Since the president seems to have an opinion (without all the facts) on the Gates dust up, I'll throw mine in with a similar experience of the Gekko's.
One afternoon, while I was still dating the lovely future Mrs. Gekko I set off her home alarm system and I couldn't turn it off before the police arrived.
When the officers arrived they asked both of us for our ID's. Since I was not a "secured" person on the alarm system, one officer went through the house looking for suspicious activity while the other asked us questions. Then they asked the lovely Mrs. Gekko out of the house while I remained inside.
After the lovely Mrs. Gekko was outside, the cops asked her if she was under any duress and her relationship to me; the cop questioned me about my relationship to the lovely Mrs. Gekko.
I asked a cop buddy of mine what the deal was with that and he said that when cops show up they don't necessarily know who should be in a residence and who should not. By asking the lovely Mrs. Gekko to provide ID they knew was an appropriate resident but they didn't know if she was being held against her will by me.
Since my ID did not have the residence address they wanted to separate the lovely Mrs. Gekko to make sure I wasn't a threat to her.
Instead of getting all indignant and copping an attitude, I thanked the officer for handling the situation. It took all of a half an hour and the problem (that I created mind you) was handled.
In my mind, the cops played this one straight. They show up on a call made by a neighbor who saw suspicious activity. They weren't out looking to roust a bunch of black guys.
The cops show up and ask for ID to make sure this guy was a resident of that house. How did they know this guy wasn't just saying he was a resident in the middle of a robbery? Especially given the call they received. In addition, the cops also didn't know if Gates or a family member was being held against their will by people who had broken into his house.
If Gates would have simply provided ID to the cops and explained that it was him causing the disturbance it would have been a done deal. Cops head back to the donut shop.
Instead Gates decides to play a classic case of "Do you know who I am?".
"Yes sir, you are an asshole."
Here's what I know now. If I'm a criminal, I'm targeting Gates' house since I don't think the police are going to be all that aggressive to roust a real criminal out of his place. After all, you wouldn't want to be known as a racist by asking for someone's ID.
Related articles tipped by Jeremy......
Here
and Here
2 comments:
The opposite scenario is if the house was being burgled and the cops were overly cautious about securing the property, this very same Harvard professor of victimology would have cried racism by nelect. The cops cannot win.
Absolutely, What gets lost in here was that the initial call was for two suspicious men.
Gates was one, where was the other?
For all the cop knew, Gates was belligerent because he was under duress.
If they had left and this second person had robbed and killed him you are correct; there would be hell to pay.
Maybe the best scene in a movie was William Hurt in the Big Chill giving a cop a bunch of crap.
The adult in the group gets that the cop is doing his job and William Hurt wasn't black; just an asshole.
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