Obama continues to defend 'stupid' remarks about arrest
abcNEWS:
In the process Obama has riled police officers around the country. Here is why. He has made it more likely that people will challenge authority and provoke confrontations with police. He has given blacks with a chip on their shoulder an excuse to blow up when police ask them necessary questions in the course of doing their work.
Meanwhile, the officer who arrested Gates is considering a defamation case against the professor. Perhaps he can teach Gates a lessen in how to respond to questions by police officers.
President Obama today stood by his comments that the Cambridge, Mass., police department acted "stupidly" in its arrest of Henry Louis Gates, telling ABC News that the Harvard University professor should not have been arrested.Obama clearly does not get it. His friend acted badly and unnecessarily created a situation that caused his arrest for disorderly conduct. It would not matter if he had been in a wheel chair, his conduct was what triggered the arrest.
"I have to say I am surprised by the controversy surrounding my statement, because I think it was a pretty straightforward commentary that you probably don't need to handcuff a guy, a middle-aged man who uses a cane, who's in his own home," Obama said.
...
In the process Obama has riled police officers around the country. Here is why. He has made it more likely that people will challenge authority and provoke confrontations with police. He has given blacks with a chip on their shoulder an excuse to blow up when police ask them necessary questions in the course of doing their work.
Meanwhile, the officer who arrested Gates is considering a defamation case against the professor. Perhaps he can teach Gates a lessen in how to respond to questions by police officers.
Sorry, but this makes no sense whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteTHe police have the power to arrest people for BREAKING THE LAW, not for simply be obnoxious.
America is not a police state. You should not be subject to arrest for annoying a police officer, or speaking disrespectfully to one.
Gates was not in public - he was in his own home. The police had established that he was in his own home - totally innocent of any infraction of any law. There was no legal justification whatsoever for arresting him.
He was arrested because the cop was annoyed at him - period. That is not legal - it is an example of the cop being a petty tyrant. Calling it "stupid" is pretty mild, in fact.
Disorderly conduct is a convenient code for police to apply when they overstep their authority and need some justification for their actions. The police are supposed to be trained professionals in the enforcement of the law. The arrest was stupid and should have been handled more professionally. The authority to arrest someone does not mean the arrest is justified or appropriate. The police need to learn from the situation and try to become law enforcement officials.
ReplyDeleteI first wrote about this on Tues and basically said that Gates was a jack arse.
ReplyDeleteNow Obama opens his uninformed mouth and inserts his foot in it.
Gates said that Crowley didn't know who he was messing with.
Perhaps Gates is the one who didn't know who he was messing with.
Check out my take on it and the link to my Tue post. Also, please stick around for more good content.
libertarianhumordotcom/2009/07/24/gates-2/
Tom, I couldn't agree more. Just because they are police officers it doesn’t make them immune to having bad behaviors and attitudes.
ReplyDeleteThey themselves break the law all day long and try to hide behind his/her badge. I have seen them put their sirens on and no incident at all, just to get through a light.
I have seen them talking on their cell phones. I can go on and on. As you stated the man was in his house.
Merv comment is one sided and ridiculous. "Blacks will start talking back”, this is America you have the freedom of speech. Did he touch him NO! He wanted their badge #'s..
Cops act this way all the time, the unfortunately part for them is that they didn't realize he was an influential black male. What do you mean unnecessarily created an incident? Maybe just maybe people will stop profiling minorities and these incidents will stop. Have you ever thought about that! I guess that pool incident in Philadelphia really happened because there were to many kids and it was unsafe hun?? Not because the kids were minorities. The parents pulled their kids out of the pool to keep them from what? Mr. Obama comment was very light to say the least.
But why in the world has the president gotten involved in what should have been a PRIVATE matter between the police and Mr. Gates? We are, after all, talking about the president of the most powerful country in the world. Why does he think that he should comment on this on national television, for pete's sake? What business is it of HIS? Doesn't he have more important things to comment on, such as, oh, say, foreign policy, the economy, or the healthcare reform he's trying to strongarm the Senate into passing?
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that will come from his remark is not going to be good.
I think that the police were in the right. It is unfortnate that the professor was so tired and irratable. Being an educated man, one would expect that he might be more reasonable.
ReplyDelete