Obama Should not Apologize for his Comment on the Gates Arrest

Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was arrested for disorderly conduct while trying to force open the front door of his home near Harvard University Thursday, July 16, 2009.

Crowley says stated that he arrested Gates for yelling. Nothing else, no threatening movement, only yelling. On the front porch of his own home. Yelling is not a crime.

Yelling does not meet the definition of disorderly conduct in Massachusetts. Not one shouted word or action that Crowley has attributed to Gates, amounts to disorderly conduct. That is why the charges had to be dropped.

In the initial Police report there is a slight conflict with the final police report. In Crowley's initial narrative, he stated that he "stepped out to gather information from the reporting person Lucia Whalen" after he had already been inside the home with Gates. In his final report, he stated he was told by Whalen upon arriving what led up to her making the call to the police department. (slight difference is not even the norm of this report) He also stated that he asked Mr. Gates to step outside the resident and Gates refused; in his report he states he arrested Gates for disorderly conduct and causing a public scene.

Well why were you (Mr. Crowley)asking this man to step outside when you already knew there was a small crowd outside the house?

So why was Gates arrested? Here's Crowley's credible, but somewhat troubling, version of events:

"As I descended the stairs to the sidewalk, Gates continued to yell at me, accusing me of racial bias and continued to tell me that I had not heard the last of him. Due to the tumultuous manner Gates had exhibited in his residence as well as his continued tumultuous behavior outside the residence . . . I warned Gates that he was becoming disorderly." Meanwhile, onlookers "appeared surprised and alarmed by Gates' outburst."

Read the police report for yourselves and tell what you think.

I feel that Gates was falsey arrested, for the simple fact that, there is no law prohibiting a civilian from talking back to a oficer, however, both parties overreacted in this situation.

The president was right when he called the arrest stupid. That doesn't mean Crowley is stupid. It means that in that moment, he made a stupid choice in arresting Gates. And the President does not owe them an apology for what he said.