Yesterday, Cambridge police released the tapes of the 911 call that set up the confrontation between a Harvard professor and a cop that made national headlines.
Contrary to media reports, the caller did not mention the race of the two men that a neighbor thought she saw breaking into professor Henry Louis “Skip” Gates’ Harvard-owned house on July 16. She also didn’t mention the word “backpacks” during the call.
Most of you probably never would have heard about this local matter if Barack Obama had not decided to make a racial issue out of it without knowing any of the facts.
The police reports posted on SmokingGun.com clearly shows a belligerent, pompous Skip Gates verbally abusing Sgt. James Crowley for doing his job. “Do You know who I am?” Gates shouted when Crowley asked to see his ID to prove he resided at that address.
When Sgt. Crowley informed Gates that he was investigating a possible break-in at that address, Gates asked, “Why, because I’m a black man in America?” Gates also demanded to know if Sgt. Crowley knew who he was messing with. Witnesses would later say it was almost as if Gates wanted to be arrested.
Gates heaped verbal abuse on Sgt. Crowley, calling him a racist for doing his job. Gates even hurled an insult at Sgt. Crowley’s mother as he followed the officer outside and onto the porch. If anyone was exhibiting racist behavior it was Gates.
Obama didn’t know any of these facts before sticking his foot in his mouth by referring to the Cambridge police as “acting stupidly.”
Maybe Gates prefers that police not investigate any more calls of possible break-ins at at his home.
