Cambridge cop is a liar.

[Non Sequitur]

I agree with your other post that there are some cops who are dicks, but what good does it do to be belligerent with a cop who is a dick?

It probably does no good, but sometimes you have to stick up for yourself, regardless of the consequences.

[il Padrino Ute]

It probably does no good, but sometimes you have to stick up for yourself, regardless of the consequences.

Fair enough.

[ERCougar]

She said that one of them might have been hispanic, but that she really couldn't tell.

But didn't she just say she never mentioned race at all? Only the actions.

So we know of at least one liar.

[SoonerCoug]

OK...so the cop asks Gates for his ID, Gates is pissed that he has to show it and ascribes the request to the cop's alleged racism, the cop believes him and leaves the home, but Gates follows him out, yelling at him and accuses him of racism.

I'll stand partially corrected. It sounds like both of them were being dicks. But one provoked the other. Why is a cop a racist for doing his job?

I don't think it's that the cop was necessarily racist. I think the cop used race to his advantage in the report, and I think the cop arrested Gates because he had insulted him.

[SoonerCoug]

But didn't she just say she never mentioned race at all? Only the actions.

So we know of at least one liar.

I think she is saying that said she didn't mention race at all at the scene. Crowley wrote in his report that he spoke to the caller at the scene, and that she told him that she had seen two black men. When the caller says that she never mentioned race, I think she is referring to this interaction.

If the caller is referring to the phone call, then she might be saying she wasn't the one to bring up race. This dispatcher was the first to bring up race, and the caller reported that she couldn't tell for sure, but one of them might have been hispanic.

[RobinFinderson]

Ok, you're comfortable calling it "teaching him a lesson."

Glad you admitted it's speculation on your part.

What is the purpose of disorderly conduct laws?

[RobinFinderson]

But didn't she just say she never mentioned race at all? Only the actions.

So we know of at least one liar.

Link? Where did she say this? (I'm learning about this right now, via this thread, so the request is sincere). Where did she say that she never mentioned race?

[il Padrino Ute]

What is the purpose of disorderly conduct laws?

To stop people from acting in a reckless manner is my guess.

[il Padrino Ute]

I think she is saying that said she didn't mention race at all at the scene. Crowley wrote in his report that he spoke to the caller at the scene, and that she told him that she had seen two black men. When the caller says that she never mentioned race, I think she is referring to this interaction.

If the caller is referring to the phone call, then she might be saying she wasn't the one to bring up race. This dispatcher was the first to bring up race, and the caller reported that she couldn't tell for sure, but one of them might have been hispanic.

If she is saying that she didn't mention race to Crowley at the scene, what does the call to 911 have to do with any of this?

Unless I heard wrong, MSNBC was reporting about the phone call.

[SoonerCoug]

If she is saying that she didn't mention race to Crowley at the scene, what does the call to 911 have to do with any of this?

Unless I heard wrong, MSNBC was reporting about the phone call.

The call is important because it confirms that she hadn't identified or reported race. If she couldn't identify race when she made the call, why would she have claimed to see black men at the scene? I suppose it's possible, but I have a hard time understanding why she would do that.

I think the main reason the tape is important to the caller is that it proves to the world that she wasn't calling because she had seen black men.

[RobinFinderson]

To stop people from acting in a reckless manner is my guess.

What do you mean by reckless? Was Gates endangering anyone? Was his behavior threatening? No. He was shouting down a person he believed to be a racist cop while on his own private property. This should be an example of protected speech. If a man's front yard can't be a temporary 'free speech' zone where he can throw an impromptu protest against abusive police behavior, then God help us all.

[ERCougar]

Link? Where did she say this? (I'm learning about this right now, via this thread, so the request is sincere). Where did she say that she never mentioned race?

From Sooner's original post:

"Let me be clear: She never had a conversation with Sgt. Crowley at the scene," Murphy told CNN by phone. "And she never said to any police officer or to anybody 'two black men.' She never used the word 'black.' Period."

She added, "I'm not sure what the police explanation will be. Frankly, I don't care. Her only goal is to make it clear she never described them as black. She never saw their race. ... All she reported was behavior, not skin color."

[il Padrino Ute]

The call is important because it confirms that she hadn't identified or reported race. If she couldn't identify race when she made the call, why would she have claimed to see black men at the scene? I suppose it's possible, but I have a hard time understanding why she would do that.

I think the main reason the tape is important to the caller is that it proves to the world that she wasn't calling because she had seen black men.

So, by your own admission, the woman could have told the cop when she spoke to him that the men were black.

Who said that she called because she saw black men?

[Fiyero]

I miss Mike Waters' input on threads like this. I'm curious to see the end result had an officer walked into Waters' arsenal and told him he was being arrested for reckless behavior.

[il Padrino Ute]

What do you mean by reckless? Was Gates endangering anyone? Was his behavior threatening? No. He was shouting down a person he believed to be a racist cop while on his own private property. This should be an example of protected speech. If a man's front yard can't be a temporary 'free speech' zone where he can throw an impromptu protest against abusive police behavior, then God help us all.

Reckless would be putting oneself or others in harm's way, no?

Just admit that you're speculating about all of this Robin. You weren't there, so anything you say is speculation.