Cop Who Arrested Gates Not Ruling Out Defamation Lawsuit

[kpete]

Source: ABC

Cop Who Arrested Gates Not Ruling Out Defamation Lawsuit
Case Heats Up as Police Organizations Criticize Obama for Jumping Into the Controversy
By MICHELE MCPHEE, RUSSELL GOLDMAN and HUMA KHAN
July 24, 2009

The police sergeant who arrested Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. last week in his own home may be considering a defamation lawsuit against Gates who has implied his arrest was racially motivated.

Alan McDonald, who represents Sgt. James Crowley, said the veteran cop who teaches a racial profiling class for rookie police officers has not ruled out filing a defamation of character or libel lawsuit.

"He is exploring all of his options,'' McDonald told ABC News.

Though charges were dropped, Gates has loudly asserted his arrest was a result of racial profiling.


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=8163051&page=1

[babylonsister]

1. Ugh. nt

[saigon68]

45. A Lame Assed Racist

Maybe Rim Job will put him on the Joe the Plumber Tour

Coming to a trailer park near you.

[tabasco]

2. Barney Fife is demanding a full retraction and

the other four bullets for his revolver!!!!

[TwilightGardener]

3. OK, I laughed.

[callous taoboy]

6. Hee hee shakiest gun in the west.

[MUAD_DIB]

7. Funny. If somebody used a similar epithet on Professor Gates you and

many DUers, myself included, would be collectively hitting the alert button


This whole thing has become farce. Enjoy your shiny objects.


I'm out.

[tabasco]

8. Waaaaaaaaah!!!

[MUAD_DIB]

14. Actually, my assessment was accurate, and insults don't get a rise out of me.

Now maybe if you actually had something to reply with...

[tabasco]

17. I thought you were "out,"

Jim Rome wannabe.


Make it so.

[MUAD_DIB]

19. I'm working from home, but did you have something of

merit to add?

[No Elephants]

40. No, it was totally one-sided. Better luck next time, though.

[Occulus]

10. Still pissed you were wrong about all of it?

Poor baby.

Here. Go read this before you piss and moan about "shiny objects". It probably won't do you any good- especially since it was explained to you in tedious detail on the other threads covering this incident- but at least it'll give you something to do other than dig yourself in deeper.

[MUAD_DIB]

15. Here come the poor name callers. How original. :D

Instead of linking to another thread why don't you, and I mean you, try addressing my point.

Are you able to?

[earcandle]

12. Speaking of Shiny Objects...

http://www.earcandleproductions.com/Shiny_Objects.mp3

Enjoy!

[TwilightGardener]

16. Barney Fife is an "epithet"? REALLY?

[MUAD_DIB]

20. You know exactly what point I am making. Why are you being obtuse?

[TwilightGardener]

23. Sorry, comparing a stupid police officer to a fictional stupid police officer

doesn't rise to the definition of "epithet", comparable to racial or cultural epithets that are truly hurtful and damaging.

[MUAD_DIB]

25. If a anyone posted a derogatory comment about gates you would

be screaming for his head.

An attack is an attack: either racial or personal.


So, again, why are you being obtuse?

[TwilightGardener]

28. Wow, you're just silly now. "Barney Fife" is a reference to the cop's job performance--

that's not necessarily personal. That's saying he's a fuck-up in regard to his role as a cop. Calling an inept soldier "Gomer Pyle" would be the same thing. Calling somebody a racial epithet is attacking something that they can't change about themselves--THAT'S personal, and also offends an entire culture or race. There's no equivalence. You are really reaching.

[Moochy]

32. Apologists gotta Apologize

birds gotta fly etc.

[MUAD_DIB]

42. No, I'm not being silly, but continue with your denials.

That's all you've got.

[mix]

18. your posts on this issue are some of the worst here in ages n/t

[MUAD_DIB]

21. So I have another "Expert" that can't answer a direct question.

So you can only throw your poop and not much else. Good luck to you with that.

[mix]

22. you're a spectacle...not worthy of a serious reply n/t

[MUAD_DIB]

26. That tells me that you can't cut it, dude.

If you're so sacred of actually arguing your point without resorting to the ad hominem attack then you have failed.


Live with it.

[Moochy]

31. He's so sacred [sic] of you

Ooh a fight a fight!! you are posting stupidly in the past few days, I'll agree with this summation and add you to the happy ignore stupid button.

[MUAD_DIB]

43. What's wrong? Can't you let him/her handle an argument on his own?

Go ahead and ignore me. You just lost.

[Iowa]

46. Countless people have described the fallacy of your thinking in excruciating detail...

...in other threads. But you apparently have a different way of viewing the world than most people here. You leave the impression that you are inclined to align with authority, and you try to present that bias as being "fair and balanced". But the folks who post here see right through that; Fox News has been doing it for years. The truth is seldom balanced.

[No Elephants]

39. I call bs. There have been lots of posts on the Gates threads claiming

Gates would never have treated an African American cop the same way, or made the same claims. That is calling Gates racist. I did not notice you or most others here rushing to Gates's defense on that one.

There were also posts asking if the African American cop on the scene had been racist, too, as if black Americans can't possibly be racist--and therefore Gates was lying.

So, there are plenty of posts at DU that assume certain things based solely upon the color of one's skin and no one blinks an eye (or few)..

[MUAD_DIB]

44. Assumptions are being made all around DU in the last few days.

It is easier that asking legitimate questions and expecting honest debate in return.

[joeybee12]

4. It's official! We need a GD-Gates Forum! n/t

[Sarah Ibarruri]

5. He'd better sue the whole nation nt

[The Stranger]

9. This is so fucking media-corporate-whore-driven. Why would he "rule out" anything, unless asked?

The corporate-whore-media is pushing this.

[fascisthunter]

24. a really great point

[Spouting Horn]

38. Who asked the question

at the presser?

[clixtox]

41. I was wondering that also... N/T

[Ysabela]

11. Please, PLEASE let Sgt Jim Crow try to push for defamation...

It'll open up such a can of worms on his racist ass.

I'm just glad the public has his real name...

[Occulus]

13. "Sgt. Jim Crow"

Fitting.

[Lorien]

27. Simple question; had Gates been the same in every way EXCEPT skin color

would the cops have behaved as they did? Of course not! Breaking into a person's home and arresting them without a warrant is unlawful and unconstitutional. The cop should be dismissed from duty.

[MellowDem]

48. Simple question; had Crowley been the same in every way EXCEPT skin color

would Gates have behaved as he did? Of course not!

[Lorien]

49. Yes, he would have. Crowley was behaving outside the rule of law

read the Constitution.

[marshall]

50. I expect both Crowley and Gates will keep their yaps shut for a few days

More info is coming out fast and furious, back tracking is following statements made without full knowledge of what happened. Everyone will step back and it will likely just die down.

[earcandle]

51. so people have to get the police to become public SERVANTS again, not fascist pigs, like they are

trying to assert they have the right to be, without addressing
the freedom of speech violation going on here.

The cop should have asked for ID, after being secure that the
man was not violent nor dangerous.

To consider that he would be pissed off that a cop was now
invading his world, is not hard to do.
The police should be trained in the character,
intelligence,and goodwill to police in an American worldview.

We have too many rights and privileges to be arrested for
standing ground in our own spaces.

This is absurd. We cannot let the cops win this argument. 
This can happen in any race if it happens 
to turn into an insult to the cops and not to the home owner
who was violated because he left his keys
somewhere and was perturbed.

[marshall]

29. Maybe he and Gates can have dueling lawsuits?

And hopefully cancel each other out.

[rocktivity]

33. Violating civil rights is a FEDERAL offense, isn't it?

rocktivity

[marshall]

34. With exceptions, yes

And that will be the bone of contention.

[Iggo]

30. If he sues, and proves himself to be a big fat baby...

...how can he show his face anymore at the cop stop?

Be a man, officer.

[louis-t]

35. Well, there's your evidence. He teaches a class

on racial profiling.

[aquamarina]

36. Keep digging that hole deeper copper...

[FloriTexan]

37. The officer did not assess the situation correctly..

First, the officer let it get out of hand. The police report stated that the woman who called it in was waiting in front of the house when the police arrived along with other bystanders. The first thing he should have done was to ask the crowd to move out of sight, at least a safe distance away from the scene. That single action would have gone a long way in diffusing the situation. If there truly was a burglary in process and the perps were still in the house, they could have been armed and dangerous and all those people would have been standing around outside possibly in the line of fire. That was stupid.

Gates was probably stunned to see a crowd of people outside his house, some snapping pictures and/or videos as I have seen written. Cops on his doorstep. I would not want to step out into that either.

[captain jack]

47. ........