Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested yesterday for breaking into his own Cambridge home. According to the Boston Herald, after gaining entrance to the home, police arrived and requested proof that Dr. Gates resided there. When the responding officer was shown the ID, rather than offering an apology and leaving the residence, he continued to question Dr. Gates and ultimately arrested him on the front porch of his own home. More after the jump...
Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation's pre-eminent African-American scholars, was arrested Thursday afternoon at his home by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in. The incident raised concerns among some Harvard faculty that Gates was a victim of racial profiling.
Police arrived at Gates’s Ware Street home near Harvard Square at 12:44 p.m. to question him. Gates, director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard, had trouble unlocking his door after it became jammed.
He was booked for disorderly conduct after "exhibiting loud and tumultuous behavior," according to a police report. Gates accused the investigating officer of being a racist and told him he had "no idea who he was messing with,'' the report said.
Sure, as a black person, I want to rail about the injustice of it all. I want to express irritation that these things STILL happen to innocent people. I want to find out who the overzealous nut is so I can obtain swift and certain retribution at a later date. But in that moment, repeatedly asking an officer for a badge number and spouting "rights" lingo is tantamount to asking for the big screw, a railroad job, however right or wrong you are. Besides, all that personal info should be available just by jotting down he number on the patrol car and making a records request.
Now, I've broken into my own house more times than I care to admit. Who hasn't cased their own home a time or two looking for an open window, sometimes in skirts and heels? What if I had been arrested and shuffled off to the slammer? There but for grace go I? Then again, I don't live in Cambridge, MA. My neighbor is a white cop who ever-so-kindly broke into my car for me three weeks ago when my kids locked the keys inside. And, I received great training on how to handle these unfortunate situations. Obviously, not everyone does.
- Don't open the door/window until you grab your phone.
- Call your lawyer (my Mom's on permanent retainer).
- Open door/window and kindly hand phone to officer.
- Accept phone back from officer and drive home safely.
No, as I think about my own kids, I think I'll pass along the same wisdom my mother gave me...nothing is as effective as a lawyer on speed dial.
UPDATE: I'm pulling this up from the comments b/c some feel this diary may invite blaming the victim. Quite the contrary, this diary wasn't/isn't an attempt to blame the victim at all but an acknowledgment that those of us who aren't rich or famous and don't have any particular clout need real, practical options to deal with these situations. Righteous, even justifiable anger and hostility won't keep you out of jail and THAT is the immediate goal for most folks with kids to feed and jobs to keep. I absolutely believe the officer should have politely excused himself after viewing Dr. Gates' ID but widening the scope a bit...that's not always how these things play out is it? What can/should regular individuals do when faced with similar circumstances?