@Steve Savage: I think your argument is crap.

If the cop was "doing his duty", why were all charges dropped against Gates?

Gates was inside his own home and showed his identification to the cop.

It was only after Gates rather indignantly demanded to have the cop's name and badge number, and followed him out into public that he got arrested. If he'd stayed in his own house and berated the cop, he'd probably have not gotten cuffed.

What authority under statutory law are you referring to? The right for cops not to have to identify themselves? The right not to get embarrassed in public and called a racist by a citizen in front of witnessess?

If the cop was acting in any way pro...

@Steve Savage: I think your argument is crap.

If the cop was "doing his duty", why were all charges dropped against Gates?

Gates was inside his own home and showed his identification to the cop.

It was only after Gates rather indignantly demanded to have the cop's name and badge number, and followed him out into public that he got arrested. If he'd stayed in his own house and berated the cop, he'd probably have not gotten cuffed.

What authority under statutory law are you referring to? The right for cops not to have to identify themselves? The right not to get embarrassed in public and called a racist by a citizen in front of witnessess?

If the cop was acting in any way properly, the charges against Gates would have stood. He was abusing his authority, plain and simple.

I hope Gates sues.

@Spiritualmonkey: All uniformed police officers wear a name tag and a numbered badge for public identification purposes.

"Police said the 58-year-old Gates was arrested after he yelled at an officer, accused him of racial bias and refused to calm down after the officer demanded Gates show him identification to prove he lived in the home."

Gates, filled with his own sense of self-importance, was the one who maliciously played the race card in an attempt to trump the proper decorum that was going down, given the circumstances of a reported forced entry.

Should the officer not have demanded that Gates show his identification?

I'm sure the police officer would have demanded identification ...

@Spiritualmonkey: All uniformed police officers wear a name tag and a numbered badge for public identification purposes.

"Police said the 58-year-old Gates was arrested after he yelled at an officer, accused him of racial bias and refused to calm down after the officer demanded Gates show him identification to prove he lived in the home."

Gates, filled with his own sense of self-importance, was the one who maliciously played the race card in an attempt to trump the proper decorum that was going down, given the circumstances of a reported forced entry.

Should the officer not have demanded that Gates show his identification?

I'm sure the police officer would have demanded identification of whomever it was that had gained entry into the building by forced entry, and rightfully so.

Gates should have shown respect for the Law and had the good sense to realize that he is not as well-known as he would like to believe. His person, viewed from the perspective of the police officer, could just as well have been any unauthorized unknown.

Gates should have complied with the reasonable request to show his identification without externalizing his ego-driven paranoia fueled by imagined racial profiling.

Should Gates decide to sue, the charges against him, which were dropped solely for the sake of political expediency will, of necessity, be reinstated.

Now, Spiritualmonkey, I really don't need to hear from you again. I don't expect to change your mind, nor will you change mine. If you care to delete my comments, you may do so.

@Steve Savage: Whether or not you "need" to hear from me again, I do feel the need to challenge your analysis for the benefit of other readers who come later.

Here's an analysis of the incident (with links to Officer Crowley's own report) that makes a convincing argument that the cop lured Gates out into public where he could find cause to arrest him.

Gates was inside his own house when the cop arrived. While inside his own house, Gates provided identification. Up to this point, no crime has been committed and there is no reason for officer Crowley to remain.

While inside his own house, ...

@Steve Savage: Whether or not you "need" to hear from me again, I do feel the need to challenge your analysis for the benefit of other readers who come later.

Here's an analysis of the incident (with links to Officer Crowley's own report) that makes a convincing argument that the cop lured Gates out into public where he could find cause to arrest him.

Gates was inside his own house when the cop arrived. While inside his own house, Gates provided identification. Up to this point, no crime has been committed and there is no reason for officer Crowley to remain.

While inside his own house, Gates asked for the officer's name & badge.

Officer Crowley at that point refused, and told Gates to come out into the public if he wanted the information.

Because you can't arrest a man for yelling at you and calling you a racist in his own home. Officer Crowley needed it to be in public in order to have a reason to arrest Gates. Which is why he refused to give his name & badge when asked (as he is obliged to do) and instead lured Gates out in public.

As the saying goes, Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. Presuming we take Crowley's report of the event at face value, I believe your analysis is the less credible one.

If you care to delete my comments, you may do so.

I don't quash debate that disagrees with me, only personal attacks on fellow clippers. How can people evaluate what you have to say if they can't read it?

I think your analysis is wrong, but absent ad hominem, that's no reason to delete or disemvowel. Instead I've explained how I think you're wrong & provided a link that makes my argument. I think that's the appropriate response.

Spiritualmonkey, I, too, have read the report and am now thoroughly convinced that there must be something in our DNA that causes us to look upon identical subject matter and come away with two distinct and diametrically opposed viewpoints.

I read Crowley's report from what is known by convicted felons as the "Jail Smarts" point of view.

Officer Crowley's report of the incident, in conjunction with Lucia Whalen's, gives the appearance that proper procedures were followed.

The witnesses who were present at the time, including a Black Police Officer who is prominent in one of the photos, should Gates wish to pursue the issue, may not provide Gates with the support he believes he may have...

Spiritualmonkey, I, too, have read the report and am now thoroughly convinced that there must be something in our DNA that causes us to look upon identical subject matter and come away with two distinct and diametrically opposed viewpoints.

I read Crowley's report from what is known by convicted felons as the "Jail Smarts" point of view.

Officer Crowley's report of the incident, in conjunction with Lucia Whalen's, gives the appearance that proper procedures were followed.

The witnesses who were present at the time, including a Black Police Officer who is prominent in one of the photos, should Gates wish to pursue the issue, may not provide Gates with the support he believes he may have.

However, now that the die is cast, Gates must pursue it because he now has a Disorderly Persons arrest record.

We like to believe that these things are expunged, but they never really are. There's a little "exp" next to the offense that will never go away, signaling to a police officer not to mention it but to ask "Have you ever been arrested?" to see if the subject lies. The old "Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus - False in one thing, false in all."

If, in some future time, Gates is asked that question and says "No," from that point on, his life will become a living Hell.

To your credit, I can see from your profile, and that of your wife, Lexica, that you are a man of your word and never entertained the thought that you would disemvowel or delete my comments.

Although I may not agree with all of your Clips, some I do, of course, I am Voltairian in the sense that I will defend your right for free expression.

Steve Savage "King of the Beasts"
http://sskotb.blogspot.com/