Cambridge cop is a liar.

[SoonerCoug]

MSNBC - the font of fairness.

If you're going to post a link, at least make sure it's to a source that isn't biased.

I never post links to Fox News, despite preferring that it's slanted to a conservative view.

It's the same tapes no matter where you listen to them.

[il Padrino Ute]

I read the police report. In the police report, Crowley says that he spoke with the 911 caller and that she told him that she saw two black men. This is a lie. He also said that Gates was screaming so loudly that he couldn't hear himself think during his transmissions, which is also a lie. You can hear Gates in the background on the transmissions, and he isn't screaming.

There is nothing wrong with Contempt of Cop in your own home. Gates was mean to the cop and demanding a name and badge number, but that's not justification for arrest. This cop felt like he wasn't being respected, so he arrested Gates. Crowley complained that he couldn't hear his radio while he was in Gates' kitchen. That's not justification for arrest. Based on Crowley's lies that have already been confirmed, I'm skeptical about the rest of his story.

How do you know the caller is not saying this so she won't be thought of as a racist by saying she saw two black men?

Also, had Gates been less combatant, there would not have been a problem.

[SoonerCoug]

Well, given that I know nothing about this lady's background (or motivations) and a whole bunch about the cop's background, I'm not sure we should automatically assume he's a liar and she's not.

Wait a minute. The caller made it clear in her 911 call that she couldn't identify race, but that maybe one of the men was hispanic. Crowley proceeded to write that the caller claimed that she saw black men. Are you suggesting that the caller changed her story when the cop showed up? I suppose that's possible, but I think it's much more likely that Crowley fabricated it.

[SoonerCoug]

How do you know the caller is not saying this so she won't be thought of as a racist by saying she saw two black men?

Because she clearly states that she couldn't idenitfy race in the tapes of her 911 call. She also says that she thinks the men maybe just live there, and that an elderly neighbor woman is just concerned. That should have tipped everyone off that it was less likely to be a break-in, although we don't know if the dispatcher relayed that information.

[il Padrino Ute]

It's the same tapes no matter where you listen to them.

I don't know what your hearing, but I was able to click on another link in the link you posted to the MSNBC story about the 911 tape and all I heard was bits of pieces of the conversation between the caller and dispatcher, not the entire thing.

I'd like to hear the entire thing before I call the cop a liar.

[il Padrino Ute]

Because she clearly states that she couldn't idenitfy race in the tapes of her 911 call. She also says that she thinks the men maybe just live there, and that an elderly neighbor woman is just concerned. That should have tipped everyone off that it was less likely to be a break-in, although we don't know if the dispatcher relayed that information.

See my above post.

[SoonerCoug]

I don't know what your hearing, but I was able to click on another link in the link you posted to the MSNBC story about the 911 tape and all I heard was bits of pieces of the conversation between the caller and dispatcher, not the entire thing.

I'd like to hear the entire thing before I call the cop a liar.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32173582#32173582

[RobinFinderson]

Well, given that I know nothing about this lady's background (or motivations) and a whole bunch about the cop's background, I'm not sure we should automatically assume he's a liar and she's not. Hasn't everyone pretty much agreed that Gates was not forthcoming with his ID when asked?

If you have a general distrust of police, or an axe to grind (what is wrong with that?), then there is a pretty decent reason why a man in his own home might be reluctant to have to prove the legitimacy of his being there. It is not an insignificant thing. Sure, Gates could have just rolled over and done everything easy, but he didn't, and that was his right. The police officer, who didn't feel threatened, who saw the ID but didn't like the attitude, decided to teach this man a lesson. Public disorderliness in his own home, on his own property? Think whatever you want about Gates, but a man has a right to be a fool in his own home.

[ERCougar]

The police officer, who didn't feel threatened, who saw the ID but didn't like the attitude, decided to teach this man a lesson. Public disorderliness in his own home, on his own property? Think whatever you want about Gates, but a man has a right to be a fool in his own home.

Link? Everything I've read said that Gates was handcuffed because he refused to provide identification.

[SoonerCoug]

Link? Everything I've read said that Gates was handcuffed because he refused to provide identification.

I think it's still inconclusive as to when the cop obtained the ID. The cop says he has Gates' ID in his radio transmissions, but I'm not sure whether Gates was already in handcuffs at the time.

[il Padrino Ute]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540...73582#32173582

Thanks for this link.

I didn't hear any mention of race there.

I'll still side with the cop on this because he was just trying to do his job.

And this is turned into an issue because Obama made it an issue. It's Obama's fault.

[ERCougar]

Wait a minute. The caller made it clear in her 911 call that she couldn't identify race, but that maybe one of the men was hispanic. Crowley proceeded to write that the caller claimed that she saw black men. Are you suggesting that the caller changed her story when the cop showed up? I suppose that's possible, but I think it's much more likely that Crowley fabricated it.

So you're taking the word of an unknown woman, with plenty of reasons to cover for herself, over a cop with a perfect record, one who was chosen to teach courses on the problems with racial profiling and whose entire department of whites, blacks, and hispanics have backed him?

Makes sense.

[SoonerCoug]

And this is turned into an issue because Obama made it an issue. It's Obama's fault.

I agree that Obama spoke stupidly. But I also think that Obama was right.

[ERCougar]

I think it's still inconclusive as to when the cop obtained the ID. The cop says he has Gates' ID in his radio transmissions, but I'm not sure whether Gates was already in handcuffs at the time.

Well, absent a link, common sense and a perfect record would tell me that this cop doesn't handcuff a guy in his own home when he's already shown him his ID. He's just inviting problems by doing that.

[SoonerCoug]

So you're taking the word of an unknown woman, with plenty of reasons to cover for herself, over a cop with a perfect record, one who was chosen to teach courses on the problems with racial profiling and whose entire department of whites, blacks, and hispanics have backed him?

Makes sense.

I'm basing this on the audio of the 911 call and the radio transmissions. You can hear her say that she couldn't identify race, and you can hear the dispatcher tell the cop that race is unknown. What happened at the scene is not as clear, but the caller says that their exchange was limited to the cop saying: "Are you the caller?" and her responding "yes." Then the cop supposedly just walked off.