I just heard part of the 911 call (gates) on CNN. Funny thing.

[Fuzz]

The dispatcher said first, 'Hispanic?' I think it was are they Hispanic, but it was not really intelligible. The caller, at least in the part they played, they didn't play the entire thing, wasn't offering that information, the cop on the other end was pushing it.

Interesting.

[masuki bance]

1. Why are people uncomfortable with the police trying to get descriptions? nt

[xultar]

2. I'm not.

[Warpy]

4. If that had been the case

the question would be "Can you describe them? What are they wearing?"

Asking if they're (targeted minority here) is beyond the pale.

[masuki bance]

10. So now, the person who called in the possible burglary is racist

for calling it in, the dispatcher is racist for asking for a description, and the cop is a racist for investigating a possible break in.

Got it.

[MADem]

26. The person who called in the report is an olive skinned woman of Portuguese descent.

There was no mention of black guys or backpacks in the call, though. There was a mention of SUITCASES on the porch, and a question as to if the fellows pushing the door might have actually lived in the house, which the woman stated was a clear possibility.

Funny how none of that made it into the police report.

[masuki bance]

46. Why is that funny? nt

[goodhue]

60. Perhaps funny as in suspicious?

eom

[MADem]

63. Of course that's what I meant--funny as in "fishy." And this poster is being a provacateur.

Read the rest of his "Defend the indefensible" remarks downthread.

[MADem]

61. How long have you been obtuse? You don't think it's funny that a woman

calls in and talks about two guys of undetermined ethnicity with SUITCASES, and Crowley writes it down as "Two black guys with backpacks?" You don't think it's funny that Crowley says he talked to the woman on the sidewalk in his report, and she says "Oh, no, he did NOT--he never talked to me?"

What are you, dull of comprehension? Or are you being a deliberate provacateur?

Perhaps you're simply unable to read the information provided at the links?

[masuki bance]

76. Crowley's report is not a summary of the initial phone call.

Why would it be? The phone calls and radio reports are all recorded.

[MADem]

81. Crowley's report is packed full of lies. And it was written AFTER the incident.

Police often use the dispatch records to aid the writing of their reports. He didn't even bother to do that. He apparently didn't know what fish he caught and felt confident "making shit up" and putting it down as a permanent and false record.

[godai]

28. Yes, it all makes perfect (non)sense. n/t

[masuki bance]

16. Why are you so quick with the accusations?

“...They kind of had to barge in. I’m not sure if these are two individuals who actually live there ... they were pushing the door in.” When asked by the dispatcher if the men are “white, black or Hispanic,” Whalen said “one looked kind of Hispanic,” also saying they were “larger men.

“I just saw them from a distance,” she said, adding she called when an older woman seemed concerned about the men busting into the house.
...
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1187334&pos=breaking

[Warpy]

95. Please refer to the OP

"The dispatcher said..."

Open ended questions are the only way to get any kind of non biased description and I gave examples.

Now what is YOUR problem?

[Butch350]

19. No, it's not.

[godai]

25. She asked,,,black, white, hispanic? That about covers the bases. n/t

[Warpy]

29. OK, that's much better

Eyewitness accounts are already unreliable. Attempting to lead them by suggesting a single ethnic group makes a bad situation worse.

Questions should be as open ended as possible and I gave examples of how to do it.

[pampango]

48. I believe Asians should protest for equal treatment in listing of a perp's ethnicity.

:)

[pecwae]

69. So, a description wouldn't

include race?

[Warpy]

97. Race shouldn't be suggested up front

Refer to the OP, "The dispatcher said..."

Questions should be open ended. I gave examples.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

93. Delete

[Fuzz]

5. I'm not either. How about can you describe them?

[MADem]

14. The dispatcher offered up a full menu of choices, too.

From the link I provided elsewhere in this thread:

When asked by the dispatcher if the men are “white, black or Hispanic,” Whalen said “one looked kind of Hispanic,” also saying they were “larger men.

“I just saw them from a distance,” she said, adding she called when an older woman seemed concerned about the men busting into the house...

[mmonk]

21. I think they were or are more concerned with any assumptions

by the caller as to ethnicity and perceiving a crime is taking place based on that.

[masuki bance]

31. Sad. That's why they were calling her a racist.

May make people think twice before they call in a possible crime, who wants to be branded a racist?

[xultar]

3. This shit, like I was trying to say last week is gonna end up being not about race

but about police and civilian relationships. I didn't think the cop was racist because if he was. Gates would have been in handcuffs on the ground with a knee in his back a lot fucking sooner.

They were just two alpha males playin who has the bigger dick.

[Fuzz]

6. Also true.

[dogtag]

20. Posters on this forum and elsewhere

have been beating the bushes for over a week trying to find some overt racism where none exists, with the exception of an unfortunate "Yo momma" contributed by Professor Gates. (If I had a cop encounter, that last thing that would come to mind would be to take that opportunity to play the dozens) It sure as hell isn't about racial profiling and it would be a shame to have some national debate with Mr. Gates portraying the much maligned victim and Sgt. Crowley the brutish cop.

It is about police and civilian relationships and that's a terrific topic to put up for discussion. Calling Mr. President, calling Mr. President.

[csziggy]

99. Thet's been my impression - too much testosterone and adrenaline

Being whipped up inside Gates' house and spilled out onto the front porch. Both men got too worked up to behave rationally.

But the police officer is the one that supposedly has the training to control the situation, so he should have the responsibility to try to tone things down. And it does not sound as though that happened in this incident. Maybe Crowley pushed a few too many of Gates' buttons or vice versa, but that does not excuse Crowley for not doing the job he was trained to do - control the situation to achieve peace.

[bbinacan]

7. From an article

He also said that when the dispatcher questioned Whalen for more details, she told police she could only guess about the race of the two men. “She speculated . . . that one might be Hispanic.’’

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/27/gates_caller_didnt_cite_race_police_say/?page=1

[Fuzz]

8. Like I said I heard only a part of the 911 call. Sounded to me like

the dispatcher asked and she said something like I don't know, maybe.

[FarCenter]

9. So likely Gates' limo driver who helped him in the back door was white?

Did the limo driver stay for the altercation?

Has anyone heard anything about him?

[MADem]

17. No, he was black, and big, and he left. Why are you chiming in when you

plainly need to do some reading and get up to speed on this topic?

I frankly question your purposes in this discussion. That's the second dumb thing you've said--the first being your comment about hispanics.

[FarCenter]

11. Unless they are talking and you are close enough to hear them...

Hispanic is not a description.

[masuki bance]

12. ?

[MADem]

15. What does voice have to do with it? Bill Richardson is hispanic.

Do you think all hispanics talk like Speedy Gonzales or Ricky Ricardo?

[FarCenter]

35. While not all Hispanics speak with an accent...

If you heard someone speaking with a Spanish accent, you could legitimately conjecture that the person is Hispanic.

On the other hand, you are further making my point -- the term "Hispanic" is essentially useless as a description of a person to the police.

[MADem]

85. Your point is not taken. "Hispanic" in police parlance refers to appearance.

Further, most people who think Ricky Ricardo's voice is a Spanish accent have never heard King Juan Carlos, or TV host Cristina, or a slew of other people of hispanic heritage speak English. They sound nothing like "Ricky."

Some Americans can't tell a "Spanish" accent from an Italian one.

[FarCenter]

98. I've worked with an Hispanic with brown hair and blue eyes

and with others from Columbia, Spain and Puerto Rico who had skin color that was average for Europeans.

Hispanic has nothing to do with appearance.

[MADem]

100. I have blonde, fair hispanics in my family. That's not the point.

The point is, in police parlance, "Hispanic" is a visual descriptor. What they're trying to say is "Does the perpetrator have features that are consistent with your 'average' Mexican, Central American, South American, or person of spanish- Carribean island heritage?" without actually saying so.

To the police, it has EVERYTHING to do with appearance. That's why, when asked what the people on the porch "looked" like, the dispatcher asked, "Black, white or hispanic?" Looked--not sounded.

[MADem]

13. OK, here's another bit of the 911 tape--the person calling in is NOT an asshole.

The caller says SUITCASES, not "backpacks." She says she's not sure if the people pushing the door actually LIVE there.

The source is the HERALD, but this is "elucidative."

See the link to the 911 tape at this link: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1187334&pos=breaking

[Spazito]

18. This is interesting, imo...

From the second tape:

"One minute into the tape, Sgt. James Crowley is heard saying “can you have the caller come to the front door” to which the dispatcher replies “it’s not her house.”

Forty seconds later Crowley says a man is being “uncooperative” and seconds later asks for Harvard Police. “Keep the cars coming,” he says.

Gates’ voice can not easily be heard. You do hear police call for “the wagon.""

Wagon? As in 'paddy wagon'?

Edited to correct spelling of 'paddy'.

[TexasObserver]

22. The 9-11 call helps Gates and hurts the police.

If it helped the police, they'd have trotted it out on day two.

It shows that the caller did not suggest there were two black men, did not suggest that they didn't have a right to be there, and did not say they had back packs. It shows that her report was more consistent with the man being a homeowner returning from a trip than someone breaking into the house.

[godai]

24. How does this help Gates?

The way I see it, Gates apparently was the only one indicating racial motives. I had heard it said he had a cold, maybe tired from jetlag, I don't know but kind of unbecoming of a Harvard Professor to speak that way.

[TexasObserver]

27. It helps him because the 9-11 caller suggested it might be the homeowner.

And she suggested they might be carrying suitcases, which is consistent with coming home from a trip, not breaking into a home. Do burglars usually bring their luggage to daytime burglaries? No.

Sgt. Jim Crow-ley got into it with the professor because the professor objected to the demands of the cop that Gates come outside. Jim Crow-ley threw gasoline on the fire, instead of dousing it. He was a bad actor and he contrived to arrest Gates on a trumped up charge. He's a bad apple, and typical of the cops who put their own egos before doing their jobs right.

[dogtag]

30. It's very suspicious that Sgt. Crowley

didn't know that Professor Gates had just come back from a trip to China. He should also have known that he was jet lagged, tired and terminally cranky. That shows some pretty bad police training, if you ask me. Also he should have recognized the good Professor right off the bat. How remiss of him.

Sgt. Crowley probably followed Mr. Gates home from the airport, profiling all the way.

Thanks to the 911 tape we now have a new racist player in this. That would be the little old lady who tricked the passerby into making the call.

I'm dripping with sarcasm, (something's wrong with my icon)

[godai]

32. For a minute there, I thought you were serious! lol n/t

[dogtag]

68. My post wasn't any sillier

than what I've been reading here. As a good Liberal, I tend not to jump to conclusions until I know the facts of the matter.

Leaving Professor Gates aside for the moment, what do we know about Sgt. Crowley? We know that he has an impeccable record. We know that he was hand picked by a black police commissioner to teach a sensitivity class. Unless the commissioner was playing some sick joke on the black community, I'll take a wild guess and assume Sgt. Crowley was a good candidate for this post.

If anyone thinks that President Obama called Sgt. Crowley without doing a thorough background check, they're nuts. He'd already make one faux pas and I don't think he was about to make another one.

We still don't know exactly what happened on Ware Street that day. Engaging in a vendetta doesn't sound very fair to me.

In most cases I have an automatic reflex to side with anyone who's a minority in an encounter with the police. In this case, I'm still keeping an open mind.

[godai]

73. I'm with you. One discrepancy...

Crowley wrote that he talked to the 911 caller but she says she never spoke to Crowley. Who did crowley speak to (gave him the backpacks info), or did he make that up (unlikely).

[MADem]

86. Why are you glossing over the outright lies in Crowley's report about the incident?

He wrote that report after this was all over. Why did he lie in it?

People who are smart enough not to get caught have "impeccable" records too. No one is suggesting that Crowley is stupid.

What is being suggested is that Crowley got pissed off and exercised poor judgment. And he salted his report with a bit of false (and racially oriented) information to "justify" a very bad bust.

Two black guys with backpacks? How did "two guys with suitcases who may be the homeowners" morph into that?

[onetwo]

34. It helps because it proves that the Sgt. outright lied about certain things in the report.

The Sergeant never spoke to the 911 caller when they were both at the scene.

The caller never mentioned "two black men with backpacks."

These exposed lies throw the accuracy of the entire report into question. Now, details like, "he talked about my mama," are much less credible.

[fascisthunter]

39. ding

[godai]

40. According to the police report Crowley did speak to the caller.

Why would he lie about that? It's so easy to check. He got the 'appeared to be 2 black males' and backpack info from talking with the caller.

There are plenty of witnesses who can verify (or not) the I'll go outside to talk to your mama words from Gates. Again, why would the cop lie about that? Others were there.

[Hannah Bell]

41. but not according to the taped call, apparently.

[godai]

44. The taped 911 call was prior to police arriving! n/t

[Hannah Bell]

53. "luggage" not "backpacks" in the call.

[godai]

70. Yes, but Crowley didn't hear that call.

He got 'backpacks' from taking to someone on the scene who he identified as the 911 caller. There is a discrepancy there. The 911 caller says she didn't talk to Crowley.

[Hannah Bell]

78. the original call was the reason he went there in the first place, & the person on the scene was

the original caller. who said "luggage".

[godai]

50. I did find an apparent contradiction.

Crowley writes that he talked to the caller (Whalen) but CNN.com reports that Whalen says she never talked to Crowley. Don't know what the explanation here is but maybe Crowley talked to someone other than Whalen (older lady who 1st noticed the activity?).

[hileeopnyn8d]

96. Why are you fabricating

entire scenarios that are not supported by the facts as we now know them? :shrug:

[MADem]

87. Why didn't he call THAT in? That was NEW info. Standard police procedure to call that in.

Also standard procedure to say he's made contact with (fill in name of person).

If he'd gone into that house, and shots rang out, and he ended up dead, the police would be looking for "two black guys with backpacks," see?

That's why police have transmitters on their collars, so they can call in this kind of info. Like he called in that Gates was "uncooperative" and to "keep the cars coming."

[quiller4]

90. The caller says she didn't speak to any police at the scene. n/t

[TexasObserver]

51. Yes, it does.

[MADem]

33. Yes, it does. The woman calling in says there are suitcases on the porch and the guys might LIVE

in the home.

I do get the sense listening to the tape that someone's eager for a "collar."

[godai]

42. Gates DID live there and that was quickly verified.

It was Gates behavior that got him arrested. I know a lot of people think that was unjustified but it's a risk you take when you antagonize police.

[masuki bance]

45. I don't understand why people say that Gates being upset at being asked

for ID makes sense. Why be upset when the police are investigating a possible break in in your own home?

[godai]

47. How do they know (without ID) that it's your home? n/t

[MADem]

59. He gave the guy two IDs. A university one, and a driver's license with the address ON it. NT

[MADem]

58. The policeman didn't tell Gates why he was there. He simply said

step out on the porch.

[masuki bance]

62. I would think anybody with a lick of intelligence would realize that if

you are going to spend ten minutes trying to get into the front door of your house, and you end up smashing in the door with your shoulder, that it may look like a break in to an outside observer.

[MADem]

67. You aren't a black person living in Cambridge. If you were, you'd have a "lick of intelligence"

about the historic intolerance and poor record the police department has when dealing with people of color.

Gates didn't smash the door. He went around back and turned off the alarm and pulled while the driver pushed.

But hey, make shit up, like Crowley did in his "report"--you're determined to defend the indefensible, no matter what. And yeah--that's "funny" to me.

Your POV is all too clear.

[masuki bance]

74. Same deal, forcing the front door open can be seen as suspicious. Obviously

someone thought it was and called it in. To act surprised about it, and to get offended when it is investigated is ridiculous.

[MADem]

77. You ARE obtuse. No one is "surprised" about the calling in. It's what happened AFTER that

that is causing the problem. And all of what happened after that was not Gates' fault. The policeman handled the entire situation like a lying jackass. And he lied in his report. And he lied to the press. And he lied about the woman calling in the report. He lied, lied, and lied some more. THAT's the problem. Sheesh.

Try reading this thread, and absorbing what is in it. You plainly aren't doing that, perhaps because you hold some biases or you're unable to read for comprehension.

[masuki bance]

82. If he wasn't surprised about someone calling in a possible break in,

is it a normal response to accuse the cop of asking for his id because "I'm a black man in America"?

[MADem]

84. Tell me where on the tape we actually hear that? Do!!!

We hear that ONLY from a guy who lied at least three times in his report--Jim Crowley.

[masuki bance]

88. ...

I kept saying to him, ‘What is your name, and what is your badge number?’ and he refused to respond. I asked him three times, and he refused to respond. And then I said, ‘You’re not responding because I’m a black man, and you’re a white officer.’ That’s what I said. He didn’t say anything. He turned his back to me and turned back to the porch. And I followed him. I kept saying, “I want your name, and I want your badge number.”

...

A crowd had gathered, and as they were handcuffing me and walking me out to the car, I said, ‘Is this how you treat a black man in America?’

http://www.theroot.com/views/skip-gates-speaks?page=0,1

[MADem]

91. Gee, that doesn't sound like "I'm a Black Man in AMERICA!!!" to me.

And that IS what you said upthread. Ooops.

Totally different tone.

Of course, there still is "tone," there--the tone of a lawful resident wanting to know why the hell there's a cop on his doorstep demanding that he come outside without explaining anything to him...which is why the Professor was first, frightened, then irritated, and then, arrested.

It all comes down to that Jim Crowley didn't like the black professor's "uppity" TONE. He didn't like the professor asking him questions, lawful questions, that any police officer is required by law to answer.

That's why the cop used poor judgment, and arrested the guy who had every right to be in the house and ask that question, because it was HIS residence.

[masuki bance]

89. He said ‘I’m here to investigate a 911 call for breaking and entering into this house.’

http://www.theroot.com/views/skip-gates-speaks?page=0,1

[MADem]

94. From the same link. The stuff you kinda glossed over. That's not the first thing he said.

Why are you trying to suggest it was?

You, apparently, have a narrative in YOUR head, too--it's pretty obvious from your posts:

I’m saying ‘You need to send someone to fix my lock.’ All of a sudden, there was a policeman on my porch. And I thought, ‘This is strange.’ So I went over to the front porch still holding the phone, and I said ‘Officer, can I help you?’ And he said, ‘Would you step outside onto the porch.’ And the way he said it, I knew he wasn’t canvassing for the police benevolent association. All the hairs stood up on the back of my neck, and I realized that I was in danger. And I said to him no, out of instinct. I said, ‘No, I will not.’...

....And I said ‘That’s ridiculous because this happens to be my house. And I’m a Harvard professor.’ He says ‘Can you prove that you’re a Harvard professor?’ I said yes, I turned and closed the front door to the kitchen where I’d left my wallet, and I got out my Harvard ID and my Massachusetts driver’s license which includes my address and I handed them to him. And he’s sitting there looking at them.

Now it’s clear that he had a narrative in his head: A black man was inside someone’s house, probably a white person’s house, and this black man had broken and entered, and this black man was me.

So he’s looking at my ID, he asked me another question, which I refused to answer. And I said I want your name and your badge number because I want to file a complaint because of the way he had treated me at the front door. He didn’t say, ‘Excuse me, sir, is there a disturbance here, is this your house?’—he demanded that I step out on the porch, and I don’t think he would have done that if I was a white person.

[MADem]

57. Oh, come off it --the policeman LIED about several things in his report.

No two black men--check.

No BACKPACKS--check.

No "speaking to the woman who called in the report"--check.

That's three LIES in his police report right off the bat.

Three lies, like three strikes--he's OUT.

[godai]

66. Aren't they all minor points?

I believe that Crowley spoke to someone who he thought was the caller. That remains to be clarified but it's hardly worth burning the country down over that point. The 'blacks/backpacks' comes from that conversation. I can't think of a reason why a cop would make up such as easily verifiable point.

[MADem]

75. No, those are MAJOR points. He could have reviewed the call before he

wrote the report.

Two black guys? No one said that.

BACKPACKS? Backpacks are commonly used in B and E's, particularly when they're done, as they often are in Boston and Cambridge, on FOOT. The days of the candlesticks in the pillowcase are long gone.

Crowley further was in the house, so he saw the suitcases. Again, he could have also reviewed the dispatch call to help him "recall" that no one said backpacks, they said suitcases.

Finally, if he spoke to the woman on the sidewalk, WHY didn't he push the button on his collar transmitter and transmit the information that the woman gave him? He sure managed to tag Gates with "uncooperative" and "keep the cars coming" within a minute of approaching the door. It's very suspicious that he "forgot" to call in his interaction with "the caller." Why leave that out, particularly if the woman was providing "new" information that dispatch didn't have?

He made up the point because he doesn't watch PBS. He didn't know who he was arresting--he thought he was busting some smart-ass, unimportant, assistant professor who was such a minor player he got stuck teaching summer school, or something. He figured he could get away with it.

Odds are, he probably has before.

I think a review of every minority arrest this guy has ever made is in order. And I don't care if he's taught "profiling"--just because you teach it, doesn't mean you don't do it.

[godai]

80. I agree Crowley needs to explain who he actually talked to, if it wasn't the 911 caller.

To me, it would be dumb of him to make up that conversation, because it is easily checked. Backpacks/blacks comes from that conversation. I really don't understand the issues with the word 'blacks'. They are blacks.

Crowley spoke to someone (unless he really did make it up) with a cell phone who talked about 2 blacks and backpacks.

I believe empty suitcases also can come in handy in burglaries, so I don't see the big deal with backpacks.

[MADem]

83. Further, and this is important--this is NEW INFORMATION.

He goes to the house, hearing about two men who could be the owner/s, and suitcases. That's all he knows. That's all dispatch knows.

It wasn't that he was "dumb," he was covering his ass and trying to justify a bad bust.

If he actually received new information that it was two BLACK GUYS and BACKPACKS from someone standing on the sidewalk, he should have sent that info AT ONCE to dispatch via his transmitter, and further, gotten the name of the person he spoke with and sent THAT to dispatch as well.

Why? Becaue if he got shot and killed in the house, they'd have a preliminary idea of what the ethnicity of the suspect might be (black guy with a backpack).

Anything else is shitty policework. Or, he made the stuff up after the fact to justify a bad arrest.

There's no excuse for not forwarding every scrap of new info to dispatch. None. He should have spelled out the name of the person he was speaking to, as well, if there was any ambiguity in the name. He didn't do that, though. He didn't even mention the contact to the dispatcher. That's very suspicious.

No one walks around a neighborhood with suitcases and doesn't expect that they'd be noticed. Suitcases are not the preferred method to haul things away by burglars on foot--people walking around with suitcases are NOTICED. And there was no car parked out front, either, after the driver left. And the driver was long gone by the time the cop arrived.

People DO walk around (particularly in a university setting) with backpacks. That's why backpacks are especially handy if you are a burglar burglarizing a house on the Harvard University campus. The backpack is the new pillowcase/gunnysack for city-based B and E's.

[TexasObserver]

52. The 9-11 call justified the cop going to the door to find out if it was the homeowner.

When Gates came to the door and identified himself as the owner, and when the cop had an opportunity to confirm that by whatever means, it should have been over. But Barney Fife got his small town ego in the middle of it and literally contrived a bogus arrest.

[MADem]

55. He also lied about speaking to the Portuguese woman who called in the report.

Crowley made shit up.

The tapes bust him. No wonder the department wanted to hang on to them for longer while they "continued their investigation." They do not exonorate him, they show him to be a "fudger of facts."

And I am going to keep repeating this: Lucia Whelan, the "olive skinned" woman who made the 911 call after another woman expressed concern, should be invited to the White House for a beer, so Crowley can look her in the eye and try to say he talked to her on the sidewalk...when he didn't.

[masuki bance]

64. Got the info i needed, never mind. nt

[TexasObserver]

72. Your text.

I think you meant to say "Crowley," not "Gates" in line one.

[MADem]

79. Thank you very much, you're quite right, I've mended it. Appreciate the heads up. NT

[fascisthunter]

38. indeed

makes the cop look worse

[masuki bance]

49. So? How many people call the cops to report that someone just came home?

The police would have been negligent if they had not investigated the call.

[TexasObserver]

54. Irrelevant. The 9-11 caller said they have suitcases and might be the owner.

Therefore, the cop already had knowledge that it was likely the homeowner.

Now, if you think there are cases of 60 year old professors breaking into homes at midday, and bringing their luggage with them, you've been watching too much TV.

The cop investigated the call, as he should have. That's not the rub. He should have left when he determined that Gates was the owner, but he didn't. He pulled a fast one. He pulled a cheesy trick that only a sleazy, greasy, underhanded cop would have used: he got Gates to step outside, so he could arrest him, cuff him, and take him downtown. This was about a cop out of control and worshipping his own ego.

[masuki bance]

56. Well, at least you acknowledge that asking Gates for his ID was

the right move. Why would people take offense at being asked for their ID in this situation?

[TexasObserver]

71. Gates took offense because the cop refused to properly identify himself.

And because he had an accusatory tone, and because he didn't explain himself properly.


Good cop: "Sir, I'm Officer Crowley with the Cambridge police department. Someone called us saying they weren't sure but thought someone might be breaking into your house, so I just need to check and make sure you live here. Could you identify yourself so we can make sure this is your home?"

Bad cop: "Sir, I need you step outside."

[godai]

23. There was no 'pushing it'. Dispatcher asks...Black, white, Hispanic?

Caller says one looked Hispanic. So, a lot of the vitriol of last week is unfounded, that the 911 caller referred to black men (even though they were black). The caller wasn't sure if they lived there or not but was reporting a possible break in. If you're honest, it just may have looked like a possible break in.

There are a number of possible learning experiences from this event.

[progressivebydesign]

36. any time I've called 911 they have always pushed for a good description.

It can save the life of law enforcement down the road if they know what the suspects look like. It was weird, though, for the 911 person to suggest a race. And so wrong for the police to let this sit for so long and let people attack the caller, when the poor woman was just driving by and mentioned nothing about race. Instead she's been attacked for being some "affluent white racist from the neighborhood", when in fact she is Puerto Rican, and works in the area.

[rapturedbyrobots]

65. great job

i like how so-called progressives are always revealing their subtle prejudices. she's puerto-rican therefore she CAN'T be affluent white or a racist. wtf? all hispanics have to be poor and brown now? and we probably can't espeek thee good eenlich either right?

[goodhue]

37. She was asked black, white or hispanic

She says she doesn't know maybe hispanic

[Fuzz]

43. Thanks, after listening to it more than once, I still can't make it out.

[JTFrog]

92. The dispatcher told the officer "unkown on the race, or one may be hispanic, not sure". n/t