up for his rights, right in his face."
In a region with a tortured racial history, two overarching arguments have emerged about the incident. Police supporters charge that Gates, director of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, was responsible for his own arrest by overreacting. Those sympathetic to Gates counter that the officer should have defused the situation and left the home as soon as he established that Gates was the resident, not a burglar.
Crowley said he's grateful he has the support of his police force. He said he's not worried about any possible disciplinary action.
"There will be no apology," he said outside his home Wednesday.
Cambridge police and the police officers' union have declined to comment.
But there was plenty of blame being spread around by the public, through talk shows, blogs, newspaper online forums and water cooler chats. Even the hosts of a sports radio show in Boston spent much of Wednesday morning faulting Gates.
Gov. Deval Patrick, who is black, said he was troubled and upset over the incident. Cambridge Mayor Denise Simmons, who also is black, has said she spoke with Gates and apologized on behalf of the city, and a statement from the city called the July 16 incident "regrettable and unfortunate."
What happened between Gates and Crowley at the professor's home remains in dispute.
Police say Gates yelled at the officer, accused him of racial bias and refused to calm down after the officer demanded Gates show him identification to prove he lived there. Gates denies that he yelled at the officer, other than to repeatedly ask his name and badge number, and he says he readily turned over his driver's license and Harvard ID to prove his residence and identity.
Gates said he was "outraged" by the arrest, wants an apology from Crowley and would use the experience to help make a documentary about racial profiling in the United States.
"This isn't about me, this is about the vulnerability of black men in America," Gates said.
He said the incident made him realize how vulnerable poor people and minorities are "to capricious forces like a rogue policeman, and this man clearly was a rogue policeman."
Gates' supporters cite Boston's history as a city plagued by racism as an underlying reason why this could still happen to an esteemed scholar, at midday, in his own home.
"That stain on this city , as far as persons of color are concerned , is a real one," television and radio commentator Callie Crossley said.
She recalled the case of Charles Stuart, who caused a citywide manhunt in 1989, when he said a hooded black man shot him and his pregnant wife as they got into their car. The wife died, and Stuart eventually was labeled the killer, but not before a black man arrested on unrelated charges became the prime suspect.
Stuart committed suicide the next year by jumping off a bridge.
(Terrorism) noun: the use of violence (or threat of violence) by a person or an organized group against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.Doesn't that sound like what our government does to its own citizens?
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
(Terrorism) noun: the use of violence (or threat of violence) by a person or an organized group against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.Doesn't that sound like what our government does to its own citizens?
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
Posted: 28 Jul 2009, Tue 8:11 pm Post subject: James Crowley
Why Sgt. James Crowley Was Foul
We will all benefit when we instill professional consistency in our police officers – to many bad things happen in its absence. The Dr. Henry Louis Gates matter is another indication we still have a ways to go yet; in some places.
Some officers still act as though being a cop is akin to joining the neighborhood "tree house” clique or a frat. I think the “band of brothers” mentality is a commendable aspect of police camaraderie; however, in the minds of some officers it takes on too much of an "us versus them" ethic. In some cases "us versus them" overshadows the ethic of “protect and serve" and undermines professionalism.
That mentality is not unique to officers of any race or region.
It is common knowledge that cops, not unlike bankers, Wall Street insiders and others, too often stick together, even when wrong. That may have been a contributing factor in why the other cops stood by, as Sergeant James Crowley did his “I can make you perp walk if you don't shut-up” routine. Why else would Dr. Gates be detained handcuffed for four hours by the Cambridge Police Department?
Handcuffing and arresting a man who posed no threat to anyone, was clearly more about bullying or ego than any imaginable necessity of law enforcement. Sgt. Crowley even admits to waving his handcuffs at Dr. Gates, in effect, as a warning to shut-up. That was an unprofessional act by Officer Crowley to say the least. If you know Dr. Gates-you know such a display by the officer amounted to further provocation.
When I read that Sgt. Crowley threatened arrest and flashed his handcuffs at Dr. Gates -my mind’s eye flashed back to the self-assured "I know my rights" kindred spirit. I knew from our college days-- and I knew talking to Skip in that manner, while at his home is unacceptable behavior to Dr. Gates—as it would be to many among us.
Only the most disciplined or meek among us would stand for that little handcuff waving “red cape to a bull” maneuver; especially in the midst of a heated exchange.
Adding in the four hour detention of Dr. Gates, we have the appearance of an element of the Cambridge Police wanting to impress upon Dr. Gates that around the Cambridge "tree-house" they rule and rule absolutely.
Should Dr. Gates have consulted his cooler head, and shown the respect he expected; yes in my opinion—and he says he did. Whether Dr. Gates crossed some arbitrary line in Sgt. Crowley's mind or not, his having done so, in no way pardons the unprofessional police conduct that followed. Sgt. Crowley’s conduct was admittedly propelled by a "do as I say or else" attitude. The kind that 11 year olds in a "tree-house" might display.
It certainly was not conduct I’d expect from a police veteran who is himself a trainer of young recruits. The “tree-house” mentality has no place in the very adult world of law enforcement.
(Terrorism) noun: the use of violence (or threat of violence) by a person or an organized group against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.Doesn't that sound like what our government does to its own citizens?
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
Boston cop calls Gates 'banana-eating jungle monkey' in mass e-mail
A Fox affiliate reports that the Massachusetts National Guard began probing the racist email sent by Capt. Justin Barrett, a Boston cop, a week ago.
"After a preliminary investigation, Capt. Barrett was suspended from his military duties on July 25, 2009 pending the outcome of further investigation," Boston's FOX25 reports.
The report adds that the "language contained in the e-mail violates policies of the Massachusetts National Guard and what it stands for in its commitment to uphold and protect the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Constitution of the United States."
The officer apologized last night for the email, claiming, "I am not a racist."
"It was a poor choice of words. I did not mean to offend anyone," Barrett told NewsCenter 5. "The words were being used to characterize behavior not describe anyone."
The officer said that he didn't mean to use words like 'banana eating jungle monkey' "in a racist way."
"It was a poor choice of words," Barrett said. I didn't mean it in a racist way. I treat everyone with dignity and respect.".
More from WCVB's report:
Barrett and his attorney said they will fight the charges brought both by the police department and the National Guard.
"People are making it about race. It is not about race," Barrett claimed.
Barrett will get only pro forma support from the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association which condemned the e-mail, but said it is contractually obligated to protect his rights at a disciplinary hearing.
UPDATE II
The Fox affiliate in Boston has published the text of the email Boston police officer Justin Barrett sent in which he referred to Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., as a "banana-eating jungle monkey."
It now appears Barrett's email was a letter to the editor of the Boston Globe, complaining of the Globe's coverage of the Gates arrest on July 16.
Of Gates, Barrett wrote: "He is a suspect and will always be a suspect."
"If I was the officer [Gates] verbally assaulted like a banana-eating jungle monkey, I would have sprayed him in the face with OC [pepper spray] deserving of his belligerent non-compliance."
Barrett then went on to berate the author of the Globe article to which he objected.
"You are a hot little bird with minimal experiences in a harsh field," Barrett wrote. "You are a fool. An infidel. You have no business writing for a US newspaper nevermind detailing and analyzing half-truths."
AP reported that "Barrett was trained in racial profiling prevention and had shown no signs of racial discrimination in the past."
Barrett's tirade has spawned an instant flurry of comments on blogs and talk shows.
"If this is what [police officers are] putting in emails, imagine what they're saying in private," blogged The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan.
UPDATE
The police officer who called Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a "jungle monkey" is a "cancer on the department," Boston Mayor Tom Menino said Wednesday.
A blog posting by Cindy Adams at Examiner.com also says Menino called for the officer to be fired immediately.
The Boston Globe reports that Barrett will be represented by the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, the local police union. The union is expected to make a statement on the case Wednesday evening.
ORIGINAL STORY CONTINUES
A Boston police officer has been suspended and likely will be fired after sending an anonymous email that referred to Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. as a "jungle monkey."
According to the Boston Herald, 36-year-old Officer Justin Barrett was placed "on administrative leave pending a termination hearing yesterday afternoon. When a supervisor confronted Barrett about the e-mail - in which he called Gates a 'jungle monkey' - he admitted to being the author."
ABC affiliate WCVB reports that Barrett sent the email to colleagues at the National Guard -- he is also a reserve soldier in the Guard -- and to the Boston Globe. Police traced the email back to Barrett on Tuesday.
Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis "immediately stripped the cop of his gun and badge," the Herald reported Wednesday.
Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was arrested on the front porch of his own home on a public disturbance charge July 16 in an incident where a police officer suspected the Harvard scholar of being a burglar after Gates jimmied his way in. Gates says he was a victim of racial profiling. Charges against him were quickly dropped.
The incident became an even larger controversy when President Barack Obama said last week that the Cambridge police had "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates. And most recently, the neighbor of Gates whose 911 call started the incident said she never mentioned that the two persons on Gates's porch were black, and didn't talk to the arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley, at the scene.
Both of those claims contradict Sgt. Crowley's police report on the incident.
(Terrorism) noun: the use of violence (or threat of violence) by a person or an organized group against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.Doesn't that sound like what our government does to its own citizens?
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
Eight citizen complaints have been filed against Cambridge Police Sergeant James M. Crowley during his 11 years on the force, including two by black males alleging racial bias, according to internal affairs files made public today.
Crowley, whose arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. last month sparked a national debate on race that President Obama inadvertently stoked and then had to calm, was cleared of wrongdoing in all eight instances, according to the files provided by the police department.
Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert C. Haas said Crowley has made or helped make 422 arrests, participated in about 800 criminal investigations, and issued 1,866 citations for motor vehicle infractions and other offenses.
"It is noteworthy that despite Sergeant Crowley's numerous arrests and citations, only 8 citizen complaints have been filed against him, which represents less than 1% of his interactions with the public,'' Haas said in a three-page letter that accompanied the files.
Nonetheless, the files may rekindle questions about whether Crowley, a white officer, engaged in racial profiling when he arrested Gates, a black professor, on a disorderly conduct charge at his house on July 16. The charge was later dropped.
Five of the eight complaints involved allegations that Crowley was rude to people he encountered, including motorists whom he gave tickets. But two of the five also contained allegations of racial bias.
In a 1999 complaint, two black men in a car whose driver got a ticket for driving the wrong way down a one-way street and for having an open container of alcohol said Crowley sarcastically referred to a passenger as a "homeboy."
And in a 2002 complaint, another driver said Crowley and other officers briefly wrongly detained him and a friend because one of the men supposedly matched the description of a light-skinned black man who had just robbed a nearby video store.
"As a young African-American male, I am especially concerned by the lack of restraint the officers demonstrated in this situation," wrote the driver, whose name was redacted in the file, as were all names of complainants. "I am curious if the description of 'Black Male' immediately suspends the rights of all brown skinned individuals within a 10-block radius.''
James Alan Fox, a professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University, said today it is difficult to say whether eight complaints represents a significant number in 11 years. That depends a variety of factors, he said, including where Crowley worked in Cambridge and at what time of day.
But Fox said it was hardly surprising that some complainants might allege racial bias.
"Given that law enforcement is still primarily white and they are often interacting with minority citizens, these interactions have a potential for racial conflict, whether it be bias or misunderstanding," he said.
(Terrorism) noun: the use of violence (or threat of violence) by a person or an organized group against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.Doesn't that sound like what our government does to its own citizens?
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
(Terrorism) noun: the use of violence (or threat of violence) by a person or an organized group against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.Doesn't that sound like what our government does to its own citizens?
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
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