Reply #8: The Police have been given tremendous latitude in "law interpretation".

[annabanana]

Gates was entirely within his rights to be "tumultuous" towards Crowley when he was ordered to behave in a way that Crowley had no right to order him.

excellent article from Open Left - Front Page:
http://www.openleft.com/diary/14300/the-gates-conundrum-racism-or-police-authority

After reading the officer's account and Gates account, I have no idea whether racism was at the core of Gates being arrested. But I will lay long odds that if Gates had done everything Sergeant Crowley had told him to do and done it snappish, well, he wouldn't have been arrested. My interactions with police in the US have all reinforced to me that even something as simple as a question is interpreted by many policy as a direct assault on their authority, and that they have no tolerance for any such thing. If a policeman in the US asks you to do something, or tells you, you'd best do it, right now, whether he has the right to order you around or not. And if you don't, be ready to deal with the consequences.