22,416,223 members doing good!
about our ads
share your passions, stories, inspirations, and more
Arresting Harvard Professors at Their Homes Is Not Stupid - It Is Normal
Jul 25, 2009
Does anyone know why the police officer arrested Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., once he knew the man was at his own home and was not a burglar?  Prof. Gates does not know either.  He said in an Oprah Radio interview, "I don't know of anything I could have done to justify Sgt. Crawley's reaction."  Hear Prof. Gates speak at this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFhw_wIB4NY

What were the charges?*  I only read that the professor got irate with the police.  Reminded me of this lady - the great grandma who was tasered after refusing to sign a traffic ticket in Texas - white, by the way.  Some people think this is only a "black thang":

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/06/raw-video-cop-tasers-72-year-old-granny/

At least the Harvard professor was not tasered.  That's a plus for the officer.

It also brought to mind a youth director who was driving and stopped at a red light.  An old friend noticed him and ran over to say hello.  They traded a few words and shook hands.  When the light changed, the teacher drove to his home.  He was immediately accosted by officers who believed they had just witnessed a drug buy.  The teacher, a rapper artist called "Wise Intelligent," allowed himself and his vehicle to be searched and did not mind knowing that police were working hard to keep his neighborhood drug-free.  He teaches young people the importance of saying "no" to drugs, after all.  The thing is that the police arrested him, anyway!  I think they said he was irate, like the Harvard professor and the great grandma.  He became "irate" when the officers still cited him for "assaulting the police" or something, even though that was a lie and they knew it.  The story is here:  http://www.ballerstatus.com/2009/07/14/rapperactivist-wise-intelligent-falsely-arrested-in-new-jersey/


I recall the young man who almost became the first African American unarmed man killed by police in 2009 - the son of a retired pro football player who had a promising sports career planned for himself.  Robbie Tolan lost that position of being the first one killed to Oscar Grant (who was shot in the back by B.A.R.T. officers).  Tolan's bullet did not kill him, but merely hospitalized him.  He and his cousin went to get snacks in the wee hours on New Year's morning, and police followed them back to their home and accused them of driving in a stolen vehicle.  It was a nice vehicle and a nice neighborhood, like the Harvard professor - too nice for black people, apparently. Tolan and his family probably did not use a proper conciliatory tone of voice when the police were roughing them up in their front yard for having such a nice vehicle.  I think Robbie Tolan and his family became "irate" when the police officer shove his mom against the van for coming outside to see what the problem was:  http://streetknowledge.wordpress.com/2009/01/09/baseball-players-son-shot-by-policeunarmed-and-in-his-driveway/


What is the exact charge for "irate" attitudes?  Lots of people are being tasered and arrested for that these days, and in poor and minority neighborhoods, they are sometimes killed for it.  Luckily, the elderly woman was white, and the Harvard professor, New Jersey teacher, and Texas ballplayer were obviously people of means.  But if they had been poor people of color or mentally challenged citizens, they might have had a different outcome over their "irate" attitudes.  They got off light.  They could have wound up like 73-year-old Bernard Monroe in Louisiana - http://my.nowpublic.com/world/73-year-old-black-man-shot-and-killed-police-homer-la

So President Obama was wrong - it most certainly was not "stupid" for the policeman to arrest the Harvard professor for being at home.  It seems to be standard police procedure across the nation. Ask any of the folks listed herein, with the exception of Mr. Monroe.  He was at home, too, but he was no Harvard professor.  So he is dead.  They should all learn to do as my grandfather, an ex-slave, did throughout his life.  He lived to be nearly 100, until the mid-40's.  He always looked at the ground when addressing certain people and said "yassa."  That's safer behavior when encountering people who have power and authority, like police officers, and no one could ever accuse him of being "irate."

Prof. Gates may not realize it, but he got off light.  At least the police officer did not sodomize Prof. Gates with his Taser, like the Idaho man who did not want police officers at his home in February.  Read the AP news report about it here:   Idaho man sodomized by police Taser plans to sue” ... If it matters, he's white.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jnNgVpQqpNo__-jCHzb9eOYd53AgD99KF6PG4

At the time of the report, the officer who sodomized the citizen with his Taser was still on the job.

Consider the Phoenix blogger, Jeff Pataky, who failed to give police the proper respect.  They raided his home, removed his computer and personal records while his female roommate was reportedly handcuffed for three hours during which time they ramsacked the place.  See it here:  http://my.nowpublic.com/tech-biz/bloggers-home-raided-phoenix-police-he-criticized-them 

One thing is for sure - it is lucky for that Harvard professor that he did not have an accident and release gas during his "altercation" with the officer, like the Latino man, Jose Cruz, in this article.  He was charged with BATTERY against the officer for passing gas in his vacinity.  http://my.nowpublic.com/strange/man-charged-battery-passing-gas-near-police-officer

Maybe President Obama should speak with Attorney General Holder about the unwritten law against citizens having irate attitudes when addressing police officers, especially since some citizens get the death penalty for it at the scene of arrest.  This writer agrees with those who profess that Sgt. Crawley may not have arrested Prof. Gates out of racial profiling.  This problem is not confined to any particular race or age group, although the law against "irate" attitudes is enforced most harshly against young, black men.  The irate Texas great-grandmother could have been killed by Taser, and she is white and elderly.  I believe the Phoenix blogger is white, also.  Everyone qualifies for an immediate attitude adjustment if they do not address police officers with the proper deference, including Harvard professors.  If President Obama recognizes that these things should not happen, I hope he will continue to denounce them and ask Atty. Gen. Holder to talk with police officers about the difference between "irate" behavior and "criminal" conduct.

Police officers need frequent mental health evaluations.  They encounter a good deal of stress on the job.  Frequently, police officers are ex-military personnel, among whom there is a high incidence of PTSD.  Officers may need additional vacation time or temporary transfer to a position that does not bring them into contact with people under distressful circumstances.  Immediate drug and alcohol testing for officers should be done each time Tasers or gunfire is used against citizens. 

Mentally ill persons are frequently arrested like Prof. Gates was for displaying less than complete subservience to police officers.  Sometimes they react slower to demands.  If mental patients are in a heightened state of mental agitation, they may disobey commands altogether.  Therefore, they suffer arrests even when no real crime was committed.  Some officers respond by Tasering the mentally ill and beating them during arrests because police are enraged at the lack of respect they receive, and the mentally ill provide a safe outlet for police frustration. 

Consider this psychiatric patient's ordeal when told by police to zip his jacket.  He had done no crime, but he was beaten and arrested, perhaps for responding slowly or saying something that offended the officer on a short fuse:  RAW VIDEO http://www.1010wins.com/VIDEO--Police-Investigate-Passaic-Beating-Tape/4546752

Police Beating Caught on Tape - Harmless Schizophrenic Victim

US Politics & Gov't 
Mary
abcnews.go.com
SEE THE VIDEO: A schizophrenic man attacked and beaten by police. Ronnie Holloway did no crime when Officer Rios of the Passaic, NJ Police Dept jumped from a cruiser and beat him. The other officer tried to stop the beating, but Officer Rios . . . .

_______
The cyberstalkers removed the link to the video when I posted it above the first time - actually, the link still showed in the edit field, but not on the public view.  They can do that - render certain text invisible for censorship purposes. 

********************************* 
Once incarcerated, the mentally ill face similar treatment from jail guards. Psychiaric patients' lack of understanding and ability to abide by prison rules usually eliminate them from receiving time off for "good" behavior.  In fact, their sentences are frequently lengthened or the mentally ill are relegated to solitary, gassed, or placed in sometimes deadly restraint chairs for breaking rules or not showing guards the respect that guards' egos require.   

The mental patient in this report was perceived as being disrespectful to officers when he did not open the door at Family Dollar where he was sick in the bathroom.  They pepper-sparyed him, Tasered him, and arrested him - AFTER they discovered he did not hear them knocking because he is deaf.

http://www.al.com/news/press-register/metro.ssf?/base/news/124877253351170.xml&coll=3

Just another one of many "beyond disturbing" stories.  May God help us all. 

Professor Gate's experience of being arrested although no crime was done is not anything unusual, although it happens less often to people of his stature.  I hope that having this happen to a dear friend, President Obama will be prompted to insist on CHANGE, and help spare American people from such unnecessary, retaliatory arrests that cost taxpayers money and infringe on the rights of citizens.

I teach young people that when addressing officers, they are to always move in slow motion, have absolutely NOTHING in their hands (mistakes have been made), say "yes sir" very clearly, and ask permission before going in their pockets for I.D.  My grandfather did not live to be nearly 100 by being stupid.  Take a lesson, Harvard professors!
__________
* The reason I don't know the charges and other particulars about Prof. Gate's arrest is because my cyberstalkers have control of my browser, and they don't let me read about certain news.  The Boston Globe article would not open for me.  As a matter of fact, when I entered "Harvard Professor Arrested," my computer first went to the Google page with many newspaper articles, then it FROZE.  That happens when "they" are hiding something from me.  I had to log off and try again.  Then when I Googled "Harvard Professor Arrested," some of the newspaper accounts were not there!  One that was missing on my second attempt was the report or comment in the Philadelphia Inquirer entitled something like "We have not come as far as we hoped."  I guess if I want to read it, I will have to do so at another computer.  My BIG BROTHERS say no to my reading it on my own computer.  How do you like that?  Have you got Big Brothers, too?  If not, sit tight - you'll get your turn.  If you write about anything controversial, you jump ahead of the crowd.  Then you won't be able to post videos on Care2 any longer.  Never know what you might publish - maybe the truth!

Mary Neal
http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com

The Latino man who expelled gas near
police faced a possible sentence of
10 years imprisonment for battery
against a police officer.  Remember your
manners, Harvard professors!  No one
said you had to be committing a crime
to get accosted in your own home.  Ask
Kathryn Johnston's family.

Man Charged with Battery for Passing Gas Near Police Officer by duo 
(0) | () | | send green star | flag as inappropriate
Visibility: Everyone
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted: Jul 25, 2009 8:36pm

 
 
 
Content and comments expressed here are the opinions of Care2 users and not necessarily that of Care2.com or its affiliates.

Author

Mary Neal
female, age 57, divorced, 2 children
Stone Mountain, GA, USA
Shares by Type:
All (582) | Blog (577) | Alert (1) | Poll (1) | Photo (1) | Message (2)

Showing shares tagged with: policesodomy [show all]
ads keep care2 free
SHARES FROM MARY'S NETWORK
May
12
(1 comments  |  discussions )
Mama's Day Cards You Won't Find at the Drugstore Society & Culture  (tags: mothersday, mothers, families, queer, transgender, immigrants, strongfamilies ) BMutiny  - huffingtonpost.com The group...commissioned a group of artis...
May
9
(0 comments  |  discussions )
The largest genocide in human history happened where? Most people would answer Germany, and the Jewish Holocaust. Actually though, the largest genocide happened in the USA, with the native American Indians, with estimates of 19 million to 100 millio...
May
8
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Official Nuclear Radiation Study; Tokyo University Hayno, R.S., et al (2013) Internal Radiocesium Contamination of Adults and Children 7 to 20 Months After the Fukushima NPP Accident as Measured by Extensive Whole-Body-Counter Surveys, Proc. Jpn....
May
6
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Toxic radiation accumulates in water supplies after nuclear accidents. Radiation bioconcentrates in fish that live in fresh water and salt water. Runoff of fresh water from land which has been contaminated ends up contaminating oceans, and salt wate...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
66 Atomic Bombs were exploded on the Bikini Island Atolls. Hundreds of islanders were removed from the islands, but not from harms way. One hydrogen bomb exploded near the islands, and the children played with the dust from the bomb, as it fel...
May
5
(0 comments  |  discussions )
"Under our current law, a suspected terrorist on the FBI's No-Fly List can't board an airplane -- but they can still legally purchase guns and explosives. This loophole, known as the “Terror Gap,” is ...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Germany added more solar panels in one month, than the US did in ONE YEAR. Nearly 1/3 of Germany power output is handled by bottoms up solar energy during the middle of the day. The transition to a 100% renewable energy nation is in process. T...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
http://www.upworthy.com/ /the-top-8-ways-to-be-tra ditionally-married-accord ing-to-the-bible?c=upw1 According to the Old Testament, which defines all of the 'rules' of traditional marriage, the above examples are all of the ways that couples can be ...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
What is the difference between bailing out or helping people at the bottom, or giving corporate welfare to the top 1%? The example of Iceland, compared to the US, provides us with a good comparison.  "Nobel prize winning economist Jo...
May
4
(0 comments  |  0 discussions )
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy From the video above; "the gun lobby and its allies willfully lied about the bill. They claimed that it would create some sort of big brother gun registry, even though th...

Copyright © 2013 Care2.com, inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved